Chapter 006

(MALDIE POV)

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My hands were shaking so hard that the polaroid felt 

Like a vibrating blade against my skin…the image was clear too clear…….My mother Susan laughing over a glass of red wine, her eyes bright like the way i hadn't seen in years.

And there was Richard, his hand possessively on her shoulder....looking at her not like a client, but like a partner....The time stamp at the bottom of the picture crushed the air out of my lungs…. “JULY 2023” 

They weren't supposed to know each other then. That was a year before the “Accidental” Meeting. A year before my our fell apart. A year before the eviction notices and the heroic rescue.

“Maldie! Give it to me now 

David ran so fast and stopped in front of me…... He looked like a man who had just watched his house catch fire. 

His ‘Ocean Eyes’........ were blown wide with panic I had never seen, not even when I dumped that water on him.

He reached for the photo……..but stepped back, my school shoes clicking sharply against the floor 

“What is this, David?” I screamed, the sound echoing down the empty hallway…. “The bus stop?.the struggling saint act? My mother told me she met your father because he was kind! This photo says they were drinking champagne three years ago! Why were they together?"

David’s hand hovered in the air, trembling…… He looked around frantically, making sure the hallway was still empty……Then, he did something I didn't expect. He dropped his shoulders and let out a long, heavy sigh…….the kind a man makes when he’s finally "giving up" the secret.

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"Maldie, please," he whispered, his voice suddenly thick with fake emotion. "I didn't want you to find out like this. I was trying to protect you."

"Protect me from what? The truth?" I spat, clutching the photo to my chest.

"No," he said, stepping closer, his voice dropping into a low, conspiratorial hum. "Protect you from shame. Your mother... she didn't meet Richard at a bus stop because he was a stranger. She sought him out years ago. She was in debt, Maldie. Deep debt to people that is much scarier than a bank."

I froze. "What?"

As much as i didn't want to listen to him…….cause he really disgust me, but i had no choice but to…..

"That 'Contract' the note mentions? It wasn't about the marriage," David lied, the words flowing out of him with a terrifying, smooth precision…… "It was a debt repayment....My Dad didn't marry your Mum for love, and she didn't marry him for a roof. He bought her debt from the people she owed…..He’s been paying for your life, your clothes, and your 'scholarship' long before you moved in. 

That photo? That was them negotiating how to keep you from finding out your mom was a failure."

The air left my body in a silent gasp. A debt? My mom, a failure?

 “He staged the bus stop meeting so you wouldn't hate her,” David continued, his eyes locked onto mine, pleading with a sincerity that felt like a warm blanket over a bed of nails. 

"He wanted you to think it was a fairy tale. If you confront her with this, you’ll break her. You’ll remind her that she sold herself to Richard just to keep you in school. Is that what you want?"

I looked down at the photo. My mother's smile suddenly looked like a mask of pain. David’s twist was perfect. It played on my love for my mom and my own pride. It made the lie feel like a sacrifice…….

"I... I didn't know," I whispered, my anger draining away into a hollow, sickening guilt.

"I know," David said softly, stepping in and gently taking the photo from my limp fingers. "That’s why I was running. I didn't want you to carry that weight. Just... wave it off, Maldie. Forget you saw it. For her sake."

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I nodded slowly, feeling numb…… I gave him the black envelope back…… My mind was a bit confused, but the shame David had planted was already taking root. I turned away from him, my heart feeling very heavy……

I didn't see the way David’s face instantly shifted from concerned protector to cold-blooded…… the moment my back was turned. He tucked the photo into his pocket, his eyes dark and victorious.

The walk to Mr. Harrison’s office felt like a walk to my own execution…..The whispers followed me like a swarm of flies.

"Is that the girl from the posters?"

"I heard she was used for a thousand. Cheap tramp."

I kept my head down, my nails digging into my palms. Inside the office, the "student guardian" was sitting behind a decorated desk, looking at me with a mixture of pity and annoyance.

"Maldie," Mr. Harrison said, tapping a pen against a folder. "The images circulating... they are a grave violation. But the school board is concerned about the 'reputational damage' this brings to Forestwood…..Especially since it involves Richard’s son." Our biggest shareholders of the school 

"He did it," I said, my voice small. "He made a bet."

"Can you prove it?" Harrison asked, leaning forward. "Because David has already been here. He claims you two are in a 'consensual' relationship and that a 'bitter ex-friend' must have leaked those photos to frame him. Without the group chat evidence, Maldie, my hands are tied. And since your scholarship is already under review…..."

"Under review?" I gasped. "Why?"

"Moral character clauses, Maldie. Forestwood is an elite institution. We don't want 'distractions'."

The message was clear: The rich boy stays. The charity case goes. I didn't even argue. I just stood up and walked out, the world blurring into a grey smear of injustice.

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I headed to my next class, my body feeling heavy and sore. I just wanted to hide. But as I turned the corner to the lecture hall, a wall of designer perfume and cruelty blocked my path.

Olive and Sally.

"Aww, look at her," Olive said, blocking the doorway with her $5,000 handbag. "The scholarship girl is still here. I thought you'd be at a motel by now, working off your next 'bet'."

"I heard the posters were just the teaser," Sally added, smirking. "Is it true you cried, Maldie? Or was that part of the performance for David?"

"Move," I whispered, my voice trembling.

"Or what?" Olive stepped into my space, her eyes cold. "You're a joke, Maldie. You're the trash we let in to feel good about ourselves, but you forgot your place. You're not his sister. You're his toy. And now that he's bored, the toy goes in the bin."

She reached out to shove me, and I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the impact.

"Touch her again, Olive, and I’ll make sure your father’s tax evasion becomes the headline of the school paper."

I snapped my eyes open. “Mary”.

My best friend stood there, her face red with fury, her backpack slung over one shoulder like a weapon. She stepped between me and Olive, her eyes blazing.

"Mary, don't," I tried to say, but she ignored me.

"Back off, you plastic-faced vultures!" Mary snapped. "Maldie has more class in her pinky finger than you two have in your entire bloodlines. Get out of the way before I lose my temper and your hair extensions."

Olive scowled, looking around at the students watching. "Whatever. Come on, Sally. I can smell the poverty from here."

As they strutted off, Mary turned to me, her expression softening into pure heartbreak. "Oh, Maldie. I saw them. The posters... I’m so sorry I wasn't here earlier."

"I'm a joke, Mary," I sobbed, finally letting the tears fall. "David... he told me my mom is in debt. Everything is a lie."

"He's a snake, Maldie! Don't listen to him!" Mary hugged me tight, but her eyes were looking past me, toward the courtyard.

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Outside, near the fountain, David was standing with Mark and Ralph. They were laughing, David holding a new $1,000 check in his hand, looking like the king of the world again. He saw me through the glass doors, and for a split second, our eyes met. He didn't look guilty. He looked satisfied.

But then, the laughter stopped.

A sleek, matte-black sports car roared into the campus lot, screeching to a halt in a way that screamed "new money" and "no rules."

A guy stepped out. He wasn't wearing the Forestwood blazer. He had on a dark leather jacket, ripped jeans, and an aura of pure, unadulterated danger. He had jet-black hair and eyes that looked like they had seen things a boy our age shouldn't have.

He didn't look at the crowd. He didn't look at the school. He walked straight toward the fountain, passing David without even a glance. David’s smile dropped. He looked at the newcomer with a mixture of confusion and sudden, sharp jealousy.

The new guy stopped near the lockers, leaning against them as he watched the scene. He looked at the remains of one of my posters on the ground, then looked up, his gaze landing directly on me.

He didn't smirk. He didn't laugh. He just tilted his head, a slow, dark smile spreading across his face.

"Who is that?" Mary whispered, her grip on my arm tightening.

I didn't know. But for the first time since that night, I felt a shiver that wasn't from fear.

David noticed the guy looking at me. His jaw tightened, and he took a step toward us, his possessive side flaring up even through the hate. The air on campus suddenly felt like it was charged with electricity.