She had pushed Phoenix away. Had even hit her once, furious at her interference. Clarissa exhaled softly, her fingers hovering over the keyboard before she finally typed a reply. "You’re back from abroad? Why didn’t you tell me?"

  The response was almost immediate. Phoenix:"I did! You were just too busy to pick me up, remember?"

  Clarissa frowned slightly. She had no memory of that. Phoenix sent another message. "I heard about what happened, so I pestered my professor all night for a half-month leave. You owe me, by the way."

  Clarissa couldn’t help but smile. Phoenix had always been like this. Stubborn, protective, and always too kind for his own good.

  Dorian was six years older than her, but Phoenix was only three years her senior. She had left to study abroad, majoring in psychology, and she remembered that she had gone on to become a police officer with a sharp sense of justice and an even sharper tongue.

  And yet, for some unfathomable reason, she had always cared for someone like her. Clarissa’s fingers moved swiftly across the screen. "I’m fine now. Let me know when you’re free."

  Phoenix: "Meet me at the usual place. 8 PM. Day after tomorrow. And wear something nice."

  Clarissa’s lips curved into a soft smile. "Alright. See you then."

  Clarissa scrolled through her phone, her eyes skimming the flood of notifications. Most of them were about her—the chaos at Dorian and Lyra’s engagement party.

  It seemed like Lyra had become the target of public opinion. Where once she was celebrated as the perfect woman, the 'winner' in life, everything had changed overnight.

  In her previous life, everyone had praised Lyra. The daughter of the wealthy Lancaster family, soon to become the wife of the prestigious Harrington family.

  Now, almost all the headlines were accusing Lyra of stealing her sister’s fiancé, painting her as a deceiver, a manipulator. What was once a gilded image had cracked, revealing the truth beneath—the truth that Lyra was no better than the bitch everyone had once called Clarissa.

  Clarissa flicked through the posts, each one more damning than the last. Most had over 10,000 likes, and the opinions were harsh.

  "Is there such a thing as true love in a rich family? It's all just political marriages."

  "Finally, someone with a brain. Clarissa was engaged to Dorian first."

  "Clarissa is so cool. If someone tried to steal my fiancé, I’d make them pay."

  "This man’s a scumbag."

  "Let them be together. Clarissa doesn’t need him. She’s beautiful and strong on her own."

  Clarissa scrolled through a few more posts before finally setting her social media account to “no comments.” She’d had enough. There was no point in waking up to 99+ notifications every day.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  Besides, she needed to clean up her friend list.

  The next day at school, Clarissa noticed something odd. Lyra wasn’t there. Frankly, Clarissa didn’t care much. During the break, Clarissa ran into June.

  "Clarissa! You vicious bitch, are you trying to kill Lyra?" June’s voice echoed across the hallway, sharp as always. Clarissa didn’t even flinch. She didn’t respond—she just walked on, ignoring her completely.

  She was tired. Tired of the drama. Tired of being painted as the villain. But it seemed like the universe had other plans, as June wasn’t about to let it go.

  "Not going to answer me, huh?" June stormed up to her and slapped her across the face.

  It happened so fast that Clarissa couldn’t react in time. For a moment, her mind went blank, and then she blinked, fury flashing in her eyes. She wiped her cheek and stared coldly at June. "June... you’ve gone too far."

  "Gone too far? No wonder you so easily agreed to Lyra's invitation. You were just waiting for a chance to ruin things, weren’t you? You’re so damn scheming!"

  Clarissa stood perfectly still, her gaze icy, sharper than any blade. There was no anger on her face, just an overwhelming coldness. "Are you done?"

  June faltered, her words catching in her throat. She hadn’t expected this reaction. Just as she thought she might get the upper hand, Clarissa moved—quick, like a predator.

  She grabbed June by the face, yanking her head back, and slapped her so hard that June stumbled backward.

  "Ah!" The sting of the slap echoed in the hallway, but Clarissa wasn’t finished. She swung again, slapping June across the face with a sharp crack.

  "You dare hit me?" June’s voice was high with shock and outrage.

  Clarissa’s eyes were cold, her voice steady and unforgiving. "What if I do?"

  She took a step forward, her hand gripping June’s wrist with iron strength. "No matter how poor I am, not everyone gets to walk all over me. Who the hell do you think you are, thinking you can treat me like this?"

  Clarissa shoved June to the ground with a force, her expression as cold as a winter storm.

  June was shorter than Clarissa, but what she was very aggressive. The kind of girl who charged forward with passion but no real ability and skill. Bark, but barely a bite.

  Now, faced with Clarissa's razor-sharp stare, June froze mid-step. “You…” she stammered.

  Her words sliced through the tension like a blade. “June, let me give you some advice—use your brain before you act. What exactly does the mess between me and Lyra have to do with you?”

  Her voice dropped, cold and dangerous. “Stick your nose in again, and I won’t be so polite next time. And when that happens, we’ll see if Lyra is loyal enough to throw herself in front of a train for you.”

  June’s face drained of color.

  Clarissa tilted her head and gave a slow, mocking smile. “Oh wait… I forgot. She’s drowning in her own mess right now. She can’t even save herself.”

  With that, Clarissa stepped right over her and continued walking, heels clicking, leaving June humiliated in a hallway full of watching eyes.

  June finally snapped out of her stupor, looking around only to realize all those eyes weren’t on Clarissa anymore—they were on her. Whispering. Judging. Laughing. She exploded.

  “Clarissa! You're just angry because Dorian loves Lyra! Pathetic. He’ll never love you!”

  Clarissa stopped mid-step, then slowly turned around, a smirk curling on her lips. When she smiled, it was like spring had bloomed all at once—ethereal, dangerous, breathtaking.

  “Dorian?” she said, her voice dripping with disdain. “Please. A man like that? If I raised one hand, I’d have a dozen better ones lined up at my feet. The only women desperate to claw their way up using a man are average, short-sighted nobodies like you. I, Clarissa, don’t need that kind of charity.”

  The color drained from June’s face—then surged back in a furious blush.

  And the crowd? They were dead silent.

  Everyone knew it—Clarissa was no ordinary girl. She had won scholarships, awards, admiration. Her drawers were packed with love letters and expensive gifts from guys who would’ve sold their souls just to take her on a date.

  The only one who ever looked down on her... was Dorian. But Clarissa had woken up. Whatever blind obsession she'd once had for him was long gone. And that version of her—awake, ruthless, unapologetic—was magnetic.