“I’m not the only one he’s bullied. It’s not just me, not just my class. If I’m going to start something, I might as well make it big.”
The controversy raged on for over two weeks, and by the time the exam results were released, it had reached its peak.
Because this time, I had scored nearly twenty points higher than I had in my past life, securing the top spot in the entire province.
My value skyrocketed.
And finally, the Scott family had no choice but to send someone with real influence to negotiate with me.
My adoptive parents called, over and over, ordering me to come home.
When I finally pushed open the door and saw Juliette waiting inside, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Miss Scott, I told you that we’d meet again.”
Juliette looked at me, her sharp eyes flashing with anger before it was quickly replaced by a mask of poised indifference.
“Lucy Lowe, just name your terms.”
Feigning confusion, I tilted my head. “Terms? What terms?”
My adoptive father slammed his palm against the table.
“Drop the act! Lucy, know when to quit while you’re ahead!“‘
I didn’t need to guess that the Lowe and Scott families had likely already struck some kind of deal behind my back.
My adoptive mother’s expression was just as cold.
“We took you in when you were ten. We raised you for years, and now you want to turn against us?”
“Turn against you?”
1/2
+25 BONUS
Chapter 10.
I let out a laugh, as if I had just heard the most ridiculous joke.
“You took me in because my father, a distant relative of yours, died saving your family. You were afraid of being branded as ungrateful, so you went to the orphanage and brought me back.
“A life for a life–and in exchange, I spent eight years in your house as nothing more than a servant. And now, somehow, I owe you?”
I had no patience for this anymore.
Standing up from the couch, I turned and walked to my room, packed my documents, and slung my violin case over my shoulder.
When I stepped out the door, Juliette was still sitting there unmoving.
Her gaze burned with undisguised hatred.
It was the kind of contempt that came from someone at the top looking down–pure, seething malice toward those who dared to challenge them.
I smiled.
“Miss Scott, before coming here today, you must have already guessed that I wouldn’t agree to a truce, right?”
She let out a quiet scoff.
“I just wanted to see for myself if you were as foolish as I imagined.”
She rose from her seat, the sharp click of her heels echoing through the room.
Taller than me by a head, exuding absolute authority, she gazed down with cold indifference.
“And now, I see that you are. The whole ‘wrath of the oppressed‘ nonsense? That’s just a saying—it doesn’t actually mean anything. You don’t really believe that, do you?”
Her lips curled into a frigid, mocking smile.
“You’ve made an enemy of the Scott family. Let’s see if you can handle the consequences.”
