Chapter 3

I slowly climbed to my feet, then used the wall to support myself as I made my way to the door.

After exiting the hospital, I took a taxi to school. Upon arriving there, I limped my way over to the Academic Affairs Office using my crutch.

My homeroom teacher, Mrs. White, was busy handling the seating arrangements for the exam. When she spotted me, her brow instantly furrowed into a frown.

"Caleb? What are you doing here?"

"Mrs. White, my admission ticket was burned to ashes. Could I get a replacement?"

Mrs. White eyed me, her gaze drifting to my cast before moving away.

"Each student only gets one admission ticket. I already specifically reminded you all to be careful with it. Who else can you blame but yourself for your own carelessness in losing it?"

"I didn't lose it. Someone burned it—"

Mrs. White swiftly cut me off, her tone harsh, "Ms. Surrey called earlier to say that you were in a car accident and are suffering from psychological trauma, so you might come to school and cause a fuss. Well, the system is closed now, so there's no way you're getting a replacement!"

"But I didn't lose it. Selena burned it—"

"That's enough!" Mrs. White tossed her pen down on the table. "Caleb, I know you usually get good grades, but that doesn't give you the right to be so arrogant. You dropped the ball at this critical juncture, yet you're still trying to push the blame onto Ms. Surrey, the one sponsoring your studies?"

I stood frozen to the spot.

Five years ago, Selena arrived at the orphanage after losing her memories. She couldn't remember who she was or where she lived.

It wasn't long before she and I became inseparable friends. She stepped in to protect me from bullying many times, and when I was locked up to reflect on my actions, she would sneak over in the middle of the night to pick the lock and rescue me.

Then, one day, the Surrey family came, and it was discovered that Selena was their long-lost daughter.

The day Selena left to return to her family, she took my hand and said, "Caleb, I'll be back for you. Once I've steadied my position, I'll take you away from here."

She really did come back for me.

Not just that, but she also had the Surrey family sponsor my education, with my tuition and living expenses paid for by her. Every weekend, she would visit me and take me out to eat something good, buy my books, or accompany me as I studied.

Everyone was always praising her for being a kind girl and saying how lucky I was to have met someone as good as her.

I used to think so too. That was why I never expected her to betray me, and all for Aaron, to boot.

I despondently left the office, my legs subconsciously taking me to the honors board by the main academic building. Photos of the top 100 scorers in the entire city for the mock exams had been stuck to the board, with my photo and name at the very top of the list.

In the photo, I was smiling widely and brimming with confidence, like someone who had been living in the dark, finally seeing the light.

Yet, here I stood beneath my photo, leg in a cast, while my whole life was in shambles.

"Caleb?" a voice called out from behind me.

I stiffened before turning around to see Aaron and Selena standing a few steps away from me.

Upon seeing that it was indeed me, Aaron put on an expression of alarm and stepped closer to Selena.

"Caleb, why did you sneak out of the hospital? And you were spreading the lie that Selena burned your admission ticket too!"

Several classmates passing by stopped in their tracks and peered over curiously.

"Is that Caleb Lindt? I heard he was in an accident. Why is he still here, causing a scene?"

"To think that Ms. Surrey sponsored him for all these years! Who would've expected him to be so ungrateful?"

I was shaking all over from the sheer extent of my fury. Raising my crutch, I swung it right at Aaron.

However, before it could land, Selena seized it in a tight grip before shoving me back hard.

I stumbled back and slammed right into the glass casing of the honors board.

The sound of shattering glass exploded in my ears as many broken shards stabbed into my back. Immediately, warm blood was flowing down my back.

At last, I crashed to the ground face up, the shards in my back digging even deeper into my body. Every inch of my skin was throbbing with pain.

Coincidentally, I landed right below my own smiling photo.

"Selena, do you seriously not care about the 15 years of history that we shared? The bond we formed?"

I lay on the floor, voice so hoarse that it was barely audible.

"Back then at the orphanage, you were the one who rescued me from the isolation room…"

Blood from my injuries was spreading across the floor and staining the ground red.

"You said that you would take me away, out of the darkness…"

Selene suddenly scoffed. "The bond we formed?"

Crouching in front of me, she pinned me with an icy gaze. "Caleb, why do you think I headed to the orphanage back then? Why, of all the children there, did I choose to rescue you?"