1. You Reap What You Sow Here

Cassie POV

Every girl on campus wanted a boyfriend, and every one of them wanted to date Mark Skyland. Besides being handsome, Mark came from a first-class family, so girls flocked to him for his attention. To their dismay, he had chosen me to be his girlfriend.

Not that I cared all that much. I had left my small town behind and moved to bustling Chicago because I wanted to earn my law degree, become a badass, and lift my parents out of poverty.

Those were my goals—not getting caught up in some cheesy romance with the most popular guy on campus. But I had to admit, Mark Skyland had a way with words.

It had been over three months since I fell for his charm, and he’d been my boyfriend ever since. Becks, my best friend, laughed in my face and called me a sucker for doing exactly what I always criticized, but Mark was a hottie, and being with him made me feel seen and loved.

But what I found out about him last week had torn me apart from the inside out. Mark and Piper, screwing right in front of me while he belittled me, saying he had only used me to get what he wanted.

I wasn’t going to let that slide.

“Here. I got what you asked for,” Beck said, handing me a rectangular, not-too-heavy box.

“Thanks, you’re always a lifesaver,” I said with a grim tone, grateful for her always being by my side.

Beckie sighed and stroked my hair. “Are you sure you want to do this, Cassie…?” She was worried about me, thinking I might not be able to handle it, that I couldn’t face this moment that was so crucial for me.

I gave her a faint smile. “I’m fine, Beck, I swear. I’m just going to teach them they messed with the wrong person.”

She smiled back, though concerned, but with a hint of pride. “Alright, then show them what Cassie Millans is made of!”

Today was my birthday party. Mark and the college crowd had thrown one for me. I bet most of the people there weren’t even there for me but for the food and fun. Still, it was nice to know my boyfriend had gone to such lengths for me. Or it would’ve been nice if I still believed he loved me.

“Look who’s here!” he shouted, drawing everyone’s attention in the hall as I walked in. The crowd cheered my arrival, excited for the party. “The most beautiful birthday girl I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said, sounding all smitten with that charming little smile, clearly already a bit drunk.

It was true that Beck and I looked stunning. My friend had gone for a black leather mini-skirt, a red bra, and a black lace crop top. She always wore eyeliner that made her blue eyes pop, and being tall and slim with her black bob haircut, Beck had an undeniable sex appeal.

I had chosen a short, shimmery silver dress, light but striking makeup, and had curled my brown hair with blonde tips even more. Sure, I wasn’t happy, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to dress to impress.

“You’re a knockout, baby,” Mark said, as naughty as ever, pulling me in for a kiss.

But I covered his mouth with my palm. “Not so fast, tiger. You’ll get your reward soon enough,” I said with a seductive smile.

Mark grinned, excited. “I’m counting on it.”

What an asshole. Little did he know what kind of reward I was talking about.

A fake smile played on my lips as I glanced at Piper McCoy, sipping her drink nearby, giving me her usual envious glare. I always thought she had a problem with me, even if I didn’t understand why.

Now I got it—we were sharing the same boyfriend! There she was, dressed in an obscene outfit, all to steal attention from someone else’s man.

“Happy birthday, Cassie,” the washed-out blonde said, flashing a fake smile.

But my fake smile was bigger than hers. “Hey, Piper! I didn’t think you’d come, since we’re not exactly close, right? But it’s all good, enjoy the party. Oh my God, your outfit, honey, it’s awful. Red is definitely not your color.” My words had a playful tone but were cutting at the same time.

“Poor thing, doesn’t even know how to dress,” Beck chuckled mockingly. Piper made a face of disdain but didn’t say anything as she was humiliated.

“I’d give you some tips, you know, but it’s time for my speech,” I said, throwing her a disgusted look before heading to the front of the hall.

“One moment, please!” I called, raising my champagne glass.

“Quiet, you idiots! My princess wants to speak,” Mark shouted, getting everyone’s attention as they fell silent. “Go for it, princess!” His usual goofy, charming grin.

“Thanks, sweetie. Always saving me, huh,” I smiled, making the crowd cheer. “It’s kind of ironic, because I’ve never been the kind of girl who needs saving—I’ve always handled things on my own. But here at Windy City College, things tend to get blown out of proportion, don’t they? So what would I be without my boyfriend?”

“I’ve got you, gorgeous!” Mark said, as humorous as ever.

“He’s such a goof for her,” someone among the guests commented, making everyone laugh happily.

“When I left my small town for here, I never imagined I’d actually fall for someone, you know, get swept up in love and have expectations. A lot of people see me as a silly girl, unremarkable, and some don’t even get why a guy as hot as Mark would want a nerdy, plain girl like me.

But guess what? He chose me, defying all odds, making me the envy of other girls and noticed by guys for the first time. I even started to think I was living a romantic college dream.”

“And you are living it, love,” Mark said again, seeming touched by my words.

I stared at him for a moment in silence, wondering how he could fake it so well, smile at me like that, and pretend he actually felt something when he’d been manipulating me all along.

“Am I really?” The question was rhetorical, but I kept looking at him, seeing a flicker of confusion cross his face. I turned to the crowd. “See, folks, you maintain your status as the most popular guy on campus, but you get into some serious trouble because you’re a shitty delinquent who’s one step away from being expelled.

Then you have the brilliant idea to date the girl with the best behavior and academic record in the entire university—the one always buried in books, who avoids trouble and doesn’t seem interested in anything.

So you think, wow, if the administration finds out I’m dating a girl like that, it’ll prove I’m turning things around, and I won’t get expelled, keeping my reputation intact. So you use the girl for that, and it works. Pretty smart, right?” I gave a sarcastic chuckle.

“Where’d you come up with that story, you crazy girl?” Mark asked, laughing too, as if it were a joke.

But I continued. “Then the naive girl starts noticing snickers when she walks down the halls, malicious teasing, becoming the target of mockery, her life turned upside down. But she decides to stick it out because she loves you, right? She believes in her boyfriend and the love he claims to feel for her.

She thinks it might be worth it. But then she finds out everything she’s been through was a lie—that you’re not just manipulating and using her but cheating on her repeatedly while the fool still thinks she’s living a fairy tale. So I ask myself, am I really living a dream?”

By now, the atmosphere was heavy. I could hear murmurs. Mark wasn’t smiling anymore; after all, his schemes had been laid bare. “What are you doing, Cassie? Stop this, it’s not a fun game. I never cheated on you.”

“You’ve got some nerve,” I said, incredulous.

“What an ungrateful girl!” That was Piper, glaring at me with disgust. “Mark gave her status in this place, and now she’s making up lies?”

“Defending him because you know you’re going down with him, huh, slut?” Beckie let out a sarcastic laugh. “Keep going, Cass! The night’s perfect for taking down cheating scumbags.”

“Cassie, seriously. Stop this,” Mark said through gritted teeth, taking a step forward.

“Why? Don’t want everyone to know who you really are, darling? ‘She’s not even on your level, babe,’ isn’t that what you said? ‘Cassie’s so boring, even screwing her is dull.’ Weren’t those your words? ‘I’m only with her to keep up the good-guy facade so no one finds out about my schemes.’ But what schemes, love? Care to share?”

“Cassie, you’re playing with fire, I’m warning you—” he tried to threaten, but I cut him off.

“I’m not afraid of you. Tonight, I’m going to show you how you shouldn’t mess with me,” I said, pulling papers from the box I was holding. I threw a bunch in his face. “Here’s the evidence of your cheating, you asshole! And that’s not all, folks.

There’s more—proof of you selling fake grades, hacking the university’s grading system to change marks for whoever pays you, smuggling illegal stuff, and not only that, harassing freshman girls and threatening to ruin their reputations to get them expelled. Want to see? Here’s the proof!”

I tossed more papers into the air, the air-conditioned breeze scattering the evidence across the hall. People grabbed the papers, looking at photos pulled from his DMs and emails that I had gathered over the past week of investigation.

Mark was tearing up the papers, snatching them from people’s hands, trying to destroy the evidence. “Save your strength, darling, because I already sent a copy of all this to the administration,” I said, laughing. The taste of revenge was sweet, and he was going to crash and burn spectacularly.

“You’re insane!” he shouted, completely undone, restraining himself from attacking me physically in front of everyone. “I was an idiot for giving a chance to a mediocre girl like you.”

His words had no effect on me anymore, not after spending a night with Josh Carter and discovering what a real man was like. So I looked at him like he was an insect.

“You really thought you were all that, didn’t you? Congratulations, Mark Skyland. The truth is, you’re nothing but a scumbag, and sex with you isn’t even that great—you’re just way overrated. Maybe the mediocre one here is you, with your premature ejaculation, you jerk!” My laughter was pure delight.