Chapter 17

Maeve's pov

She took a breath, her eyes narrowing. “Take your seats. Both of you. Now.”

The command left no room for argument. I released a shaky breath, swallowing my pride as I moved back to my chair. Jaxon shot me one last, venomous look before he dropped into his seat.

“I called you both here because of a united decision made by all the teachers” she began, irritation flashing in her eyes.

Mrs. Donovan's eyes settled on me. “Miss Whitlock, I’m deeply concerned about your grades. Your assignments are incomplete, and your test scores have been slipping. You’ve always had potential, but these past few months, it’s like you’ve checked out completely. At this rate, you’re risking failure in several subjects.”

It wasn’t news to me that my grades were struggling—I’d barely managed to keep up with everything since Jaxon rejected me. But hearing it laid out so plainly, with Jaxon sitting there, felt like salt in a wound.

Mrs. Donovan’s gaze turned on Jaxon. “And Mr. Thorn, your behavior