CHAPTER THREE

J.J’s POV

I could still feel the sting of her slap on my cheek.

No one—no one—had ever dared to lay a hand on me before.

The nerve of that girl.

I clenched my jaw, my fingers drumming against the smoker’s table in the private lounge—a room only I, Julius, and George were allowed to use. It was one of the perks of being untouchable in this school.

The lounge had a plush couch, a stocked fridge, a sound system, and a smoker’s table where we sat when we wanted to escape the noise of the school.

Julius sat across from me, quiet, his arms crossed. He hadn’t said much about his cousin since we entered the room, but I could feel his concern like a weight in the air.

It was funny.

Julius had acted like he hated Carolyn before, but now? Now he was worried about what I might do to her.

And he should be.

Because I wasn’t going to let this go.

She had challenged me in front of people. Embarrassed me.

She needed to learn who owned this school.

“Are we not going to class?” Julius finally asked, his voice hesitant.

I leaned back, rolling my neck. “I’m not in the mood.”

Julius sighed. “J.J., please don’t overthink this. She’s new. She doesn’t know how things work here.”

I snapped my head toward him. “That bitch slapped me.” My voice was cold, sharp. “Why are you defending her? I thought you hated her.”

Julius looked away. “I do. But my mother loves her. If anything happens to her, my mom will be furious.”

I smirked. “Well, it’s not up to you to decide, is it? I’ll go as easy or as hard as I want. She disrespected me, and now she’ll pay.”

Julius didn’t reply, but I could tell he wanted to argue.

I wasn’t going to let her off the hook.

She was beautiful, I won’t deny that. Those striking blue eyes, her light skin, the way she held her ground even when she was scared— she wasn’t like the other girls in this school.

But that didn’t matter.

She had undermined my authority.

And for that, she would suffer.

Just then, the door swung open.

George walked in, his uniform slightly untucked, his expression amused.

George was the most easygoing of the three of us. His father was the Chief Justice of Nigeria, yet he acted like he came from an average family. He never flaunted his wealth, never played power games like Julius and me.

He dropped onto the couch and stretched his legs. “So, are we skipping school already? It’s just the first day of our senior year in this same school.”

Julius shot him a look. “Something happened to J.J.”

George raised an eyebrow. “What now?”

Julius hesitated, then sighed. “My cousin slapped him.”

Silence.

Then, George burst into laughter.

I gritted my teeth as he clutched his stomach, wiping away tears.

“Oh my God, J.J., you got slapped? By the blue-eyed princess?” he said between laughs.

I narrowed my eyes. “You know her?”

George smirked. “Of course. I saw her at Julius’s house before school resumed. She seemed quiet. What did you do to make her slap you?”

Julius quickly filled him in, explaining how Carolyn had interfered, how I had kissed her without warning, and how she had retaliated.

When he was done, George sighed and shook his head.

“J.J., just let it go.”

I stared at him. “Let it go?”

George crossed his arms. “You kissed her without her consent. What did you expect? Of course, she was going to react.”

I scowled. “She should have known better than to raise her hand against me.”

George rolled his eyes. “You’re being dramatic. We’re all in SS1—we still have three years in this school. Are you seriously going to make her life miserable over one slap?”

I leaned forward. “You don’t get it, George. I can’t let people think they can disrespect me.”

George studied me for a moment before shaking his head. “You’re too arrogant.”

I smirked. “And I have every reason to be.”

Silence fell between us.

What I said wasn’t boastful.

It was the truth.

My family owned this country.

The Johnson Empire controlled over 60% of Nigeria’s businesses. My father’s influence stretched so far that even presidents bowed to him.

Everyone in this room knew that.

George sighed. “So what are you going to do?”

I picked up my phone and leaned back on the couch. “She’s about to learn her lesson.”

With a few taps, I opened the school’s W******p group chat.

The chat had every student from SS1 to SS3.

And then, I typed:

> We hate Carolyn, the scholarship girl.

I hit send.

Julius’s head snapped up. “J.J., don’t do this—”

I ignored him.

George exhaled sharply. “Damn. You really want to ruin her, huh?”

I smirked, watching as the message notifications flooded in.

Messages started rolling in immediately:

SS2 Sandra: Lol, who is that?

SS3 Malik: Scholarship girl? Say no more.

SS1 Cynthia: Lmao, let’s make her wish she never stepped into Covent High.

SS3 Raymond: Who is she? What did she do?

SS2 Tayo: Does it matter? J.J. said we hate her, so we hate her.

The school had a hierarchy.

And I was at the top.

If I said someone was an outcast, everyone would make their life a living hell.

Julius rubbed his temples. “J.J., my mom is going to kill me if she finds out about this.”

I shrugged. “Then make sure she doesn’t find out.”

Julius groaned but said nothing.

George leaned forward. “You do know this won’t be fun if she actually fights back, right?”

I smirked. “She won’t.”

He tilted his head. “You sure? Because something tells me Carolyn isn’t like the other girls here.”

I leaned back, stretching my arms over the couch. “We’ll see.”

My phone buzzed again.

Another wave of messages flooded in.

The entire school was ready to turn against her.

Carolyn thought she could stand up to me?

She was about to learn exactly who she was dealing with.

This was my school.

And I was about to make sure she never forgot it.