Chapter 2

Mrs. Lane froze, then sneered, "Lying through your teeth, huh? If it's not yours, whose could it be? Besides you, Ethan never brings other girls home!"

I explained, "I get to school at 7:30 every morning and finish evening study hall at 10:30. My mom and dad take turns picking me up. Plus, every time I go to your place, Mrs. Lane, aren't you always there?"

I looked into her eyes. "Besides, the building security cameras can check, the school entrance logs can check. If you don't believe me, you can go look right now."

Mrs. Lane's neck stiffened. "What if you cut class?"

"I'm ranked second in my grade. You think I got a 600+ score by cutting class?"

Seeing more and more onlookers gathering, the security guard quickly came over to maintain order.

Guard Wilson squeezed through the crowd. "Alright, alright. I work night shift every day. This girl really does get picked up by her dad at 10:30 sharp every night. On weekends she still has to go to tutoring. Where would she have time to seduce your son? Making accusations requires evidence, doesn't it?"

My mom has always been kind to others and has a good reputation among the neighbors. The onlookers began to switch sides.

"Yeah, I've watched Lily grow up since she was little. She's well-behaved and sensible. She even tutored my daughter in freshman and sophomore year. Her character is beyond question."

"Lady, accusing a young girl without any proof is a bit much, don't you think?"

"Exactly. Besides, that thing is attached to your son. If he wasn't willing, could a girl force him?"

"Victoria, did you misunderstand something?"

Mrs. Lane's face turned the color of liver.

Ethan's expression was also ugly. He grabbed his mom and left. "Mom! Stop making a scene. Let's go home!"

Mrs. Lane was being dragged away but didn't forget to turn back and glare at me with a vicious warning look.

I stood in place, my palms full of sweat, but I knew this wasn't over.

Because Ethan really did have a girlfriend he didn't dare let his mom know about. In the future, whatever trouble the two of them caused would be dumped on my head again.

Soon enough, I met Ethan's girlfriend.

The next day at school, there was a girl sitting on my desk. The books and test papers I'd stacked neatly were swept onto the floor.

She sat crookedly, as if trying very hard to contort herself into alluring curves.

The originally oversized school uniform had been altered to fit her body, the collar open wide so you could see the low-cut bra underneath from above.

I knew her—Madison Brooks from the class next door. With her grades, it would be hard for her to get into a good school.

I stood in front of her. "Move. This is my seat."

She sat on the desktop without moving. "Oh, so this is Ethan's little childhood friend? Pretty ugly, but you sure dream big."

She deliberately raised her voice. "I heard you left your lingerie at Ethan's place yesterday. Mrs. Lane didn't hit you, did she?"

The students nearby perked up their ears, no longer sleepy or busy, listening in on the gossip.

Ethan still said nothing.

I smiled. "Madison, it's not good to badmouth your boyfriend like this, is it? You two have already gotten intimate. Too scared to own up to it? Want to pin it on me instead?"

"Enough!"

Ethan looked at me with disappointment. "Why are you joining in on this nonsense?"

I took a deep breath. "Ethan, control your girlfriend. If she keeps spreading rumors about me, I'll tell Mrs. Lane about you two."

Madison obviously knew how formidable Mrs. Lane was and awkwardly shut her mouth.

I gathered my things from the floor, grabbed my backpack, and walked straight to the last row, sitting down next to the school bully.

The school bully was named Derek Frost. Tall and built, he slept in the back row year-round, and no one dared mess with him.

He lifted his head to glance at me, then laid it back down.

Ethan walked over, lowering his voice. "What are you doing? Move back!"

"No."

"Don't joke around with your grades." He frowned. "Class is about to start."

I looked at his face and suddenly felt disgusted.

In my past life, I took the fall for him. What did he do afterward?

After our family of three died, Mrs. Lane was sentenced to death.

He "turned over a new leaf," changed his name, repeated senior year, then went straight to MIT.

Living his happy, brilliant life.

Never once saying sorry from beginning to end.

"Where I sit is my freedom." I looked down at my book. "Don't bother me."