Sean grabbed Justin’s arm and yanked Emily’s wrist free from his grasp.Justin looked momentarily stunned, releasing her without a fight.Sean quickly pulled Emily behind him, stepping between them to shield her.“Bullying? Seriously?” Justin thought. She was the one who had slapped him. Who was bullying who here?And when did that even count as bullying?Back then, in those intimate moments with Emily, when things got passionate, was that bullying her?Those times he had been even more forceful making love to her, did that count as him bullying her?And what about the scratches she had left down his back? Was she bullying him then?Now she was huddled behind Sean, looking like she had been terribly wronged. What was that supposed to mean?Were she and Sean romantically involved now too?For the first time, Justin realized how well Emily could play the helpless, vulnerable card, putting on a pitiful act as if she had been mistreated. Watching her like that infuriated him. S
Though Sean’s jacket was soaked, its dark color still provided decent coverage.“Cough... cough...” Emily’s face was flushed as she choked on the pool water, coughing repeatedly. Sean patted her back gently, helping her clear the water from her airways.“I’ll help you back,” Sean said once she’d caught her breath. “You should take a hot shower and change into some dry clothes.”“Alright...” Emily rasped, her voice a bit hoarse from the coughing.The server who had accidentally pulled Emily into the pool also swam to the edge and climbed out. He repeatedly bowing and apologizing. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see where I was going. I... I’ll cover the cost of your dress.”He didn’t seem to realize she had hurt her wrist. “Please, just don’t file a complaint. I’ll get into big trouble with my manager.”Holding Sean’s jacket close around her, Emily felt a sharp pain in her wrist from the earlier pull. Now that she was out of the water, the panic had faded, but the stares from the onlook
Emma walked away from the pool, her arm hooked around Justin’s, her steps light, and a smile playing on her lips.She was pleased. Rumors would spread quickly, and by the time they reached the Smith family, there would be no chance for someone like Emily to ever fit in. Emily was destined to be nothing more than a hidden mistress, someone who would never see the light of day.*In the hallway leading to their rooms, Emily walked side by side with Sean.“Thank you for helping me back there!” Emily said sincerely. Ever since her accident, she had been afraid of water, and the suffocating feeling of falling into the pool had really shaken her. She also hadn’t known that the Smith family was behind the resort’s development.“That server…” Emily began, unaware of the deal between the server and Emma. She thought it had been a simple accident and wanted to speak up for him.“That server will definitely be let go,” Sean interjected. “Not every guest is as forgiving as you are. If he
Justin stormed off, seething with anger. “Emily, you’re something else!”She could actually jump into bed with other men without any restraint. Acting all self-righteous in front of him, only to throw herself at someone else behind his back. Was she really incapable of being without a man?He tugged irritably at his collar, his strides long and furious as he made his way through the hallway. At the corner, he nearly collided with a woman dressed in a revealing outfit.She stumbled against him and silently cursed whoever was so careless. However, when she looked up and saw Justin, her expression softened, and a blush crept onto her cheeks. She had noticed him by the pool earlier and recognized him as the CEO of RC Corporation. However, he had another woman with him earlier. As the CEO of RC Corporation, he was a much bigger catch than any of the other guys around the resort.“Oh, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going and ran right into you!” she apologized sweetly.
“Mm.” Zac nodded, showing little reaction. He wasn’t buying Emma’s sweet act. The two of them had never gotten along well, and now they walked side by side in silence. The carpeted hallway muffled their footsteps, creating an awkward tension between them.Zac eventually broke the silence. “How’s your recovery going? You seem a bit weak, and you’ve got some sweat on your forehead. You should really focus on resting and eating well until you’re fully recovered. Don’t overexert yourself.”He didn’t particularly like Emma, but he knew how much Justin cared for her. If anything happened to her health, Justin would likely hold him, the attending doctor, responsible. And that would mean extra work and overtime for him. Justin was unreasonable when it came to the people he cared about, especially Emma, who was practically his one true love. Zac just hoped Emma would have some sense and stop pushing herself with her fragile, undernourished body. He wasn’t thrilled to see her out and ab
“Who…who bit you?” Emma’s voice trembled as she asked.Justin was at a loss for words, his face tense. He shot a glance at Zac, silently pleading for help. Zac, who had been enjoying the unfolding drama, raised an eyebrow in surprise.“Seriously, man?” Zac thought. “You ditched Emma, your supposed one true love, to sneak off with another woman and even got bitten as proof? Now you want me to cover for you?”Justin’s gaze didn’t waver, clearly hoping Zac would jump in.With a resigned sigh, Zac figured he would better step in. That was what good friends were for, after all. Adjusting his silver-framed glasses, he flashed a small smile and looked at Emma. “Emma, that mark on Justin’s neck? Yeah, that was me,” he said casually. “Hope you don’t mind,” he added with a hint of amusement.Justin’s eyes narrowed, shooting Zac a glare that could cut steel. “I needed you to cover for me, not make it worse!”Zac, unfazed, avoided Justin’s gaze, feigning innocence. “Hey, it was the best
After finishing with the iodine, Zac wrapped the bite mark with a large adhesive bandage. “You two really know how to make things complicated, don’t you?” he muttered, tossing the packaging and used swabs into the trash.Justin’s face darkened in irritation. “Is that it? You just came here to nag?”“Alright, alright, I’ll drop it,” Zac conceded, raising his hands in mock surrender.Just then, Zac’s phone pinged with a message. He checked it, a grin spreading across his face, “Hey, didn’t you get a bunch of sparklers for Emma? Where’d you stash them? I could use a few.”Still in a foul mood, Justin wasn’t interested in gossip. He gave a quick nod towards a suitcase, barely looking up. “The code’s four zeros.”Zac opened the suitcase, found the sparklers, and pocketed a few. “Thanks,” he said, making his way to the door. As he left, he looked back and added, “And, uh, you might want to change that shirt. There’s blood on it.”Although Zac wasn’t a fan of Emma, he couldn’t just le
Emily accepted the bag. “Thanks.” She hadn’t expected Sean to be so quick. She had only just added him on her contacts, and he had already arranged for the medicine to be delivered. Without fuss, she took the bag and sent him a quick thank-you message on her phone. As she opened the bag, she noticed it didn’t just contain anti-inflammatory ointment. There were also packets of cold medicine and some sleep aids. Cold medicine? Tonight was as warm as summer, unlike the past few days when it had been cooler at night. The water wasn’t cold either, so she didn’t see the need for it. But the sleep aid was thoughtful. After her accident, she had developed a lingering fear of water, and being suddenly pulled into the pool had shaken her. This might help her settle before bed. She was impressed at how thorough Sean had been.The doorbell rang again, and when she opened it, there stood Sean, holding another bag of medicine with a smile. “Sean!” Emily exclaimed, surprised. She had tho
Haley shook her head quickly, flustered. “No… I mean—no.” Then she realized how that sounded and corrected herself. “Actually, yes. I’m just hot.”Helen blinked in confusion. “Hot? The classroom has air conditioning. Was the sunlight from the window hitting her seat?” Helen wondered.Without missing a beat, she rushed over and tugged the curtains tighter, making sure her bestie didn’t get “sunburned.” She still needed Haley to hold onto that top spot. Otherwise, she would lose her excuse at home for going out to “study” with Zac.The pressure and tension of senior year finally came to a close. On the day of the college entrance exam, when everyone stepped out of the test hall for the last time, their faces lit up with genuine smiles—relaxed, free, and full of relief.Haley tossed aside her textbooks. Her summer break was filled with makeup shopping trips with Helen or third-wheeling her and Zac on their study-dates-turned-real-dates.That routine came to an end the d
Haley’s eyes shifted as she thought quickly. “But… I don’t really like guys who rank higher than me on exams.”She gave a light shrug and continued, “I mean, I think we should be focusing on school right now. Relationships can wait until after we get into college, right? What if we don’t even end up at the same school? Long-distance never works, and after a while, we’d probably drift apart. Don’t you think?”Was that a gentle rejection? It seemed like it. Haley wondered if she had been too blunt. Had she left him any dignity at all?They still had a whole year of high school left together. She didn’t want things to get awkward between them. A harsh rejection would only make everything more uncomfortable.Justin furrowed his brows, thinking for a long moment before giving a single reply. “Okay.”Then he slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked off.Haley stood there, completely confused.“Okay? What did he mean by that?“Did he understand what I was trying to say?
Emma and her little clique of schoolyard mean girls had Justin completely surrounded.“I’ll ask you one more time,” she said, smug and unbothered. “Will you be my boyfriend or not?”“No,” Justin replied coldly, his face unreadable.“Hey!” one of Emma’s loyal followers stepped forward, cracking her knuckles and getting way too close. “Do you even know who our Emma is? She’s the heiress of the Xander Corporation. She’s giving you a chance, and you should be grateful. You better say yes.”“What, you want us to beat you up before you agree?” another girl sneered.Justin didn’t flinch. His icy stare locked onto the girl who spoke, completely unbothered by the threat.Emma waved a hand to hold her crew back, pretending to be generous. Then she turned to Justin again, cocky and bold.“I like you way too much to have anyone rough you up,” she said sweetly. “But I heard you’re trying to get into Altiplano University in the capital. Here’s the deal—if you go out with me, I’ll have my dad
As soon as Justin sat down and pulled out the textbook for the next class, a hand suddenly reached out from beside him.“Hey, I’m Zac White,” Zac said.Justin glanced up with a cold look, then went right back to pulling out his notebook and pen—completely ignoring the extended hand.Zac awkwardly pulled his hand back, speechless.“Man… this guy’s seriously cold. What a show-off,” he thought to himself.The class flew by. When the bell rang, signaling the end of the period, Haley and Helen linked arms and headed off toward the bathroom. Zac immediately trailed after them.“Where are you two going? Take me with you.”“You planning on going into the girls’ bathroom, you perv?” Helen smacked his hand away, not wanting their classmates—or worse, their teacher—to get any ideas about the two of them dating.Zac scratched his nose. “Fine, I won’t go in the girls’ room… but I can go to the guys’ one, can’t I?”“Hmph!” Helen huffed, scrunching her nose playfully.Zac clutched his chest
At a top-ranked high school in Lincourt City, the bell rang.Students still lingering in the hallways or restrooms were urged to hurry back to class.Outside, the summer heat simmered, accompanied by the steady buzz of cicadas. Inside, the air-conditioned classrooms offered a much more comfortable escape.In Class 2–1 of the junior year, students hurried back to their seats. Just as the final chime faded, the homeroom teacher walked in, holding a stack of freshly graded exam papers.“For this round of mock exams,” she announced, loud and clear, “the top score in the entire grade once again goes to our very own Haley!”A wave of murmurs and applause followed. “Let’s all work hard and try to catch up to her next time!”She began handing out the papers in order, from the highest score to the lowest.After Haley got her paper, the next few went to her seatmate, Helen, and the student sitting behind them—Zac.“Work hard and catch up?” Helen muttered as she slid back into her seat, s
But what did it matter, even if she still loved him? The pain he caused her in the past was still there, lingering beneath the surface.They had loved, they had hurt, they had been entangled for years. But not every love story had to end with forgiveness and reconciliation.Haley couldn’t pretend the past hadn’t happened. She couldn’t smile and pick up where they left off, as if nothing had ever gone wrong.She would always remember that street in Merika State, when Justin turned away, picked Emma up in his arms, and left her standing there alone.Even if he had mistaken someone else for her, the pain he caused and the love he failed to give were real.And that wasn’t something she could ever forget.She could make peace with the past, but she could never erase it.Her heart ached, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned and walked away.*Years later, Haley passed away peacefully in her bedroom at the estate.That same day, Justin had gone out to the grocer
It was just a shame that life rarely worked out the way people wanted it to.*Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.Chase and Alex had grown taller and older. Haley’s once-small jewelry brand had not only found its place in the industry—it had grown into a globally recognized luxury label, known for bespoke, high-end pieces.As for Justin, he split his time between Haven State and Merika State. Whenever he wasn’t busy, he would shamelessly camp out at the estate, claiming he was just there to “see the kids.”Eventually, no one even bothered to call him out on it anymore.One day, Haley had a business meeting with a potential partner—a widowed single father. Somehow, Justin caught wind of a rumor that the man had feelings for Haley and was actively pursuing her. Word had it that she was interested too, and they were currently having dinner together at a restaurant.The second Justin heard that, he canceled a company meeting, boarded his private jet, and flew straight to Mer
As soon as Haley stepped into the room, Justin followed right behind her.It was the first time he had ever set foot in Haley’s room—the space where she lived in Merika State.“Get out!” she snapped.“Haley, I just wanted to see you. Please don’t make me leave, okay?”His eyes scanned the room. The walls, the shelves—everything was filled with Haley’s photos. There was even a custom-built glass display case, clearly made with love, housing her pictures from childhood to adulthood. It was something Evelyn had put together just for her, and it overflowed with affection.There were portraits of her alone, family pictures, and right at the top—photos of Chase and Alex.Justin looked at each one carefully, as if he were trying to piece together a life he hadn’t been part of, but desperately wished he had been.Then his gaze landed on a particular photo: Haley in her teens, wearing a soft pink-and-white hoodie with little bunny ears on the hood. Her pale skin, big round eyes, and brig
“Haley…” Justin’s voice was weak. There was so much he wanted to say, but he didn’t even know where to start.“I heard you’re sick?” Haley said.“I… I’m fine. I’m not really sick, I just—”“Take care of yourself. Heart problems aren’t like other illnesses. Just look forward. Let go of the past. Meet someone new. Live your life.”Justin fell silent. His head dropped, and the phone pressed against his ear was clenched so tightly in his hand that his knuckles turned white. He wrestled with the words for a long moment before finally managing to force out.“Okay.”But he knew. He wouldn’t meet someone new. Without Haley, what kind of life could he possibly call “living”?The call ended. Life went back to its quiet rhythm. Justin no longer clung to Haley or tried to find her. After one more day in the hospital, he threw himself back into work and took over the reins of RC Corporation.They had truly managed to part on peaceful terms.After returning to Merika State, Haley d