Chapter 100
Amber cut through the crowd, her gaze scorching into Claire’s back.
Before Claire could react, Amber seized her wrist and yanked her into a corner. “What are you doing here?” she demanded, voice sharp enough to draw glances from nearby guests.
Claire studied Amber’s flushed, stormy expression, arched a brow with a smirk, and held out her hand. “Well? I believe you owe me a gift.”
They had agreed on this yesterday. Claire wondered if Amber had forgotten about it. If that were the case, she’d be angry, for she had stayed up all night excited about this.
Amber batted her hand away and pouted, her voice tinged with embarrassment. “What’s the rush! It’s in my backpack. I’ll show you after school.”
Claire huffed, “No, I want it right now. Amber, you promised you’d give it to me this morning. I got to school super early just to wait for you, and you even showed up late!”
For a split second, guilt flashed in Amber’s eyes, and her face looked a little awkward. Sleeping with Sienna was just too comfy for her. Sienna’s scent was all over the blankets, and she just couldn’t bring herself to get up. That was why she almost ended up late.
“Alright! I’ll give it to you in a bit,” she snapped.
Claire crossed her arms, eyes narrowing as she fixed Amber with a withering stare. “Don’t tell me you forgot my gift, Amber.”
Amber immediately denied it. “No, of course I prepared!” She had gotten candies that Sienna gave her yesterday–she hadn’t even let herself eat more than a couple.
“Then show it,” Claire pressed.
“I’ll go get it,” Amber muttered, spinning on her heel and marching back to the classroom. She rummaged through her backpack before pulling out ten candies and thrusting them toward Claire. Her gaze dropped, long lashes shadowing the embarrassment flickering in her eyes. “Your gift,” she mumbled.
Claire took the candies from her, which looked gorgeous with unique wrappers. Then she took out a box and handed it to Amber. “This is my gift for you–cookies I made myself.” She had gotten up at five in the morning to bake them, and these were the best ones she’d ever made.
Amber took the box, opened it, and the rich milky aroma of the cookies wafted out. She let out a soft sound of approval.
“Good.”
After exchanging gifts, the bell rang, and they each returned to their classrooms. Claire unwrapped one of the candies and tasted it–her eyes instantly lit up with delight. She’d assumed the candies Amber gave her were just something store-bought, but the moment she tasted it, she was surprised by how delicious it was. She decided she’d have to pester the butler to get her these exact candies.
Mia found there was a faint, almost imperceptible smile on Claire’s face as she went around collecting homework. She shot her a knowing grin and said, “Claire, you’re in a really good mood today, aren’t you?” Claire normally carried herself with the stern poise of a homeroom teacher. But now, with her eyes sparkling and an unguarded smile playing on her lips, she looked like an entirely different person. For the first time ever, she even gave the students who hadn’t finished their homework a few extra minutes to catch up.
She was about to greet Mia with a friendly nod, but then she suddenly remembered the love letter–everyone thought it was from Amber, but it was Mia who wrote it. She wondered why Mia framed Amber. As someone straightforward, if something didn’t add up, she would confront it head-on. Turning sharply toward Mia, Claire cut straight through the pretense. “We both know you wrote that love letter.” She wasn’t asking a question; she was stating a fact.
Mia’s smile froze for a split second before vanishing completely, her tone turning stiff. “Claire, what are you talking about? I don’t get it.”
Claire fixed her with a stare, catching the guilty, evasive look in her eyes. “Mia, I saw everything that happened last time. You were trying to make Amber look bad, weren’t you? I read that letter. You even copied Amber’s handwriting. Why did you do it?” Mia never imagined that something she thought would stay buried and never see the light of day would get exposed by Claire.
Just my luck,‘ she grumbled inwardly.
“Claire, I really don’t know what you’re talking about. Class is about to start. You should probably go collect the homework now,” she said, trying to change the subject.
Claire glanced at the time, then reluctantly moved away from Mia’s desk.
That afternoon, Mia heard from some of Amber’s classmates that Claire had gone to look for Amber first thing in the morning. She clenched the hem of her shirt, her mind instantly filled with images of Amber betraying her and hooking up with Claire.
‘Amber, you little bitch,’ she cursed inwardly.
As the final bell rang, she stormed across the schoolyard, her expression dark as a gathering storm. Without warning, she planted both hands on Amber’s shoulders and shoved so hard that it sent Amber stumbling backward, arms windmilling for balance.
“Mia, what are you doing?” Amber asked, startled.
Mia was beside herself with rage, her eyes, sharp and narrow, burning with hatred and jealousy. “Amber, why did you go and tell someone else about what happened between us? Didn’t you promise me you’d keep it a secret? I really thought you had my back, but turns out you’re just a petty, despicable traitor. I see you for who you really are now,” she spat.
Amber looked completely lost, frowning in confusion. “What are you even talking about? I seriously have no idea what you mean. Mia, did you get something wrong?” The more Mia thought about it, the angrier and more resentful she became. Why does Amber get to have such an amazing big sister? Last time, even after all that mess, she still had everyone on her side, Mia thought, jealousy boiling over.
“You promised me you wouldn’t tell anyone about that letter I wrote to Adrian. So how did Claire find out? Amber, you just look down on me because my family’s not as rich as yours, so you’re just messing with me for fun, aren’t you?” Mia snapped.
Amber shook her head hard. “No, I didn’t tell anyone.” She hadn’t even told Sienna Mia’s name.
Mia’s eyes turned red as she looked at Amber, her voice trembling with hurt. “Amber, I want to believe it wasn’t you, but Claire swore up and down that you told her I wrote that letter. She even embarrassed me in front of the whole class, saying all kinds of things about me…”
Amber froze, her beautiful eyes going wide with disbelief. ‘Did Claire really say that?’ she wondered. ‘That just doesn’t sound like her at all.’
“I didn’t, Mia. Maybe you’re mistaken–I never told her anything about you,” Amber insisted.
Mia demanded, “Did Claire come to see you this morning?”
“Yeah, so what?” Amber replied, still confused.
“See? Claire said you told her yourself this morning that you didn’t want to be friends with me anymore, and that you look down on me,” Mia said, her voice shaking with anger.
“I never said that! We barely even talked,” Amber exclaimed, her voice rising in disbelief as she had never done such a thing.
Too stunned, she didn’t notice the flash of smugness in Mia’s eyes.
Mia was just about to say something else when she suddenly spotted Claire standing behind them, filming with her phone. Her face went pale with shock. “No…”
Claire strode over, totally unfazed. “Go on, why stop now? Mia, I want to see just how far you’ll go to smear me. Come on, keep spinning your stories.”
Amber was totally confused, her mind spinning. ‘What is even going on here?’ she wondered.
Claire stepped up beside Amber, flashing her a sly little smile. “You dummy, someone totally used you, and you didn’t even notice. Let me break it down for you and tell you what’s really going on.”
Mia’s face turned ghostly pale, and she kept backing away, fear written all over her.
“Claire! How long have you been there? Amber, let’s just talk tomorrow. I’m out of here,” Mia blurted, desperate to escape.
But just as she tried to slip away, Claire snatched her wrist.
“Ow! Claire, that really hurts! What are you doing?” she cried out.
“If you dare take another step today, you’ll have to deal with the consequences yourself,” Claire said coldly. She couldn’t believe how disgusting Mia could be, just spouting nonsense and slapping baseless accusations on her like it was nothing.
“Claire, why are you bullying me like this? I know you’re from the Quinn family, and I’m just a regular person. If you want to come after me, I can’t stop you. Do whatever you want–yell at me, hit me, I won’t complain. Just please, don’t drag my parents into this. They’re just ordinary folks, nothing like your powerful family,” Mia pleaded, her voice trembling.