جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 9

I didn't go straight home.If I went back now, my biological parents would only accuse me of humiliating the Tipton name. Not that it mattered. I'd already secured a placement at the National Institute of Advanced Sciences half a month ago, so today's exam had only ever been a formality for me anyway. Since Tara Mowry was willing to scheme against me for Cyrus Tipton's sake, even at the cost of our engagement, I figured I'd finally seen exactly who she was.I turned and walked into a café across from the exam hall, planning to sit there for a while. I'd wait until the test period officially ended, then go home and act like I'd finished the exam like everyone else.With fifteen minutes left in the last exam period, two familiar figures walked out through the school gate. Tara and Cyrus had turned in their papers early. They were holding hands, both of them smiling, completely at ease.A reporter who'd been staking out the exam hall rushed at them with a microphone."You two tur

The group chat exploded instantly.Todd Reynolds: [Tara and Cyrus are so generous!]Sadie Gomez: [Is this an early celebration for you two getting into Boxwood? So sweet!]Jamie Sparks: [We're definitely going! Wishing our Princess Tara and our school's golden boy a lifetime of happiness!]In the middle of that wall of flattery, Sadie, who'd never much liked me, suddenly decided to stir up trouble.[By the way, how come I didn't see Zach go in for the last exam today? Don't tell me he knew he'd fail and just skipped it out of embarrassment.]The moment those words landed, the whole chat exploded. I stared at the lines on my screen and let out a cold laugh, then fired back without an ounce of restraint.[Why don't you go ask Tara why I didn't take the exam?]The message hadn't even finished sending before a wave of accusations buried me.Sadie: [Zach, you skipped the exam yourself. Are you seriously going to blame Tara and Cyrus for it now?]Jamie: [Exactly. If you don't have

The screen showed the electronic acceptance letter for the Distinguished Scholars PhD Program, a joint initiative launched by the National Institute of Advanced Sciences. My information and an official digital seal were printed clearly across it.Tara froze. "The Institute... a direct placement?"Standing beside her, Cyrus's mouth twitched twice before he managed to force out a smile."Zach, are you... are you sure you didn't grab the wrong picture? There are barely a handful of direct placements at the Institute nationwide each year, and you'd have to go through several rounds of written tests and interviews."Your grades are decent, sure, but there's no way you could've quietly landed something like that without anyone hearing about it..."Something seemed to click for Tara, and her eyes lit up. She smiled."Mr. Tipton, Mrs. Tipton, I know Zach didn't finish his last exam, and he must feel awful about it, worried you'd be upset with him. But faking something like this really is

I found the whole thing almost funny, and I didn't even bother looking up."I came here today to thank my professor, not to watch the two of you put on a show."Tara's expression shifted instantly, and Father looked ready to slam his hand on the table. Just then, the door to the private room swung open. Professor Moore walked in, beaming, a briefcase slung over his shoulder."Everyone, parents included, is everyone here? Sorry I'm late; I ran into the dean downstairs and got caught up talking. I'm really happy about tonight's celebration."Professor Moore stood at the head of the room, smiling broadly."Our class's grad exam results this year were genuinely impressive, especially Tara and Cyrus, both of whom cleared the cutoff for Boxwood's second-round interviews. Well done, both of you. Congratulations."Tara and Cyrus exchanged a proud, satisfied glance. My parents straightened in their seats, practically glowing with pride.Professor Moore's gaze swept across the room and

After the celebration dinner, I cut off all contact with my university classmates and moved out of the Tipton estate. There were still about two and a half weeks until I had to report to the Institute.The next day, my phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.[Zach, you're about to report to the Institute, and your ID card is still with me. You're going to need it.][Let's meet up, at that café across from the school. I'll give it back to you.]I looked at the message, frowning slightly. If she hadn't reminded me, I would have nearly forgotten my ID was still in her hands. Reporting to the Institute genuinely required the original document, and getting a replacement issued would be too much of a hassle. I thought it over, then sent back a single word. [Fine.]At three that afternoon, I arrived at the café we'd agreed on. Tara was already seated by the window, waiting. She looked like she hadn't slept all night, dark circles and faint red veins ringing her eyes.I pulled