"She took my spot?" Madelyn looked at him.Forrest gestured toward her calculus book, and only then did she grasp his meaning. She responded with a composed demeanor, "Jadie's grades are outstanding. Her inclusion in the Math Olympiad team is a result of her dedication and hard work in her studies. Also, the Math Olympiad team is based on merit, so those who perform exceptionally well earn their spots.""But you're better at math than Jadie, right?"Madelyn didn't want to delve into this topic. In reality, being part of the Math Olympiad team would contribute positively to her academic record and secure her admission to Ventropolis University. However, stepping away from the Math Olympiad team wouldn't alter her ultimate goal."Don't you like Jadie? Shouldn't you be happy for her success?""Who told you that?""Isn't it the truth?" Madelyn narrowed her eyes.When Jadie returned from abroad to Ventropolis High School, Forrest and her dating rumours had become the talk of both Ven
Madelyn kept her head down. She felt like there was an invisible weight on her chest. She wasn't sure if it was because she was overthinking or if it was because of the weather today.She knew she wasn't sad because she didn't get messages, but because she didn't feel comfortable in someone else's house.Even though the Jent residence wasn't great, it was still her home. The Arnold residence was not her home.This morning, Ethan had just asked Madelyn to go see his grandmother, but she had run away. She was pretty sure he must be mad.When she was at the Arnold residence, Madelyn always thought about things a lot when stuff like this happened.George said, "Sir, Miss Jent is here."Ethan responded with a nod. He was wearing a dark plaid sweater. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and lean-waisted.The Bentley halted at the entrance, and Ethan, holding a black umbrella, walked over and opened the door. Madelyn stood under the umbrella, and the rain started to subside.Ethan put his a
At nine o'clock, Madelyn got back to her room, took a shower, and got ready for bed.Suddenly, the phone charging on her nightstand started ringing.Wearing a soft white pajama set and drying her hair, Madelyn walked over and picked up the phone. As she read the message, her expression quickly turned serious. She furrowed her brow, placed the phone back down, and acted like she didn't notice.Zach persistently kept calling. The fifth call got disconnected automatically.Beep!A text message popped up on her phone.Madelyn opened it, and her heart skipped a beat. A shiver seemed to run down her spine, and her hands shook.The messages Zach sent were all explicit and obscene photos of them.Madelyn clenched her teeth in anger. When he called again, she paused before answering. "What do you want?"Zach's deep voice came from the other side, "What are you up to?""You sent me those pictures just to ask me that? Zach, don't you have anything better to do?" Madelyn shot back, whi
Zach didn't touch the late-night snacks on the table, but he didn't reach for them. Instead, he opened an unfinished file and kept working. "Aren't these problems from the last semester? You're part of the Math Olympiad team already. You can handle these, right? If you can't, they might remove you from the team."He added, "If you're having trouble with your studies, should I find you a tutor?"When Jadie heard his words, her heart sank. 'Does he also think I'm not as good as Madelyn? I'm not pretty like her, and my family and grades aren't as good either?'Zach's voice grew stern. "I've never thought that about you. When did you start feeling this way?"Jadie said, "But it's true. When I'm around her, I feel like I'm not as good. At school, people always see me as the adopted member of the Jent family. Even my friends only got close to me because of Madelyn!"Zach reached out and gently touched her long hair. "Jadie, you're you, and Madelyn is Madelyn. You don't need to compare y
During dinner, Madelyn poked at the risotto on her plate. She kept her gaze on her plate as she shared the whole story with Hayson. "... And that's how it happened," she finished.Before hearing the story, Hayson hadn't realized that the heir of the Arnold family had been living right next door all this time. He hadn't paid much attention to the identity of their neighbor."While you're eating, remember what the table manners teacher taught you. Don't lower your head down too much. It doesn't look good. We shouldn't give a bad impression of our family at the Arnold residence.""Understood, Father," Madelyn replied. She immediately straightened her back, and Hayson's tone was gentler than before, not as stern anymore."Father, there's no need to be so strict with Madelyn at home," Zach's voice chimed in.Walking behind him was Jadie. She cast a glance at Madelyn and thought to herself, 'It's been a while since I saw her. She looks even more beautiful now. Her cheeks, which used to
Madelyn looked at her expression and realized things were clearly not that simple. However, she did not ask further questions. Because she knew knowing too much might not necessarily be a good thing.She then went upstairs. She thought, 'In my past life, Jasmine indeed got admitted into the hospital due to illness at this time. She spent more than half a month recuperating there. But I didn't know the specific reason.'Why's she at home this time?'Madelyn realized after her reborn, some things seemed to have changed but they actually did not. Things would ultimately progress toward the predetermined ending.So, Madelyn was worried. She did not know if Zach still drugged her in this life.She also was not sure about her current health condition. She did not know if she had any other symptoms other than uterine deformity.She wondered if she had changes in cells that led to the development of cancer.To avoid such a situation, Madelyn would now go to the hospital for a medical ch
"You understand everything? Why did you go and ask Ethan about something that you didn't understand that night? So, did you really have something that you didn't understand, or did you pretend? Huh?" Zach pinched Madelyn's chin as he looked into her eyes. He squinted as he said, "Or is it that you don't want me to teach you?"He pinched her waist to punish her.Madelyn was in so much pain that she frowned. The spot where he pinched her last time still had not healed.She thought, 'It happened so many days ago. Yet, he still brought it up.'Madelyn responded, "You misunderstood. That question was beyond my syllabus."Zach, "Really? Show me then."Madelyn looked away as she impatiently said, "Zach, I'm really bothered by you. Can you give me some personal space? Can you stop constantly watching me making me feel like a prisoner? Don't you have anything else to do?"Why don't you go and find Jadie?"Zach responded with a half-smile, "You two are separate individuals! I came to acc
"Zach!"Just when the atmosphere between Zach and Madelyn was tense, Jadie's voice could be heard from the corridor.The next second, she appeared at the door.Zach, "What's the matter?"Jadie, "Mr. Jent wants you to go to the study."Zach, "Okay."Madelyn thought, 'Lifesaver!'After Zach left with Jadie, Madelyn immediately closed the door and locked it.In the study, Zach said, "Father."Hayson was praying. After he was done, he turned around and said, "The company faced many problems during the time when I was away."Do you have anything that you want to say to me about that?""It was indeed my negligence back in Portsmouth Fishing Village. I failed to protect her. I'm willing to accept any punishment," Zach lowered his head as he responded.Hayson, "Have you found out who was behind it?""They're all Nicolas Ball's people. Previously, when he took control of our business area, I used some methods to get him imprisoned for two years. Now that he's out, he's targeted Mad