All Chapters of Hired My Ex's Sister as Wife: Chapter 271 - Chapter 280

SavannahAfter the Harper scene died down, I told myself I deserved a drink. Nothing too strong, just something enough to ease the leftover tension buzzing in my chest. So, I made my way to the drink table, poured something that looked vaguely safe into a glass, and took a slow sip. It was stronger than I expected, the kind that burned a little but made the world soften around the edges.I stood there for a while, but then slowly my senses filled, and before I knew it, I was laughing with a few random classmates who’d decided I was finally someone they could talk to. The music was softer now, and for the first time that night, I felt almost normal. Not “the new girl,” not “Ethan Ford’s daughter”, just Savannah. That was when I began to feel like this whole fitting-in thing wasn’t impossible after all. That illusion lasted maybe ten minutes, because in the next, two guys I’d seen around, one tall and sandy-haired, the other shorter with a smug grin, wandered over with drinks in hand.

SavannahI don’t know what it is about school gossip, but it spreads faster than wildfire and burns twice as long. After the whole Julian incident, I decided I wasn’t going to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing me rattled, even though deep down inside, some of the things they said moved me. But I did what I do best and chose to focus on the things I needed to do.The boardroom test was coming up in a few days, and this was the one thing I couldn’t afford to mess up. It wasn’t just some mock trial or classroom project; this was real. The construction division of my father’s company was falling apart after a series of delays and cost overruns, and the board wanted me to come up with a turnaround plan. This was my first real test, and I couldn’t afford to mess it up.So, I pulled back from everything. No more parties, no more chatter, no more reacting to whispers. Every free period I had, I was in the library with my laptop and about six cups of coffee, working on numbers, blueprints

SavannahJulian and I were supposed to stick to the project. That was the deal. Just finish the presentation, hand it in, and pretend the whole “party incident” never happened. But somehow, things never went the way I planned when it came to him.He was sitting across from me in the library this time, his sleeves rolled up, his fingers tapping a pen against the table while I tried to focus on the document on my laptop. The silence between us wasn’t so uncomfortable, but it wasn’t that easy either. In a way, it kind of felt like a tightrope.The space between us grew quieter by the minute, and then out of nowhere, he asked, “So why’d you move schools?”I was caught off guard, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly.“What?”He leaned back slightly and repeated. “You heard me. You don’t really seem like someone who’d just transfer for fun. What happened?”I hesitated again, shifting my eyes to my screen. “That’s none of your business.”Julian tilted his head like he wasn’

SavannahThe message came in right when I was still trying to figure out the perfect email draft. I’d struggled with finding the most convincing one when I decided to just take a break and recenter myself. But of course, the universe hated my peace. The notification blinked on my screen, and when I opened it, I swear my heart stopped for half a second.It wasn’t the message itself that stunned me. It was who it came from. Leo.The name alone pulled something heavy out of my chest. I read the message again, slower this time. “Hey, Sav. I’m coming to your school this week for the national business contest. I’ll see you around.”I stared at it for what felt like forever, trying to figure out what to do with it. Should I reply? Should I act like I never saw it? Should I throw my phone into a wall and pretend this never happened? My brain did all three things at once.After a long pause, I locked my phone and left it facedown on the nightstand. I wasn’t going to reply. I didn’t know what I

SavannahTwo days later, I was standing in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection like I could somehow talk myself out of this. My blazer felt too stiff, my hair refused to stay in place, and no amount of deep breathing could steady the nervous energy humming through my veins.I’d barely slept the night before. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the stage, the crowd, the banners with my old school’s name printed in bold letters, and Leo, standing there like a reminder of everything I’d spent the last year trying to forget.And now here I was, running late to the one event I’d tried so hard to avoid. By the time I finally made it to the auditorium, the hallway outside was already packed with teams in matching blazers, teachers clutching clipboards, and student reporters buzzing around like caffeinated bees. The sound of chatter, the click of heels on the polished floor, and the faint echo of the announcer testing the mic filled the air.I scanned the crowd, looking for Julian, a