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The air in the Nursing Home wing of Brighton Wisdom School smelled faintly of antiseptic and old linen—a sharp contrast to the polished mahogany and ambitious energy of the main campus. Gabriella lay still, a fragile figure against the crisp white sheets. She was still wearing her performance outfit: a beautiful, flowing white dance dress—once a symbol of graceful power, now crumpled and bearing a smudge of dirt from where she'd collapsed backstage. A thin tube snaked into the back of her hand, delivering a slow, rhythmic glucose drip.
Beside her, Jake sat hunched, his usual mask of cool indifference completely shattered. His golden hair was messy, and he looked genuinely frayed, running a hand over the back of his neck repeatedly. He wasn't the cold, calculated Jake everyone knew; this was a boy swallowed by worry.
Gabriella's eyelids fluttered open. The first thing she saw was Jake. She tried to sit up immediately, propelled by an almost primal need to escape the sickbed.
"Woah, easy," Jake said instantly, his voice low and unusually gentle. He helped her, his hand firm at her back, until she was propped up against the pillows.
"How are you feeling now?" he asked, his voice laced with concern she'd never heard from him before. He was the enemy, the one who always seemed a thousand degrees below freezing, yet here he was, treating her like something precious. The confusion made her stomach clench.
Jake leaned in, his hand lifting, intending to cup her cheek. But before his fingers could brush her skin, Gabriella's voice cut through the sterile silence, flat and sharp.
"Why did you rescue me?"
Jake froze. His hand hung suspended in the air.
Gabriella stared him down. You're Raina's friend, aren't you? Your friend just tried to kill me. Why are you here? she thought, the accusation hanging heavy between them.
"Did you expect me to leave if someone was in danger?" Jake replied, his voice recovering its normal cool edge, but his eyes were still searching hers. "I'm not like that. I'm human, too."
Gabriella's intense stare softened just slightly. "Do you help anyone in that situation?"
Jake blinked once, his own gaze intensifying until it felt like a physical pressure. "Not everyone."
Her breath hitched. She turned her eyes away, overwhelmed by the sudden, confusing heat in the room. He grabbed her jaw, his touch surprisingly soft yet commanding, and turned her face back to his.
"I don't want anything wrong to happen to you," he said, his voice dropping to a near-whisper that felt achingly sincere.
Gabriella's heart hammered against her ribs. She couldn't process the sudden surge of vulnerability and raw, unexpected feeling. This was the boy she was supposed to hate. She quickly removed his hand from her jaw, and Jake coughed, acting normal again, breaking the moment.
Just then, her phone buzzed. She picked it up, her expression changing instantly to effortless cheer. "How's your competition?" she asked, speaking to her cousin Han. A small, genuine smile touched her lips. "You won first prize? Congrats, bro! Everything's good here. Yeah, I did my performance well. Okay, bye."
She hung up.
Jake chuckled, leaning closer again. "You're good at lying."
Gabriella met his eyes, a flicker of something dangerous in her own. She winked. "Yes, I am. Aren't you?"
The smirk vanished. Her face went straight, the mood turning instantly serious. "Don't say anything to him about what happened here." She gave him a sharp, single-finger push to the chest.
Effortlessly, she yanked the glucose needle from her hand, ignoring the small pinprick of blood. Jake watched, fascinated and unnerved by her control. "I'm going." She walked out without a backward glance.
As the door clicked shut, Jake's smile curved into a sly, dangerous smirk. "She is interesting. Not like other girls."
A nurse rushed in, wide-eyed. "Where is the patient?"
Jake shrugged, the epitome of the nonchalant playboy. "She recovered. So she's gone."
"What? Did she take out the needle herself?" the nurse gasped.
Jake nodded. The nurse narrowed her eyes. He asked ,"Why did she faint?"
"She has anemia. Due to blood loss, she fainted. Tell her to intake iron-enriched food," the nurse rattled off.
Jake nodded, absorbing the medical fact, his mind already churning on how to use it.
Another proof
Outside, walking along the path that cut through the middle of the school grounds, Gabby met Dona and Ajax.
Dona, all rushed concern, ran to Gabriella and hugged her tight. "We went out to purchase some food for you! Is everything okay now?"
"Are you alright?" Ajax asked, his tone cool but his eyes serious.
Gabriella nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."
"Don't you think someone intended to kill you?" Ajax asked, his voice low and challenging.
Gabriella's lips curled into a cold smirk. "Yes."
Dona gasped, spinning around. "Who...?"
"Raina," Ajax finished, his expression grim.
Dona widened her eyes in disbelief. "She did it? Seriously?"
"She's revealing her true nature now," Gabriella said coldly.
Dona started to speak, a panicked look on her face. "She would… I know she even dared to kill—"
"Dona!" Gabriella shouted, silencing her.
Dona froze, realizing her mistake. Oh no, I was about to say Kevin's name. I forgot Ajax is here!
"What?" Ajax demanded.
"I was saying... how dare she kill Gabriella!" Dona stammered, breathing out a sigh of relief.
Ajax stared intently at Dona, who forced an awkward smile. "Why are you starting at me this intense? Don't say that you have feelings for me!"
Ajax was genuinely shocked. "What? Me? No way!" he sputtered. Dona seized the chance to change the topic, and won. Gabriella managed a small smile at their familiar chaos.
"I have to go now," Gabriella cut in.
"Wait, Gabriella," Ajax said. He held out his hand, showing her a small, elegant golden lighter. It was tarnished and darkened, clearly old.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Why are you showing this useless item now? Do you smoke?" Dona asked, looking disgusted.
Ajax rolled his eyes. "Why are you always annoying me?"
"What? Me? You're the one always teasing me!"
"Stop it, guys," Gabriella said, annoyed. They both instantly silenced themselves. "Tell me, Ajax."
"When your people were renovating the school auditorium, I was there. I found this," he explained.
Gabriella's expression hardened. "I know. Raina did that fire accident in the school auditorium. Why are you investigating it? I already know who did this."
"No," Ajax said, staring back at her sharply. "Someone did it for her." He pressed the tarnished lighter into Gabriella's hand. "I thought no one was helping her since she lost the school election, but I'm sure now. Someone in our school is helping Raina."
"We have to find that person," Gabriella agreed, clutching the lighter. "I have to go now. Dona, are you coming with me?"
Dona nodded. "See you later, Ajax." He waved as they walked away, the silent threat of Raina's helper hanging over them.
Bitter Truth
Later that evening, Gabriella and Dona, now dressed in casual jeans and tops—incognito clothes for serious detective work—stood in front of an apartment door.
A woman in her mid-forties, Jasmine, opened the door. She smiled warmly when she saw Gabriella, who smiled back and hugged her tightly. "Auntie."
Jasmine was the mother of Kevin.
"You're so beautiful," Dona commented honestly.
"Oh, thank you dear. Who is this?" Jasmine asked.
"My friend," Gabriella replied.
Jasmine invited them inside, serving cookies and coffees. While Dona happily crunched on cookies, Jasmine and Gabriella talked.
"How is your new school so far? Do you like it? Are the bullies bullying you again?" Jasmine asked, the familiar worry of a second mother in her eyes.
"No," Gabriella smiled.
Dona whispered loud enough for Jasmine to hear, "She's actually a nightmare for the school bullies now.I mean, She's the school representative at Brighton Wisdom."
Jasmine's smile faded. "Are you studying at Brighton Wisdom?"
Gabriella immediately noticed the shift in her expression. "Yes."
Jasmine quickly covered her pain with a strained, fake smile. "Kevin studied there." She looked like she was about to cry.
Gabriella immediately hugged her. "Don't worry, Auntie." And she thought, "I won't leave Raina for what she did to our Kevin."
Jasmine slowly removed Gabriella's hand, offering a sad smile. "Do you want to see Kevin's room?"
Gabriella nodded. They entered Kevin's room—a time capsule of a life brutally cut short. Jasmine picked up an old childhood photo of Gabriella and Kevin.
"Look! You are cute, and Kevin too," Dona said, looking at the photo with excitement.
Jasmine laughed softly. "Yes. He was a chubby boy and loved to eat candy a lot. Look, he has one in his hand."
Gabriella drifted back to her shared past with Kevin. They had been friends since kindergarten. She remembered how he took every single blame for her mischievous antics and her bolder moves in punishing bullies. Coming back to the harsh reality, a single tear dropped from her eye.
Jasmine gently noticed. "Don't cry. He will always be with us."
"He is the best gift I ever got as a friend," Gabriella whispered.
Jasmine wiped her tears. "Do you know, when you two were in fifth standard, you acted as a boy and he acted as a girl?"
Gabriella nodded, a true smile finally breaking through. "And he was so cute! Sometimes we teased him for playing the girl role."
Dona watched their loving interaction, getting emotional herself.
"Aren't you late?" Jasmine asked gently.
"Are you not going to give us dinner?" Gabriella teased.
"Of course!" Jasmine turned and left the room.
The moment Jasmine was gone, Gabriella's eyes sharpened, scanning the room. "Dona, search. I know we'll get evidence here."
Dona started searching in a box. Gabriella searched the wardrobe. She found a hoodie she had gifted Kevin for his eleventh birthday. She smiled faintly. He had kept it. Wiping her eyes, she closed the door.
"Did you get anything?" she asked.
"Nothing," Dona replied, holding a remote-controlled car.
Gabriella grabbed it. "We used to fight over for this car." She closed her eyes briefly, holding the memory close.
"Gabriella, control yourself. We have to focus," Dona urged.
Gabriella nodded, turning to focus on a dusty personal computer. "Let's check that computer."
"It has a password," Dona pointed out.
"Type 13102005," Gabriella instructed. Dona typed it. "His birthday?" It didn't work.
Gabriella looked confused. "Try yours," Dona suggested.
"Mine? No way!" But Dona typed it and hit Enter. Also no luck.
Suddenly, Gabriella snapped her fingers. "Let's check Raina's birthday."
"But I don't know it," Dona said.
Gabriella smirked. "I know. If you have an enemy, you have to know everything about them—even their birthday."
Dona entered the date as 22122005. This time, the computer unlocked.
"Why did he put her birthday as the password?" Gabriella whispered, the confusion turning into a cold dread.
"Look! He has a digital diary!" Dona exclaimed.
"Really?" They both stared at the screen.
"Is that right to read someone's diary?" Dona asked nervously.
"We are here to find out the truth. Don't think that way," Gabriella said, her voice hard.
She started reading. She found an entry where Kevin wrote about Gabriella as his role model, admiring her boldness. "I don't know. I thought he was a benevolent boy," Gabriella whispered, confused by her own friend's dual nature.
"Everybody has two faces," Dona confirmed, looking over her shoulder. "You only know what they are showing you, but they have their own hidden face."
Gabriella stared at her. "Do you have one?"
Dona froze. "What?"
Gabriella turned back to the screen.
"Just go through the dates before he was killed by Raina," Dona advised.
Gabriella skimmed the entries until she found a post ten days before Kevin's death. Her eyes widened, reading the words on the screen.
"I love Raina. I couldn't imagine a world without her."
She kept reading.
"I always want to protect her. I won't let anything happen to her."
Gabriella gasped, sinking back against the chair.
"What? I was checking a message on my phone," Dona asked, confused by Gabriella's shock.
Gabriella looked at Dona, her face pale, the drive for revenge suddenly hitting a massive wall of doubt.
"I don't think Raina killed him," Gabriella whispered. "The person I swore to avenge... the person who caused your death... you actually wanted to protect her."
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What happens next?
The discovery that Kevin loved Raina changes everything! If he didn't die because of her, then who did he want to protect her from?
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