Stripped of Dignity

The next second, Daniel's impatient voice blasted through the line. "Serena, will you quit already? Calling nonstop like your life depends on it."

The sound of his voice froze me in place. Before I could speak, the call cut off with a cold, flat beep.

My face went rigid with fury. I raised my phone to dial again and shouted, "Daniel borrowed this jet from me for one dollar! I have the proof!"

Clara's expression darkened. She snatched the phone from my hand, smashed it to the ground, and slapped me hard across the face.

"Daniel? Borrowed a jet from you? Who do you think you are? At least make your lies believable. A single dollar, and you expect anyone to believe you own a jet?"

Her mocking gaze raked over me. "Serena, stop pretending. Just looking at your shabby self makes me sick."

She pulled out her own phone and started dialing.

On the screen, the name "Dan" flashed, sharp as a blade to the heart.

The call connected almost immediately. I jumped in before she could speak. "Daniel, why is my jet—"

Another slap from Clara cut me off mid-sentence.

Daniel's voice came, sharp and unfamiliar. "Who is this? Are you done? And why are you holding Clara's phone? What did you do to her?"

My chest tightened. Daniel and I had grown up side by side.

For ten years, he had shielded me and cared for me. He knew how particular I was about cleanliness, and he would always wipe down my seat before I sat.

Ten years. This same Daniel, the boy who used to slip painkillers and a chocolate bar into my backpack when I had my period, was now pretending he had never even known me.

Clara's eyes glittered with triumph as she swung her arm, slapping me across the face again and again.

Then, she turned to the phone, her voice breaking into pitiful sobs. "Dan, hurry… Someone hit me. She's so mean. I'm scared."

The moment Daniel heard Clara's voice, his tone softened, patient and tender. "Clare, don't be afraid. Who laid a hand on you? I'm coming right now."

Around us, a few onlookers began whispering.

"Wait, the tail really does have an engraving. It looks scratched."

"No way. That jet was a gift from Daniel. You must be blind."

Clara hung up, her expression flickering, but she quickly recovered and raised her voice to the crowd. "You all heard him! Daniel doesn't even know her! She's just jealous, pretending to own a jet so she can ride on our fame. Pathetic!"

She jabbed a finger hard at my face. "Serena, have you lost your mind from being broke? How dare you covet the jet Daniel gave me?"

I stayed silent, and Clara took my quiet as guilt. With a sudden shove, she knocked me back.

"What's wrong? Out of lies already? Keep pretending! You show up in those ten-dollar canvas sneakers, taking a cab to campus, and you still have the nerve to talk about owning a jet?"

Her entourage began to jeer.

"Yeah! Lying parasite, get out of here. Don't dirty our campus queen bee's spot!"

"Probably never even been on a plane, and she's out here acting like some heiress."

I cut in coldly, my voice steady. "Whether that jet is mine isn't for you to decide."

I turned, ready to board and retrieve my papers, but Clara yanked me back with a vicious grip.

She looked at me as though I were filth. "If you dirty my jet, could you even afford to pay for it?"

Her pull threw me off balance, and I fell hard to my knees.

"The leather seats on this jet cost more than your entire life." She sneered. "Selling you wouldn't cover the damage."

I gritted my teeth and forced myself up, ignoring the searing pain in my knees as I moved toward the boarding stairs.

Inside the storage compartment were all the documents proving the jet was mine and even the treasured recording of my very first flight.

However, the moment I set foot on the first step, Clara came charging after me like she'd lost her mind. She yanked my hair from behind with brutal force, dragging me down.

With a sickening thud, I hit the concrete hard.

"Who said you could get on that jet, you worthless brat?"

Clara ground her heel into the back of my hand, looming over me with a vicious glare.

"Serena, be smart and admit you're a liar. Otherwise, you won't be walking out of this campus today."

I glared back at her, pain burning through me, and forced out the words. "My people are on their way. Let me go right now, or else—"

She barked out a laugh, as if I had told the most ridiculous joke she'd ever heard. Then, she slammed my head against the ground.

"Or else what? You think you have people? In Kingston, who would dare go against Daniel?"

She kept smashing my head down until warm blood trickled across my cheek and splattered on her shoes.

Clara lifted her foot and rubbed her shoe against my face with contempt. "Filthy blood from a pauper like you. Look what you did to my shoes. Lick it off!"

I spat at her instead, rage flaring through the pain.

Her eyes blazed with even crueler malice. "Still defiant? Someone like you couldn't afford a plane ticket even if you sold yourself. But lucky you, I'm feeling generous today. I'll let you experience what it's like to board a jet."

With that, Clara seized my collar and tore it open in one violent yank.

The fabric ripped with a harsh, splitting sound. A long tear spread across my blouse.

A few girls in the crowd turned away, unable to stomach the sight, but several guys immediately whipped out their phones, shoving their cameras in my face.

"Come on, let's get her some glamour shots. Didn't she love posing with jets? Let's give her the experience of a lifetime."

Clara yanked my blouse wider, exposing more of my skin. "Smile for the camera, princess. What's wrong? Not acting like an heiress now?"

I tried to shield my face, but a group of boys rushed over and pinned my arms down.

"Don't hide, Miss Heiress. Smile nicely and I'll even line up some clients for you."

As if that weren't enough, Clara reached for my waistband with a sneer. "Take them off. They're worthless anyway. Who knows? Maybe some rich man with special tastes will pay a little extra for you."

"Let go of me!" My throat tore with the force of my scream. "Clara, you'll regret this!"

"Regret it? The only thing I regret is not exposing your lies sooner."

The whispers around us swelled.

"This is going too far. She doesn't deserve this."

"Yeah, liar or not, this is—"

Clara snapped her head toward them, her glare cutting like a knife. "One more word, and I'll deal with you too."

The crowd fell silent at once.

Clara, mistaking the daze in my eyes for fear, grew bolder. She tugged at me, arranging me like a doll.

"Don't touch me!" My voice broke into a roar as I gathered every ounce of strength left in me. My palm cracked against her cheek in a sharp, echoing slap.

Clara's head snapped to the side, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth. She stared at me, stunned, clutching her face.

"How dare you hit me?" Her voice shook with madness as she lunged.

But just then, the crowd rippled with sudden commotion. "Daniel's here!"

I jerked my head up.

And there he was, Daniel, dressed in the custom-made suit I had given him only two days ago, striding through the parting crowd toward me.

He Protected Her

Daniel's gaze landed on Clara first.

When he saw her swollen face and the blood at the corner of her mouth, his expression dropped like a stone. "Clare!"

He rushed over, gathered her into his arms, his voice raw with worry. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

Tears spilled from Clara's eyes as she sobbed, barely able to breathe. "Dan, she's lost her mind. She pretended to own the jet and then hit me."

Only then did Daniel look up at me. He looked flustered and, as if on instinct, turned away.

"I'm in so much pain." Clara gasped. "What if I'm disfigured? What will I do then?"

Daniel smoothed her cheek. When his eyes fell on the phone smashed into pieces on the ground, his features settled into composure.

He looked at me with utter disgust. "Serena, how did I never realize you were capable of something this cruel?"

Watching him protect Clara felt like an invisible hand crushing my heart until I couldn't breathe.

"Cruel?" I managed, laughing through my tears.

He had once leapt into a fight for me after I'd been shoved. He had told me, 'I will always protect you.'

Ten years of us, and this was all it came to.

I pointed at the ruined jet, my voice shaking. "Daniel, this is the jet you borrowed from me. It's my jet."

"Your jet?" A flicker of unease passed through Daniel's eyes, quickly replaced by arrogance.

"Serena, can't you at least come up with a halfway decent lie? You've been making things up since you were a kid. You're nothing but eaten up with jealousy. Clara's been patient with you, and you still shove it back in her face."

Clara cried harder in his arms.

Daniel wiped the blood from her mouth, then turned to me, hard. "Anyone who hits my girl has to pay."

He took a drag of his cigarette, bent down suddenly, and with a sharp twist of his wrist pressed the lit tip against my forearm. "You forced me," he said.

The skin seared with a sharp, metallic sting. The smell of burning flesh filled the air.

I screamed, cold sweat breaking out, pain knocking the breath out of me.

He flicked his chin at the bodyguards behind him, his eyes hard. "Grab her."

I backed away on instinct. "Daniel, what are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" He held Clara tight, forcing the pity out of his eyes, and said coldly, "You love claiming other people's jets as your own, don't you? Let's give you a taste of being hung upside down."

He pointed at the landing gear. "Hoist her up there. Make her think about what she's done."

Shattered Trust

Clara nestled into his arms, pretending to be timid. "Dan, do you think this is—"

Daniel cut her off, running his hand through her hair with a look full of affection. "After everything you've been through, this little lesson is nothing."

Everyone around them fell silent, afraid to make a sound.

I glared at Daniel, speaking each word like a blade. "Ten years of friendship… Does that mean nothing to you? Daniel, let go of me. I'm willing to forgive and forget. But if you don't, you'll regret it."

He paused, a shadow of something unreadable crossing his eyes. "Regret? You didn't think about that when you hit Clara. Raise her higher."

The ropes tightened suddenly; my feet were bound to the landing gear, and my body was lifted off the ground. The sudden weightlessness made my heart skip a beat.

They hoisted me even higher, and I swayed in the air like a rag doll in the wind. My torn clothes hung in tatters. The freezing wind cut through me, leaving me exposed and shivering.

I cried out in humiliation and pain, tears streaming uncontrollably.

Laughter erupted all around me.

"Look at her tattered clothes. She's so trashy. Hanging there and still acting stubborn."

"Showing off her chest on purpose to tempt Daniel. Trying to catch a sugar daddy, huh?"

"What a desperate slut, always trying to land someone rich and powerful!"

Someone raised a phone to take pictures. I instinctively tried to cover my face. But my hands were bound tightly behind me, and any movement exposed even more of my skin.

Clara leaned against Daniel, looking up at me.

"Shameless liar!"

People twisted open water bottles and dumped the water on me.

"Get out of our school! Don't pollute our eyes!"

"Trash! Apologize to Clara already!"

I closed my eyes. Dizziness flooded my nerves; blood rushed to my head, and I felt faint. I stared at Daniel as tears mixed with blood on my face.

Maybe he felt the hatred radiating off me. Maybe he'd had his fun. Finally, in a rare act of mercy, he lifted his hand and signaled for someone to lower me.

I collapsed to the ground, disheveled and still too stunned to move.

Henry Chase, the school counselor, pushed his way through the crowd toward me. "Serena! Look at you! Causing a scene at school, parading around like that, trying to seduce a man. Have you no shame?"

I tried to push myself up, but the sharp pain in my wrists froze me. Weakly, I said, "Mr. Chase, it wasn't me—"

"Not you? All the students told me otherwise! You lied to Clara about owning the jet, got caught, and then hit her! And now you're lying there half-dressed like a slut! Where does this leave the school's reputation?"

The surrounding students chimed in immediately.

"Exactly! She's terrible!"

"Get her out of here!"

With Daniel's arm around her, Clara approached, face partially hidden, her eyes red from crying. "Mr. Chase, Serena probably just lost her head for a moment. Don't be too hard on her. She struggled through high school, so getting into Kingston University was no small feat."

A hint of amusement lingered in Clara's eyes, and Daniel echoed her. "Yeah. Serena wasn't exactly a genius. Funny how she still got into Kingston University!"

Henry's eyes sharpened instantly. "Struggling through school and still getting into Kingston University? I think you cheated your way in. No wonder your behavior is so appalling!"

The murmurs around me grew louder, and my classmates looked at me with deeper disgust.

"No wonder. This is sickening."

"She must've cheated. Kick her out now, or Kingston University's reputation will be ruined by her!"

I gripped the jet's fuselage and forced myself to my feet through the pain. "I didn't lie. I didn't cheat."

I looked at Daniel, tears streaming down my face. "Daniel, do you forget senior year? Who stayed up with you in the library drilling problems until midnight? Who went over those calculus questions with you again and again?"

Daniel's eyes flickered. He turned away, voice cold and clipped. "Those old things don't matter. Besides, if anyone were going to teach, it would've been me. Look at your pathetic grades. Honestly embarrassing."

Henry snapped, "Enough, Serena! The witnesses and evidence all point to you cheating! Look at yourself! You take every shortcut, break every rule. You're nothing but a morally corrupt, academically dishonest disgrace!"

He pulled out his phone. "I'll report this to the Education Bureau right now. You'll be finished for life."

"Mr. Chase, my documents are in the jet. Just wait until I get them out."

Daniel stepped forward to stop me. "Cut the act."

"Get out of my way!" I gritted my teeth and shoved him off.

Henry sneered. "I want to see what trick you can pull. If you can't produce it, get out right now."

Clara sneered and pulled a small knife from her bag. "You dared to snatch my stuff and can't prove it? I'll make sure you can never show your face again."

I took a steadying breath and, despite the pain, climbed the boarding stairs.

The cockpit was a complete mess. The storage compartment where the documents should have been had been ransacked. Flight manuals lay scattered across the floor, but the dark brown document folder was nowhere to be found.

"Impossible!" My heart dropped.

My hands shook as I checked every item scattered on the floor, one by one. I even searched the seat crevices.

"Find anything?" Clara called from behind me. "If you can't, stop wasting everyone's time. Do you think the rest of us are as worthless as you?"

I whirled on her, fury spilling from my eyes. "You took it, didn't you?"

Daniel stepped into the cockpit. Clara recoiled, feigning shock, and let herself fall into his arms. "Serena, the show's over. Dan already gave me the jet. It's registered in my name now."

With a triumphant smile, she pulled a thin folder from her fake designer bag. It was the aircraft title. I snatched it and flipped it open. My eyes widened. It was supposed to be my jet, but the title bore Clara's name in bold.

In the next instant, Clara lunged with the knife. At the same time, dozens of private jets thundered low, sweeping over the school roof.

"Oh my God… Look at this fleet! So many private jets!"

"Looks like Serena's finished for good."

The cabin door eased open, and a familiar figure filled the doorway.