Chapter 3

3.

It was a weekend, and Zane had told me he was going to play basketball with his friends.

I called him and told him to come see me instead.

He was incredibly annoyed. "I thought we agreed I could go play? It's embarrassing to bail on the guys like this!"

I was also full of rage and told him everything Sutton had said.

His attitude only got worse.

"You dragged me here over a little thing like that? How many times do I have to tell you we're just friends?

"Laina, dating you is exhausting! Do you want me to report every breath I take to you from now on?"

"You don't believe me?"

His words hurt deeply. I bit my lip, tears welling up.

Zane stared at me for a long time before sighing.

"Fine, I get it. Girls are insecure. Since you hate Sutton so much, I'll find a time to set things straight with her.

"But Laina, please stop harassing me over this. My dad is already putting enough pressure on me. Let me have some peace, okay?"

Graduation was approaching, and Zane's father was forcing him to drop Law to take over the family's jewelry business.

The father and son were in a cold war.

Sutton's father didn't like me either, so I couldn't really offer much advice. I just gave him space to relax.

"It's graduation season and I'm busy. Let's not contact each other for a while."

He turned and walked away.

Looking at his back, a chill ran through me. For the first time, I felt like he wasn't worth it.

He didn't contact me for a long time after that.

But I constantly saw him and Sutton studying together in the library.

I even found out from Sonny that he had finally given up Law to study jewelry design abroad.

Later, my graduation project was scouted by Lumina Fine Jewelry for mass production.

Suddenly, a mob of reporters surrounded me, cameras flashing in my face.

"Laina Sterling, we received a tip that your design is a rip-off of Sutton Vance's work. Is that true?"

I was stunned. I backed away, trying to explain. "I didn't! That's a lie!"

Sutton appeared at that moment, her eyes red as she accused me.

"Laina, I didn't mind when you copied my homework before.

"But this Thorns and Roses collection was a gift I created for Zane's birthday. He even helped me refine it. How can you claim it's yours?"

In an instant, all the cameras turned to Zane, waiting for his answer.

I looked at him too.

Zane avoided my gaze and spoke into the microphones. "Thorns and Roses was indeed Sutton's idea. I saw her drawing the sketches when we studied together."

I stood there, frozen. I walked up to him under the blinding lights and looked into his eyes. "Are you sure I'm the one who plagiarized?"