Back To School

Thea stood in front of the mirror that morning, adjusting the strap of her blouse for what felt like the tenth time. Sunlight filtered in through the tall windows, softening the sharp edge of her nerves. Her bag sat neatly on her desk, her notebooks stacked beside it. She had laid everything out the night before, in a bid to prepare herself.

School. Zean School of Business.

Weeks ago, walking into that campus felt like a kind of battlefield. The rumours of her cheating and her family disowning her floated around the campus. Even people who barely knew her name still managed to make her feel small. But today, everything was different.

She didn't need to be told, she could feel it from a hundred miles away.

Her phone was still buzzing with notifications. Articles, gossip blogs, comment sections, all screaming the same headline:

SETH BLACKWOOD’S SECRET WIFE: THEA BALMERO.

Thea pressed her lips together, forcing herself not to scroll again. She’d already lost hours to reading them, and each word felt like a hammer against her ribs. Every student at Zean would have seen them by now. Pretending otherwise was foolish.

A knock came at her door, and when she turned, Butler John stood there, an almost subtle smile on his rather expressionless face.

“Your car is ready, madam,” he said.

Thea smiled. “I'll be out shortly.”

.bulterj0hn nodded, turned to take his leave but he noticed a hint of something in Thea's eyes. Fear.

“Is everything alright, Ms Thea?” He asked calmly, his eyes examining her in concern.

Seth had left for work and Ms Thea was his responsibility. If anything were to happen to her, he would be held accountable for it.

Thea turned to him, stunned that he noticed something was off about her.

“I'm worried.”

“About what, Ms Thea?”

Thea exhaled. “Everyone knows that I'm Seth's wife now. It's all over the news..” she pauses, her mind fully comprehending the situation.

Thea hesitated. “John… Do you think this is a mistake? Going back today?”

His expression softened, though it never quite lost its polish. “No, madam. It’s never a mistake to face what others whisper about. Let them see you.”

Her throat tightened, but she nodded. She picked up her bag, squared her shoulders, and followed him out.

《Zean School Odlf Business》

The ride to campus felt surreal. From the tinted windows of Seth’s car, she could already see heads turning as it rolled past the entrance gates. Students clustered in groups, their gazes following the sleek black vehicle. Phones lifted, snapping pictures.

Thea’s pulse pounded.

Ethan met her gaze from the rear view mirror, he's seen the blog piss, the tabloids. He knew his madam was anxious to say the least. Now all eyes would be on her.

“Ms Thea, Mr Seth doubled your security. There's nothing to worry about.”

Thea said nothing, that wasn't the solution to this situation. Clearly Seth wasn't on the same page.

When Ethan opened her door, she stepped out slowly. The chatter rose, buzzing like bees.

“That’s her.”

“Thea Balmero.”

“Mrs. Blackwood.”

“Is it really true?”

Thea didn’t flinch. She held her bag close and walked forward, her steps steady even though her insides were trembling. Each stride across the cobblestone path felt like defiance, a reminder that she belonged here as much as anyone else, perhaps more.

Her heels clicked softly as she entered the main building, climbing the familiar staircase. Students moved aside without her asking, their eyes wide, their whispers sharp. Some looked at her with awe, some with envy, others with thinly veiled disgust.

But none of them dared laugh.

Hours Later

The lecture hall was buzzing when she arrived. Rows of students filled the seats, voices carrying excitement and tension. As soon as she stepped inside, the noise dropped like a stone.

Dozens of eyes turned toward her.

Thea inhaled and exhaled slowly, and walked down the aisle. Every step felt magnified in the silence, until she slid into her usual seat near the middle row.

All she wanted was the day to be behind her! She paused a million dollars to get people to stop staring at her like that.

Just when she was starting to feel less anxious by everyone's stare, that’s when they came.

Chloe, Sarah, and Bella.

The trio had tormented her since her first day here, snide comments, mocking laughter…..they didn't fail to remind her about her past, about how she had supposedly cheated and her family had abandoned her. Despite putting them in their place the last time they confronted her, Thea heard whispered rumours they kept spreading about her.

Now, they approached her with smiles plastered on their faces.

“Thea!” Chloe’s voice was high, falsely sweet. She leaned across the desk. “We’ve been meaning to talk to you. You look so beautiful today.”

“Yes,” Sarah chimed in eagerly, “absolutely glowing. Marriage suits you.”

Bella giggled, tucking her hair behind her ear. “We were just saying the other day how amazing you are. And now, Seth Blackwood’s wife? We always knew you were special.”

Thea raised her gaze slowly, her expression unreadable. She looked at each of them in turn, studying their painted smiles, their darting eyes.

And in that moment, she realized something that made her almost laugh.

They were afraid of her.

The same girls who once delighted in tearing her apart were now scrambling to glue themselves to her, desperate to be on her “good side.”

Thea leaned back in her chair, her tone calm but edged with steel. “You always knew I was special?”

Chloe hesitated, then nodded vigorously. “Of course. We just…maybe didn’t say it enough before. But now…”

“Now that I’m married to Seth Blackwood,” Thea finished for her, her voice quiet but cutting.

Their smiles faltered.

Thea tilted her head. “You bullied me ever since I walked into Zean BusinessSchool. Called me names, spread rumors about me and my estranged husband. And now you want to be my friend?”

Sarah flushed, her hand tightening on the edge of the desk. “We…we were just joking back then. You know how students are.”

“No.” Thea’s voice sharpened. “I know exactly what you were. And I’m telling you now to stay away from me.”

The words hung in the air, heavy, final.

Chloe blinked, her mouth opening and closing. Bella glanced at the rows of students who were now staring openly, some smirking, some whispering.

Thea leaned forward slightly, her eyes hard. “Don’t come near me. Don’t speak to me. Whatever this sudden act is, you can keep it. I don’t need friends like you. I don’t need anything from you.”

Silence crackled across the lecture hall.

The trio shifted awkwardly, their faces pale. For once, they had no clever retort, no venom to spit. They stood there for a beat too long, then retreated quickly, their false smiles slipping into scowls as they slid back into their seats.

A ripple of murmurs spread across the room.

Thea sat straighter, her chest rising and falling as the adrenaline cooled in her veins. She wasn’t shaking. She wasn’t shrinking. For the first time in a while, she had spoken exactly what needed to be said.

And it felt good.

The professor entered shortly after, the tension breaking as attention shifted. But even as the lecture began, Thea could feel the new weight of the room. People still glanced her way, whispered behind their hands, but none of it carried the sting it once did.

She wasn’t invisible anymore. She wasn’t prey.

When the class ended, a few students approached her. Ones who had never spoken to her before. Their smiles plastered on theor faces, their words polite. They asked about her marriage, her future, her opinion on the industry. Some seemed genuinely curious, others opportunistic.

Thea answered only what she wanted to, her tone measured, distant. She wasn’t here to entertain anyone’s curiosity.

By the time she left the hall, her steps were lighter.

For once, she didn’t dread walking these corridors. For once, she felt like she belonged on her own terms. Not because of Seth Blackwood’s name, not because of fear or gossip, but because she had finally learned to look her enemies in the eye and refuse to bend.

As she crossed the courtyard, the whispers followed her still. But she didn’t shrink under them anymore. Her head was high, her shoulders straight.

She was Thea Balmero. Seth Blackwood’s wife.

And she wasn’t going to let anyone forget it.