Back to present.
Summer break was supposed to feel long, but for me it felt like every day was the same mix of excitement and tension. Work. Clothes. And the thousands of dollars sitting in my account from Ms Wilder, who keeps saying she wants me to "live comfortably." If Donna or my dad were around, I swear they would have forced me to explain where the sudden money came from. Thank God they travelled.
Now here I am, getting ready for my new school. I put on makeup for the first time and straightened my hair. When I looked in the mirror, all I could see was someone new. Someone expensive. Someone bold enough to walk up to Zane Wilder, smile, and make him fall for me. That is my goal this year.
The school is a boarding school and I am already in my dorm. Avelyn is my roommate and she looks like her usual self. No makeup, hair in a simple bun, dressed like a normal girl. Compared to me she looks like a commoner, but I did not say that out loud. She will definitely kill me.
I also left a note for my dad telling him I changed schools and I will not be home unless it is for breaks. I wrote the name of the school but I did not bother explaining how I got in. I just wrote that I got a scholarship. I could have called, but then again he also left a letter when he travelled instead of calling. So we are even.
Avelyn sat on her bed, legs crossed, hugging a pillow while staring at me.
"You have changed," she said, squinting at me.
"In a good way," I said, adjusting my necklace.
She nodded slowly. "You look like someone who owns three cars."
"I will own one first," I said, laughing.
She shook her head but she was smiling. She always smiles when she is proud of me.
Just then the school bell rang through the hallway, the one they use to call new students for orientation. My stomach flipped. This was it. A new school. New people. New life.
And Zane Wilder.
Avelyn grabbed her shoes and stood up. "Ready?"
"As ready as someone living a lie can be," I whispered, but she did not hear.
We stepped out of the dorm and the chatter of students filled the hallway. Some girls already stared at me, the way people stare when they know your outfit costs more than their rent. Instead of feeling shy, I lifted my chin a bit.
If I am going to play this role, I need to play it well.
Avelyn nudged me. "Stop walking like a princess."
"I am not," I said, even though I definitely was.
We stepped into the main building and the whole place suddenly felt louder. Students laughing, walking around, staring at me before pretending they weren't. I ignored it and kept walking beside Avelyn, trying to look confident even though my stomach was twisting itself.
That was when I saw him.
Zane Wilder.
Hands in his pockets, talking to someone, looking like the main character of the entire school. I froze for half a second before forcing myself to keep moving.
Avelyn whispered, "Lily, breathe."
I nodded even though I was still forgetting how.
Behind us, a girl's voice floated through the hall.
"Did you see her?"
"See who?" a boy asked, sounding amused.
"That new transfer. Lila Arlo. The scholarship girl."
I didn't turn, but I could tell most of the hallway already knew who I was. The whispers followed me slowly, like they were trying to pull me back.
Up ahead, a girl walked next to the boy who had spoken. She was pretty, well dressed, and looked like someone who had never worried about anything in her life. She kept her head up, smiling like the school belonged to her. People moved around her without touching her, like she had her own bubble.
She and the boy kept walking, but I noticed the way their eyes shifted when they saw me. Just small glances, nothing obvious, but enough to make the air feel thick.
It wasn't competition.
Not yet.
It was just the way the whole school seemed to adjust itself because someone new had arrived.
Avelyn nudged me again.
"Lily, they're staring."
"I know," I whispered.
But instead of shrinking, I lifted my chin a little higher.
If they wanted to look, let them look.
I didn't come here to hide.
I came here to win.
...Third person's pov…..
The morning at St. Verity Academy began the same as always. Doors swung open, polished shoes tapped against the marble floor, students filtered in with the usual mix of confidence and quiet nerves. Mirabel walked through the hall with Karl beside her, their strides matching without needing to speak. People often assumed they planned it, but it was just routine. St. Verity had a way of building routines around you when you had been on top for long enough.
Karl nudged her lightly as a pair of girls hurried past. "They are staring again," he murmured.
"They always stare," Mirabel replied, not bothering to look back. She kept her pace steady, her expression calm. Attention was part of her life here, expected, predictable.
But today felt different.
A soft buzz rippled through the hall, a quiet wave of whispers that didn't fade the way they usually did when Mirabel approached. It grew instead, collecting in pockets of conversation.
"Did you see her?" someone whispered behind them.
Karl raised his brow. "See who?"
"That new transfer. Lilian Arlo. The scholarship girl."
Mirabel didn't react at first. Transfer students came and went all the time. Some shy, some loud, none memorable. She waited for the usual shift in focus back to her, but the whispering didn't stop. When she finally glanced ahead, she saw the reason.
Lila Arlo walked down the opposite end of the corridor with a confidence that didn't belong to someone new. Her stride was sure, her posture upright, her expression unreadable. She didn't look lost or intimidated; she looked settled, as if the academy had been expecting her and she was simply taking her place.
Avelyn followed quietly beside her, keeping just a step behind. Most students didn't pay her much attention at first, until a few glanced at her and murmured to each other. One girl even whispered, "Is that her personal maid?" Karl smirked but didn't answer, and Mirabel noticed the subtle shift, everyone watching Lila seemed to include Avelyn, even if just in passing.
Some students moved aside for Lila without realising they had. Others watched openly. No one ignored her.
Mirabel continued walking, but her attention locked on the girl. It wasn't jealousy, at least not immediately. It was something else, disruption. St. Verity had always had its hierarchy, and everyone knew their place before they even stepped into the doorway. Yet here was someone who walked in without acknowledging any of it.
Karl's gaze lingered longer than Mirabel expected. "She's interesting," he said quietly.
Mirabel didn't respond, though she heard the shift in his tone. It wasn't admiration. It was curiosity. And at St. Verity, curiosity was dangerous. Curiosity led to attention, and attention could start changes that no one was ready for.
As they reached their lockers, Mirabel finally turned fully, watching Lila navigate the hallway. She didn't cling to anyone, hover, or even pretend to observe her surroundings. She simply moved, deliberate and calm, heading toward the notice board as if she already knew exactly where she belonged.
The scholarship comment floated back to Mirabel's mind. People said it with a mixture of respect and suspicion. Scholarship students were rare, smart, ambitious, capable. But they were expected to keep their heads down, blend in, appreciate the opportunity they were given. Lila didn't seem to have any intention of blending into anything.
Mirabel shut her locker softly. "So that's her."
Karl followed her gaze. "Looks like it."
For the first time in a long while, Mirabel felt the school shifting around her. Not collapsing, not crumbling,just tilting. Slightly, but noticeably. Enough for her to realise that today wouldn't follow the usual routine.
Students continued to drift toward Lila, curious to get a closer look. Some approached with polite greetings; others hung back, observing. Lilian acknowledged them with a small nod or brief reply, nothing more. She wasn't unfriendly, just precise, someone who chose her words carefully and never wasted them.
Mirabel watched with a steady expression. She didn't interrupt, didn't insert herself, didn't try to reclaim attention. She simply observed, noting details. How Lilian's posture stayed consistent. How she kept her bag close but not tight. How she scanned the room without appearing nervous. It wasn't arrogance. It wasn't boldness. It was assurance, quiet and deliberate.
Karl leaned against his locker. "What do you think she's like?"
Mirabel considered the question. "I think she knows exactly what she's doing."
Karl chuckled. "Maybe she'll be fun."
Mirabel smoothed the sleeve of her blazer and closed her locker. "Or maybe she'll be a distraction."
"A distraction from what?"
She didn't answer. St. Verity had always been predictable. Students followed patterns, trends, expectations. Lilian Arlo didn't fit into any of them.
The bell rang, and the crowd began to disperse. Lila didn't rush. She took one last glance at the schedule on the notice board and walked calmly toward her first class, Avelyn trailing quietly behind. Mirabel watched her go, not out of fascination, but out of necessity.
Things were shifting. And shifts had consequences.
Mirabel turned to Karl. "Let's go. We'll be late."
For the first time since she had stepped into the academy, Mirabel felt something new, an awareness that her place at the top wasn't automatic. It could be challenged. It could be tested.
And Lilian Arlo, without saying a word, had already begun the test.