"Then is the person she likes Paul? Because she slept with him on my couch. Now I have to buy a new villa. No amount of cleaning chemicals can clean that scene from my house, or my eyes," Aiden said as he sip his drink.
He spoke casually, as if talking about something that irritated him calmly.
Instantly, Sam, Prince, Drake, and King burst out laughing.Solomon shook his head.
"And those sweet words she was saying... I got goosebumps," Solomon said, making Paul chuckle.
Paul chuckled, crossing his legs as he stared down at Virtue. "There are a lot of girls that like me. She should stay in line."
Virtue had gone pale—very pale, like she has no blood in her body.
Surrounding them, the other four elite girls on the chair covered their mouths to stop themselves from laughing, mockery, pity, gossip, and amusement in their eyes each.
Virtue's mind went to the morning. She thought she drugged Aiden, who knew it was Paul.
So this morning, she lay on his chest saying sweet nothing and how he took her innocence and he should be responsible, only to be kicked away and cash thrown on her face mocking her for overestimating herself—that she was just like the prostitute he had been with.
As if it wasn't enough, Aiden and the rest came down and saw her like that, naked.
Aiden didn't even give her a second glance, telling the servant to throw her out and the couch, then walk away.Thinking of that, virtue nearly fainted.
It was Sophia who hugged her, glaring at the boys.
"Stop it, you guys!" Sophia snapped, her voice trembling with righteous defense. "And Paul, how can you say such a thing? I thought better of you."
She acted flawlessly—looking as though she had been completely unaware of Virtue's horrific predicament until this very second, shielding her pawn while the countdown to the real disaster ticked away.
"What is there to brag about? At the end of the day, I was the one doing all the work while you just lay there. Is it that you are bad in bed? Leaving bruises doesn't mean you are good in bed," Virtue fired back, glaring at Paul, whose smile had fallen from his face.
Sam pinched his lip to stop himself from laughing, Aiden covered his mouth as he chuckled.
Prince and King burst out laughing. Drake and Solomon shook their heads
"You fucking bitch, you drug me and you dare talk shit about me?!" Paul yelled.
"Dude, calm down. You are bringing attention here," Drake whispered, not like he cared much.
Virtue swallowed, glaring at Paul. If Aiden knows she tried to drug him, she is dead.
And she can't say she tried to drug the other; they are all sons of Top and Mid Grey families, while her family is just a Top Noble family. So she can't even say he wasn't her target.
But if she is going down, he is going down too.
"So what if I drugged you? Don't you always like those kinds of things? Who haven't heard your private life? Isn't this how you spice things up? And anyway, you were talking that I am eyeing my friend's man, but you know very well the girl's name you whispered," Virtue said, a mocking smile on her face.
Paul mocked her, yet was he not eyeing Sophia? Disgusting.
Who does he think he is? Sophia did not choose Aiden, why would she choose a guy like Paul with no future at all but to spend his father's money?He is mocking her, but if she exposed him, Aiden would kill him, Sophia thought.
Back on stage, the host had announced the winners of the dance challenge was Crownside, so Crownside High three points, Averis two points.
It was the last competition that would show if it would be a tie or a huge defeat for Averis.The west side—the journalists, paparazzi, reporters, and news anchors—were already debating as their crew recorded.
The stage was quickly rearranged for the final competition.
A large worktable was brought to the center, covered with neatly organized building materials, miniature structures, tiny roads, artificial greenery, transparent panels, tools, and several sealed compartments containing special materials that the participants could choose from.
The challenge was simple in theory. The two schools would each send two students to construct a miniature city from scratch.
But with the competition tied so closely, everyone knew it would be anything but simple.
The participants from both schools took their positions on opposite sides of the table.
The Crownside students waited. Then Ava walked onto the stage.
She had changed into a taupe knit long-sleeve top with an asymmetrical one-shoulder neckline that dipped lower on one side.
The crinkle-textured fabric gathered into a ruched body, with thin drawstrings hanging at the sides.
The sleeves flared dramatically at the wrists. Her high-waisted cargo trousers were a deep chocolate brown, loose and baggy, with button-flap detailing around the structured waistband and utility straps hanging casually from the side pockets.
Her thick two-toned sneakers matched the outfit perfectly, their beige canvas uppers contrasting with the deep chocolate-brown platform soles and toe caps.
Small brown drop earrings framed her face—an oval metallic-gold stud connected to a rounded dark amber-brown pendant.
Her red hair was pulled into a sleek high bun at the crown of her head, leaving two thin, straight strands framing her face. She wore no makeup.
She didn't need it.Ava walked toward the table with an easy expression, her eyes briefly scanning the materials.
The host stepped forward."Participants, you may begin!"
The timer above the stage displayed:
30:00
A murmur moved through the hall.
Thirty minutes.
Not enough time to waste.
The host raised his microphone.
"This is the final challenge of the competition. Both teams have thirty minutes. You may divide the work however you wish, but once the clock reaches zero, your hands must leave the table."
He paused.
"And remember—beauty alone will not win. The judges will be looking at structure, creativity, efficiency, detail, and how well the entire city works as one design.
A timer appeared above the stage.
Ava and her male teammate, immediately got to work.
The male teammate organized the materials while Ava examined the layout.
"Foundation first," Ava said. The male team nodded and began preparing the structural materials.
Ava carefully measured the base, positioning the miniature roads and determining where each section of the city would eventually stand.
Around the hall, students leaned forward.
The judges watched closely.
Cameras zoomed in.
The seconds began disappearing.Ava remained completely focused.
Then she noticed the special-material cabinet.
She straightened The judges had allowed each school to choose one special material from the cabinet, something that could give their miniature city an additional advantage.
Ava walked toward it. At the opposite side of the stage, Virtue's attention immediately sharpened.
She stopped breathing for a moment, Her eyes remained fixed on Ava.
Ava opened the cabinet,She reached inside.Something moved.
A thin, almost invisible object suddenly shot toward her wrist.
Ava reacted instantly. She jerked her hand away.
The sharp object missed its intended point, but its edge still sliced across her wrist.
A tiny gasp escaped somewhere in the audience.
But most people hadn't seen what happened.
The object was nearly transparent, resembling a thin piece of glass under the stage lights.
From a distance, it was practically impossible to see.
Ava didn't say a word. She simply reached into the cabinet, selected the material she wanted, and walked back to the table. The male classmates glanced at her."You okay?"
"Fine," Ava replied.
She continued building. At first, nobody noticed anything.
Then the camera operator zoomed in. Blood was running down Ava's hand.
A lot of it. The camera immediately shifted closer.A teacher near the control station suddenly stood. "Go back. Replay that."The footage was rewound.
Then slowed.
The entire hall watched the replay.Ava opening the cabinet. Her hand reaching inside.
The almost invisible object shooting forward.
Ava pulling away just in time. The object slicing her wrist.Silence spread through the hall.
Then the footage stopped on the moment the object disappeared back into the cabinet.
The crowd finally understood. Someone had deliberately tried to injure Ava.
And they had done it during a competition being broadcast in front of hundreds of people.
Yet Ava hadn't stopped. She continued constructing the miniature city as though nothing had happened. Her hand trembled slightly as she worked.
When the camera moved closer to her face, her eyes appeared glossy. It looked as though she was fighting back tears.
The effect was immediate. Camera flashes exploded across the West Section.
Reporters began talking over one another. Journalists stood from their seats.
Paparazzi pushed toward the edge of their section, cameras raised. News anchors hurriedly spoke to their crews."What just happened?"
"Was that deliberate?"
"Who planted the object?"
"Replay the footage!"
The entire West Section descended into chaos.
Everyone understood the implications.
If Ava had screamed and refused to continue, people could have accused Crownside of sabotaging the competition to secure the final points. But she hadn't.
Crownside already had three points. Their miniature city was coming together beautifully.
And now Ava was bleeding and still refusing to stop.
That made the situation far worse for anyone who might try to blame Crownside.
Onstage, the Averis participants had an even clearer view of Ava's injury.
They could see the blood. They could see the cut. And they knew exactly where the blame would fall.
On them.Their hands began trembling. One of them tried to continue placing a structure but missed its position completely.
Her teammate stared at the model without moving.
They couldn't concentrate.Across the hall, the North Section was equally tense.
Jennie bit her lower lip so hard that her expression tightened. Her heart hammered against her chest.
Nobody from Averis was looking at the scoreboard anymore. They were all watching Ava.
Ava, meanwhile, kept building. Piece by piece. Road by road. Structure by structure. Until finally—"Time!"The timer stopped. The audience erupted. Everyone stood and applauded.
Ava lowered her hands from the miniature city.
Only then did the blood on her wrist become impossible to ignore.
Nurses rushed onto the stage. The head teacher of Student Affairs followed them, along with several teachers and representatives from the Averis delegation.
The nurses immediately surrounded Ava. "Easy. We have you."Ava allowed them to guide her away.
The host stepped toward the microphone, but instead of announcing the winner, he paused."Ladies and gentlemen, while the judges review the final creations, let's give everyone a moment to breathe." He turned toward the side of the stage.
"And now, please welcome our next celebrity performer!"Music began playing.
The audience gradually turned toward the stage again, but the tension hadn't disappeared.
Everyone was waiting for the final result.
The door closed behind Ava.
The moment it did, the tears vanished.
There wasn't a trace of the frightened expression she'd worn in front of the cameras
.Ava sat calmly on the examination bed while the nurse cleaned and bandaged both of her hands.
The cuts were superficial.
The blade had only grazed the skin and hadn't reached any vital structures.
"The bleeding looks worse than the injury actually is," the nurse explained.
"The skin was cut, but nothing important was damaged. Most of the blood came from the pressure applied afterward. Pressing on an open cut can actually make the bleeding look much worse."
"Hmm." Ava stared down at her bandaged hands with a bored expression.The nurse continued.
"You should be able to move your hands normally once the swelling settles."the nurse said
Ava tilted her head. That thing wasn't aimed at making me bleed A small chuckle escaped her. It was aimed at my hand,Her eyes slowly filled with mischief. If it had landed properly, my hand could have been damaged badly enough to make raising my hand up hard. Whoever did this wasn't trying to scare me.
She looked toward the nurse. "You know what to say, right?"
The nurse paused. For a second, she simply stared at Ava. Then she understood. She nodded.
The clinic's private room was vast and split into an examination area and a sprawling lounge that mirrored a high-end suite in a seven-star hotel.
The walls were panelled in soft, warm-white lacquer and seamless sheets of pale, matte-polished wood.
A massive floor-to-ceiling smart window occupied the entire left side of the room, looking out over the manicured courtyard of Crownside High, completely soundproofed against the media circus outside.
Near the window sat a curved sofa upholstered in a dense, cream-colored cashmere blend, surrounding a low table carved from a single slab of translucent dark amber gemstone.
Overhead, the recessed lighting adjusted dynamically, emitting a gentle gold aura that highlighted the pristine medical cabinets.
These storage units were flushed completely flat against the wall, their touch-sensitive glass interfaces remaining dark unless activated by a senior doctor's biometric scan.
The medical bed itself was wide and layered with premium silk-textured linens, complete with a built-in diagnostics system that projected a faint, transparent holographic interface to track vitals.
The entire room smelled faintly of expensive white tea and freshly laundered linen, completely masking any sterile chemical scent.
When the heavy door clicked open and the Head of Student Affairs entered, followed by the sweating Averis teacher and the two high officials, Ava didn't just sit rigidly on the bed.
She was slouched lazily against the plush, oversized medical pillows, one knee bent up as her fingers toyed with the long drawstring of her cargo trousers.
She looked like a bored cat. Her red hair, pulled tightly into that high bun, caught the ambient gold light, making her completely unvarnished, makeup-free face look maddeningly angelic.
"How is she?" the Head of Student Affairs asked, his voice cracking slightly as he practically sprinted into the room.
He wiped his palms against his suit. Internally, his mind was a disaster zone.
The Quinn family could flatten this entire region if they wanted to talkes of Ava parents Nathan and Emily Not even the owner of Crownside High or the owner family could save the faculty.
The Head of Student Affairs cursed his the higher up of the school internally; why did he have to be the one pushed out to clean up this catastrophic mess? He was only given this job because he could occasionally handle Ava's these ancestors chaotic whims, mostly because Ava found him wildly entertaining.
The nurse, playing her part flawlessly, smoothed a cooling herbal layer over the shallow graze on Ava's wrist before fastening a crisp white bandage.
"Bad," the nurse lied with absolute gravity, adjusting the holographic screen beside the bed to display a faked spike in local tissue inflammation. "The blade missed the vital tendons by a fraction, but the deep micro-tears are severe. She won't be able to use her hand for a month."