Chapter 3

Sebastian looked into her eyes. He froze for a moment, then let out a cold laugh. "Five years later, and that line still sounds just as sickening coming out of your mouth as it did back then."

Five years earlier…

Although Sebastian had already decided to study abroad, he refused to let a false cheating accusation stain his name.

He poured nearly everything he had into proving his innocence. Night after night, he stayed up organizing his complete set of practice notes and study records from before the exam. He compared every answer and every line of reasoning, one by one.

He went from office to office at the education department to obtain the surveillance footage and finally managed to gather solid evidence.

He did not dare waste another second. He headed straight for the police station.

But just as he was about to get into his car, someone suddenly stepped into his path.

Jordan had already dropped his usual gentle, well-mannered mask. Barely concealed mockery gleamed in his eyes.

"Sebastian, give it up. Getting caught cheating and having your scores wiped out doesn't feel good, does it? Why keep struggling like this? You're only making yourself look like a pathetic sore loser. It's embarrassing at this point."

He stepped closer, a smug smile spreading across his face. "Bet you didn't see this coming. You liked Aelia so much, but in the end, the person she's always loved is me. Whatever I ask her to do, she'll do it."

"So you went to all that trouble manipulating Aelia and used this filthy trick to pin the cheating on me. Is that it?"

"So what if I did?" Jordan's smile widened with arrogance. "This is what happens when you dare compete with me."

Sebastian's gaze turned icy. "Then the two of you really are a match made in heaven. A bitch and a dog, perfectly paired.

"Did you really think the two of you covered your tracks perfectly? Keep doing enough wrong, and eventually, it catches up with you. Sooner or later, every scheme you've built will come crashing down on you."

Jordan's expression shifted. "What do you mean by that?"

Sebastian had no intention of wasting another breath on him. He pulled open the car door and got in.

But the instant the car started to inch forward, Jordan, who stood beside it, suddenly stumbled and crashed to the ground in a graceless heap. His elbow struck the pavement hard, and an angry red mark appeared almost instantly.

"Ah!" Jordan cried out in pain. "Sebastian, you... You actually hit me?"

Sebastian almost laughed at how clumsily Jordan had staged the fall.

An angry voice rang out the next instant. "Sebastian!"

It was Aelia. She had appeared without him noticing and had apparently witnessed the entire scene.

Aelia strode over to the car and gripped the edge of the window, fury churning in her dark eyes. "If you have a problem, take it out on me! What kind of person picks on someone innocent? That's just vicious!"

Mockery flashed in Sebastian's eyes. 'Vicious?'

He merely looked away, indifferent, and replied in a flat, unmoved voice, "I don't have time to play along with this."

With that, he rolled up the window, shut out her furious glare, and sped toward the police station.

The evidence in the back seat was his only hope. Once he reached the station and submitted everything, he could finally clear his name for good.

But before he could get much closer to the station, two blinding high beams suddenly flared behind him.

A white sedan was right on his tail and refused to fall back.

Sebastian's chest tightened. He instinctively gripped the wheel and accelerated, desperate to put some distance between them.

The next instant, the sedan slammed into him from behind with a deafening crash.

The impact sent his car shuddering violently. The tires shrieked against the pavement as the vehicle spun out of control and hurtled forward.

The airbag deployed. The impact was so violent that blood seeped from the corner of Sebastian's mouth, and his entire body felt as though it had been crushed.

Through his blurred vision, he saw Aelia step out of the white sedan.

Then he watched helplessly as she took the evidence he had worked so hard to gather. Right in front of him, she set it on fire.

She stood over him and looked down coldly. "Sebastian, give it up. With the Linden family's power behind me, even if you make it to the police station, it won't matter.

"If you keep being stubborn, you'll only humiliate yourself further. I stopped you because I didn't want to watch you bring this on yourself."