Chapter 3

3.

Thinking about that, I gave the now-bruised Misty another kick.

She slid down the wall and slumped onto the floor.

Her pale forehead was already a swollen, angry red.

She was crying for real now, her sobs echoing in the stairwell.

I sneered and tilted her chin up, looking down at her like she was dirt. “Wanna spread rumors? Now I’ve given you actual evidence. Go on, tell everyone I beat you into a pulp!”

I remembered her self-righteous face from my past life.

Still not satisfied, I grabbed her collar and slapped her twice more before walking away.

As I reached the classroom, my best friend Hannah Shaw ran up to me.

“Where have you been? Why did it take so long?” she asked, worried.

I glanced back at the stairs and said casually, “My hands were itchy. I had to hit someone.”

Hannah stared at me, her brain seemingly short-circuiting. “Wait, what?”

“A famous person once said: instead of letting rumors ruin you, it’s better to actually be the perpetrator.”

“Who said that?”

“Me. Just now.”

Before she could process that, I threw my arm over her shoulder and led her into the room.

Unfortunately, the first person I saw was the last person I wanted to see.

Pierce Prescott.

Almost the entire school knew we had an arranged marriage set by our families.

“Shara, where were you?”

He was looking around as he spoke, clearly searching for someone.

In his blue and white school uniform, he looked innocent and soft, not yet the ruthless businessman he would become.

But I knew that even now, he and Misty were already sneaking around behind my back.

In my last life, he always acted like he had my best interests at heart while secretly protecting Misty.

He told me that the innocent don't need to explain themselves and advised me to ignore the ‘misunderstandings.’

He pretended to be devoted to me, making me believe every word he said.

I snapped back to the present and grabbed a thermos full of water.

Before he could react, I poured the entire thing over his head.

He stood there, soaking wet, water dripping from his eyelashes.

Hannah, standing beside me, was stunned for the second time today.

Pierce’s eyes darkened, but he kept a forced smile on his face as he tried to take my hand.

“What’s wrong, Shara? Did something happen?”