Keeley had been on edge ever since she noticed Max, her future killer, tailing her. She wasn't stupid; it was obvious Lacy had put him up to it.

What was Lacy planning this time? The same unoriginal mean-girl tricks as in her first life? Or did she plan to kill Keeley preemptively?

Previously, the attempted "accidents" hadn't begun until after Keeley and Aaron had been married for a while.

She had been so naive before, believing the school mishaps were mere coincidences. Lacy wasn't even good at covering her tracks; her false friendliness was easily detectable.

The problem was Keeley had misidentified Lacy's motivation. She thought Lacy disapproved because of Keeley's social status, not because of Lacy's obsession with Aaron.

This was a reasonable assumption, as Keeley wasn't the only scholarship student at the lunch table.

The first day she joined Aaron in the cafeteria should have foreshadowed their relationship. No one seemed to want her there. He only let her tag along because she'd persistently pestered him in their shared class before lunch.

Aaron silently moved through the lunch line as she chattered nervously about college applications. He eventually bopped her on the head with his lunch tray.

"Don't be stupid," he said. "You don't have bad grades; somewhere will take you. Come on, my table's this way."

Feeling oddly encouraged despite the backhanded compliment, Keeley followed him to a table of four other elite students. They wore the same uniform, but their social standing was clearly different.

Aaron sat without explaining Keeley's presence and began eating. Feeling the need to introduce herself, she said, "Hi everyone, I'm Keeley Hall, Aaron's desk mate in literature class."

They openly scrutinized her. "I've never seen you around. Don't you usually eat in the cafeteria?"

"No, I usually sit in the student lounge."

"Scholarship student," Max scoffed, making a tan brunette girl giggle.

Keeley frowned. What was wrong with scholarship students? Many of her friends were scholarship students, and they were great.

Aaron finally spoke. "She's not on scholarship."

"But she's not one of us either," Lacy said shrewdly. Her first impression was already poor. "Aaron, why is she here?"

"I wanted to eat lunch with him, so I am," Keeley replied coolly.

It was insulting to be discussed as if she weren't present. She took out her lunch, intending to ignore them.

"You brought your own lunch?" the tan girl asked disdainfully. "Nobody here packs lunches."

"Everyone in the student lounge packs lunch. Just because you don't doesn't mean no one else does," Keeley shrugged, taking a bite of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Furious whispers arose until Aaron silenced them with a glare. "Enough. Introduce yourselves properly; you sound like wind rustling through grass."

They muttered mutinously before putting on fake smiles and introducing themselves: Benjamin Carver, Rachel von Dyne, and Max Lynch—all who would treat her poorly under a veneer of kindness.

Lacy's smile was the least genuine. She was threatened by Aaron defending another girl.

That began Keeley's troubles. Afterward, she sat with Aaron's group nearly every day. He didn't speak often, but when he did, his remarks were primarily directed at her, infuriating the others.

Under Lacy's direction, they discussed wealthy things Keeley wouldn't know, trying to exclude her. Keeley, curious, was more interested in their conversation than their exclusionary tactics. Aaron always intervened when they crossed a line.

For the rest of the year, lunchtime followed a pattern. Keeley was happy to spend time with Aaron, as they rarely saw each other outside of school due to his busy life.

Rumors of Keeley being a gold digger arose, but she wasn't bothered. This happened to any regular student who spent time with the wealthy. She knew it wasn't true and ignored it.

The only other significant incident occurred two days before graduation. Keeley was walking past the top of a staircase when someone ran down the hall, knocking her down several stairs. Fortunately, other students caught her. She bruised her shin, but that was the extent of the damage. For a long time, she thought it a simple accident.

Hindsight is funny. Keeley wouldn't have connected the incidents if Lacy's designs on Aaron hadn't become so obvious later.

She wondered what happened between them after Lacy had her killed. Did Aaron treat Lacy better than Keeley? The thought caused bitterness. All that effort, and Lacy got her man.

What was it about Aaron Hale that made women lose their minds? Keeley abandoned her dignity and dreams, and Lacy disregarded rationality and morals in their pursuit of him. He wasn't worth either of their love.

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