Chapter 2

Right after high school graduation, I left our class group chat.

I did it for one reason: to dodge my classmate, Brandon Miller. He used to corner me after school every day. He relentlessly hit on me until graduation and spammed the group chat with embarrassing romantic gestures.

The rest of our classmates just egged him on, playing wingmen and giving him cringey advice. A few even urged him to show up at my door and ask my parents for my hand in marriage.

I was so sick of it that I dropped out of the chat altogether. Who would have thought that today, they'd turn around and play the victim first?

I was just about to push back when the door to the suite clicked open.

"What's everybody chatting about? Sounds lively in here."

Speak of the devil; it was Brandon. Despite the sweltering mid-summer heat, he was sporting a black trench coat and buffed-to-a-shine leather shoes.

Above that monstrosity was a tower of hair gel holding up the same creepy, sleazy smirk I remembered.

"Man, the AC in my Maybach is blasting," he said smoothly. "I'm practically wearing winter gear, and I still almost caught a cold."

The classmates at the table instantly jumped to their feet, ushering him toward the head of the table like royalty.

"Now, who was stupid enough to piss off my little princes?" he continued. "Just tell your man, and I'll take care of them."

Then, as if he had only just noticed the standoff at the door, he shot me a contemptuous look. Jessica trotted over with an exaggerated pout and threw herself into his arms.

"It's that bitch Christine! Babe, you have to get back at her for me." She glared at me venomously, putting on a show of play-act helplessness.

"Christine? You don't mean that waitress standing at the door, do you?" Brandon stared at me with an amused, patronizing grin. "Damn, Christine... If you'd just said yes to me back in the day, you wouldn't have been standing here serving food.

"Tell you what, I'll give you a second chance. Agree to be my side chick today, and I'll wipe the slate clean for everything that happened."

Nestled in Brandon's chest, Jessica gasped and whipped her head up in disbelief, her watery eyes instantly welling up with tears.

"Brandon, don't you want me anymore?" she sobbed theatrically. "I knew you were still obsessed with her. If that's how it is, I might as well just end it all right now."

She made a dramatic motion, as if going to hurl herself against the wall. Brandon quickly snagged her waist, looking down at her with sickly sweet affection.

"Babe, come on," he cooed. "You're my one true love. Making her my side chick is just so you can mess with her whenever you want. She rejected me back then, and now she's picking on you.

"I'm going to drag her name through the mud. I'm doing all of this for you."

"Oh, you're the best!" Jessica laughed. "Since you treat me so well, your reward is buying me a designer bag."

And just like that, the two of them started making out right in front of everyone. The people in the room didn't even try to stop the pair. Instead, they cheered and clapped, showering them with praise for being such a power couple.

"Crazy, the whole lot of them!" I muttered, disgusted by the nauseating display.

My stomach rebelled, and I made a loud gagging sound. "Sorry, guys. Your love is just way too intense for my weak stomach. I'll get someone to clean up the floor."

I turned to bolt. But before I could take two steps, someone blocked my path.

"Not so fast!" Tiffany stepped up. "You think you can just bully Jessica and walk out of here?"

She launched into a wildly exaggerated account of how I had supposedly harassed her bestie. Right on cue, Jessica buried her face in Brandon's chest, letting out soft sobs.

"Christine intentionally bumped into me on the street earlier, and then inside, she slammed her foot right onto mine. She even claimed the shoes you bought me were knockoffs. Brandon, you have to get justice for me." She clung to him like a helpless damsel.

I was almost impressed by her ability to flip the truth upside down. At this point, while I had zero desire to waste my breath on these clowns, I wasn't about to let them smear my name without putting up a fight.

"Everyone bore witness," I said, sweeping my eyes across the crowd. "Whether I bumped into Jessica, stepped on her shoes, or insulted her, you all saw what happened. Brandon, why don't you ask our classmates if a single word of what Jessica just said is true?"

I wasn't expecting any of them to take my side. I just hoped someone would at least have the decency to state the plain facts.

Yet not a soul stepped forward. They all averted their eyes, shifting uncomfortably to avoid eye contact with me.

Left with no other choice, I called out to our class president. "Matt? You were standing right there and saw everything. What do you say?"

Hopefully, he would consider his reputation and tell the truth.

"Uh... well... you see..." Matt swallowed hard, stumbling over his words. "Everyone was chatting just now, and I wasn't paying attention.

"But... Brandon is a young, successful entrepreneur, and Jessica is his partner. She obviously wouldn't lie or frame you. Honestly, Christine, the problem is probably on your end."

The others immediately echoed his words.

"Matt is totally right."

"Matt has always been fair. It's definitely Christine's fault."

"She has always acted all high and mighty, ignoring Brandon like she is better than him. Who knows? Now that Brandon has made it big, maybe she's pulling this stunt on purpose just to get his attention."

"If you ask me, Jessica and Brandon are a match made in heaven. Christine is just green with envy. I bet when Brandon offered to make her his side chick, she was secretly thrilled inside."