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Crestwood Academy was known for its academic rigor and stellar university acceptance rates. Our two, schools, despite being rivals, had a friendly relationship, which was why their students were invited on the trip.
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At the evening gala, students from both schools mingled. I spotted Willow fluttering around like a social butterfly, a stark contrast to the modest Crestwood students. She cornered several sons of prominent famil-
ies, shamelessly toasting them.
I was about to go find Penelope when a calm voice stopped me.
“Miss Vance, may I have a moment?”
I turned. A tall, handsome boy stood before me. It was Julian Croft, Crestwood’s top student–the one I had
just beaten on the exam.
I knew who he was. In my past life, he had built a revolutionary tech startup, the brightest unicorn company in the city, only to have it hostilely acquired by Ethan Sterling through underhanded means. Julian left the city, and Ethan, lacking the skill to lead, ran the company into the ground within two years, destroying Julian‘
s life’s work.
Looking at his handsome, still slightly boyish face, I smiled with a sense of shared history. “Of course, Mr.
Croft.”
We quickly discovered we thought and spoke in the same way. We ended up sitting on a sofa, lost in conve-
rsation. He told me that his literature teacher, trying to improve his writing, had made him memorize my essays for an entire year. He said he admired my expansive worldview and assumed I was a person of great
integrity.
I had to laugh. My math teacher had done the exact same thing to me with his exam papers, forcing me to analyze his problem–solving methods. We shared a smile of mutual, comical suffering.
That’s when Ethan found us. He saw me laughing, covering my mouth with my hand, and Julian with his arm
protectively behind me to keep me from losing my balance.
“Lillian,” Ethan sneered, “can’t you live without a man for five seconds? The moment I’m gone, you’re already cozying up to someone else?”
Julian glanced at him once, then turned back to me.
Seeing that we were ignoring him, Ethan exploded. “I’m your fiancé, and you’re flirting with another man right
in front of me, you shameless bitch!”
Julian’s expression didn’t change. “If you are Miss Vance’s fiancé,” he said calmly, “then why were you kissing the young lady in the purple dress in the hallway just now?”
Willow was the only one at the party wearing a purple dress.
Ethan’s face turned a blotchy red. Before he could retort, I cut him off. “Don’t be such a hypocrite, Ethan. You call me shameless for talking to another man, but what does that make you for kissing Willow behind my back? I can’t live up to your ridiculous standards. So when we get back, my parents and I will be paying your family a visit to officially break off the engagement.”
With that, Julian and I stood up and went to the dance floor.
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Chapter 2
Julian’s parents were teachers. They weren’t wealthy, but they had raised a son who was well–mannered, inte- lligent, and respectful. I was impressed. If I could form a partnership with him, the Vance family could invest
in his future startup and reap the rewards.
After I announced my intention to end the engagement, Ethan threw all caution to the wind, spending the night with Willow. Meanwhile, Julian and I exchanged contact information and made a pact to attend Nort- hwood University together.
