Chapter 10

Emma turned to see Justin's cold, handsome face. Her heart skipped a beat, and she blushed. "Justin," she said, "I'm waiting for my sister, but she doesn't seem to notice me. Could you go inside and call her for me?"

Justin frowned slightly. "Your sister?"

"Yeah," Emma replied. "Her name is Elysia. She just transferred to your class today."

Justin glanced at Elysia in the back row and nodded. "Wait here a minute."

"Thanks," Emma smiled.

Justin entered the classroom and approached Elysia's desk. His voice was icy. "Your sister is waiting for you outside."

Elysia ignored him.

With unusual patience, Justin added, "If you don't go out, it'll be distracting for everyone."

Finally, Elysia looked up, noticing her classmates staring. She slowly stood and walked past Justin without speaking.

A boy, witnessing the scene, was shocked. “Justin, did she just ignore you?” he thought. “Wow, she just ignored Justin, the star of Milton School! He usually does the ignoring. This is historic!” He mentally vowed to write it in his notebook.

Leon was surprised but remained calm. Glancing at Justin, he asked with amusement, "So, Justin, how does it feel to be ignored?"

Justin fell silent. "What did I do to deserve this? Ugh, this is so frustrating."

Outside, Emma looked at Elysia, worry etched on her face. "I was waving at you. Didn't you see me?"

Elysia glared. "Do you really need to ask? Clearly, I didn't want to talk to you!"

"Why aren't you answering me?" Emma insisted.

"Do you need anything?" Elysia said coldly.

Emma paused. "I just wanted to ask how you ended up in this class…" She trailed off, but Elysia understood the implication of shady dealings. Elysia laughed. "What's it to you?"

"I'm just worried about you," Emma said, her voice softening, tears welling up.

Elysia couldn't stand Emma playing the victim. She waved dismissively. "Whatever you think is fine."

She turned to re-enter the classroom, but Natalie stopped her. Elysia instinctively shoved her; Natalie's hand hit the doorframe, swelling immediately.

"Hey! Why did you shove me so hard?" Natalie snapped, anger evident.

The commotion attracted curious students.

Seeing the crowd, Natalie cried. "I only grabbed your arm! How could you get so mad and hurt my hand like this?" Her voice was choked with tears.

Elysia chuckled. “What a drama queen!” she thought.

People sided with the underdog. With Natalie's injury and tears, sympathy flowed. Whispers spread:

"I heard Elysia comes from a village known for tough manual labor, so she must be strong." "If I had been shoved by her like that, I would have cried even harder than Natalie." "I have a distant relative who lives in the country. They feed pigs, cook, and work in the fields. Plus, they eat so much—no wonder they’re strong!" "Elysia must have a wild side after growing up like that. Poor Natalie got caught in her crosshairs."

Elysia crossed her arms, a playful smile on her lips, listening to the comments. “This is exactly what Natalie wanted—to cast herself as the victim and use it against me. How could I not let her have the stage a little longer?” she thought.

"Emma is your sister. She came to see you out of concern, but you ignored her. Is this how a sister should behave?!" Natalie scolded.

Emma's face reflected deep hurt.

The whispers grew louder, criticizing Elysia.

"Elysia, you're in the wrong. No matter what, Emma is your sister. How can you act like this? She's only looking out for you." "Exactly. I feel bad for Emma. She's so gentle and kind; how could she have a sister like you?"

Emma, thinking Elysia was scared, put on an understanding look. "Guys, just stop talking about Elysia. She's always like this, and I'm used to it."

The crowd was shocked. "Used to it? Does Elysia often bully her?!”

"Save your drama," Elysia said coldly, just as others were about to criticize her. She scoffed. "You, an adopted girl who's taken my place for eighteen years, and you expect me to be grateful?"

"Adopted?" The crowd was stunned. Whispers erupted:

"I know about that. Did you see yesterday's trending topic? It happened at Heoty Mall, and Elysia said there that Emma is adopted." "What trending?" "That viral video with Elysia, Emma, and the others. But their families got involved to settle things, so it's not trending anymore." "I just checked, and it looks like the video was deleted. Now, the only things left are statements from the Rosewood, Moore, and Smith families. None of them mentioned Emma's identity, which probably means it's true." "I never would have guessed that Emma was just an adopted daughter."

Emma, embarrassed and angry, stormed off. Her adoption was a wound she'd never wanted revealed. Elysia had not only brought it up, but rubbed salt in it.

Natalie chased after Emma.

Elysia remained indifferent. “This is the consequence of crossing me!” she sneered silently.

Almost no one outside the Rosewood family knew Emma was adopted. Before Elysia's return, Emma had lived a privileged life, fully embraced as a Rosewood. Even after Elysia's return, people only knew a second daughter had arrived, unaware she was the biological child. Emma, an adopted daughter who'd lived as a Rosewood for eighteen years, was constantly overshadowing Elysia, the true daughter.

Elysia sneered mentally. “What a joke! I'm the real daughter, yet I'm constantly overshadowed. But I'm not the type to let things slide; revenge is woven into my very nature. Emma loves to play her games, provoking me? Then I'll aim for what she holds dear. She relishes her role as the victim? I'll make sure she feels the stifling weight of public opinion.”

Students dispersed.

Elysia returned to the classroom, approached Justin's desk, leaned on it, and glared. "Mind your own business!" she said before returning to her seat.

Everyone was shocked again. "Did Justin just get warned?”