Chapter 11

Mark suddenly realized what I was about to do, and his expression changed. "Sadie!" he screamed, cutting me off. "Shut your mouth!"His reaction was far too obvious. One of the policemen, Officer Sheldon, turned to me immediately, his tone grave. "Miss, is there something else?"I took a deep breath and reached into my backpack's hidden compartment to pull out my phone.Last night, I didn't let tears drive me to madness. The exact second I heard Mark mention spiking my frappuccino with Amoxicillin, I hit record. Later, I sealed that untouched cup inside a Ziploc bag, without so much as brushing against the straw. I snapped photos of the receipt, the couple's bracelet on his wrist when he delivered it, and Adele’s social media post mocking that "extra drink was taken to feed his charity case".I had compiled every piece of evidence into a single folder, arranged in strict chronological order, labeled: [Mark's Record of Harm]Inside were ticket orders from our ruined movie date,

Chapter 12

"An allergic reaction like that can cause anaphylactic shock. In a severe case, it’s fatal. That isn’t a prank. It’s attempted murder," I said, my voice so steady that it hardly sounded like an eighteen-year-old. The look in Mark’s eyes finally shifted from anger to sheer terror.Officer Sheldon’s face hardened. "First, send us a copy of that audio recording. We'll also need to retrieve the frappuccino as physical evidence. Miss, please come back to the station with us to make an official statement."Adele panicked instantly. "I didn't know! I didn't know anything about this! In the recording, I was just asking casually! I never told him to drug her!"I let out a cold laugh and played the second half of the recording.Right after Mark said, "She can just stay behind to retake her senior year," Adele’s soft chuckle came through the speaker. "You are so mean. But it's not like missing one exam is that big of a deal for someone like her anyway. She's also so obsessed with you. There

Chapter 13

"I almost handed my daughter over to a monster," Dad gritted out, his voice choked with emotion. "Sadie, I failed you."I shook my head softly. "It's not your fault." It was mine for trusting Mark so blindly for so long. I believed the pitiful look in his eyes when he stood in the hallway, claiming that his parents stayed together because of me. Every time he said he loved me, I trusted him. Since we went through middle and high school side by side, I thought we were destined to be together.However, people change. Or perhaps his malice had been there all along, hidden behind the romanticized filter I had insisted on keeping over my eyes.Following Mark and Adele being taken in for questioning, the school moved swiftly with disciplinary action. As Mark was facing formal criminal charges, his honors were revoked, and the charges were permanently noted on his record. Although Adele’s wealthy parents hired top attorneys to post bail for her pending trial, she was still publicly c

Chapter 14

"You almost killed someone! And you still have the nerve to sit there and cry?!"Mark was on the ground, cold sweat dripping from his forehead."Dad, Mom, I was wrong. Please help me. I can't go to jail... I still have to go to college."His mother stepped back, staring at him like he were a stranger."You ruined your own future, and you destroyed this family. Mark, I can't save you."That very night, his parents went straight to court to file for divorce. This time, no amount of good grades could convince them to stay together, and no amount of tears could convince them to spare him. Neither of them posted his bail or bothered to hire an expensive lawyer for him.Mark was left stuck in detention. Over the next few weeks, he wrote me dozens of letters from behind bars.In his first letter, he was still making excuses.[Sadie, I never wanted to kill you. I just wanted you to miss the exam. I honestly didn't know things would get this serious. I was just so terrified of losing my

Chapter 15

In front of the cameras, I smiled calmly."Before you love someone else, love yourself first."That interview made headlines across local media later that evening: [Shocking! Top-Tier-Bound Student Takes College Entrance Exam Anyway and Secures Valedictorian.]When the segment aired, Mark was watching it on a TV screen inside the detention center. Later, Dana told me that a relative of hers who worked there happened to witness the moment.On screen, I stood under the bright sunshine in a simple white dress, accepting the press interview. Off screen, Mark sat frozen on a bench, his face drained of all color.At first, he just stared blankly at the screen. However, as he watched, tears suddenly streamed down his face.Someone sitting nearby asked him, "Hey, do you know that girl?"Mark choked back a sob, his voice trembling as he said, "She's my girlfriend."Just then, my voice rang out from the television speaker. "That relationship is completely over. My future has nothing to d

Chapter 16

It truly didn't hurt anymore.Those past few years had felt like a long, suffocating fever dream. In my delirium, I thought Mark was the medicine. I didn't realize until it was almost too late that he was the poison.Fortunately, I was finally healed.In September, I arrived in Massachusetts.The gates of Horvard University were even more beautiful than they looked in the brochures. On orientation day, the sky was a clear blue, and a gentle breeze swept through the yard.Wheeling my luggage across the cobblestones, I watched countless vibrant, youthful faces pass by. They were chatting animatedly about clubs, majors, and their big dreams for the future.No one here knew that I had almost given up this very place for a boy, or that on the eve of the exam, I had cried until my hands shook uncontrollably.That was perfectly fine, though. Life, by its very nature, was to move forward.Dana had also gotten into Boston University, just a short ride away. We met up for frappuccinos du