Kenneth pushed the door open, apology written all over his face, both hands loaded down with bags.

When he saw me, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and swept me into a big hug.

Then he held out a bouquet.

"Lady Joanna, this humble servant is late. Please accept my apologies!"

It made me laugh, and I took the things from his hands.

A neck-and-shoulder massager for my dad, chamomile tea for my mom.

You could tell he'd put thought into it.

Mom and Dad hurried over, beaming.

"You silly boy, why bring so much just for a visit!"

"Really, look at you, all worked up and sweaty. Sit down, take a rest!"

The few people at the table kept changing color.

When Kenneth sat down beside me, Jerome's face went dark and he gave a cold snort.

"Smooth-talker. All flash, no substance."

Dad's eyes cooled a few degrees at that, but Kenneth pressed a hand over his.

He smiled, laid a piece of food in my bowl, and said mildly,

"Still better than the ones who put on airs. My worry would be holding that pose too long, until it's too late to regret it."

Mom, all smiles, ladled him some soup.

Jerome's face went red, but Lola pulled him back.

The whole meal ended in an eerie silence.

Afterward, my parents rose to see the guests out.

Jerome hung back at the end, saying he wanted to talk with me.

Lola seemed to sense it. She turned back, eyes reddening, and called out to him.

"Jerome…"

His step faltered. I smiled and said,

"No need. Your girlfriend's calling you. Go on."

And with that I linked my arm through Kenneth's and went back inside.

Jerome ground his teeth, but he still turned and left.

Early the next morning, though, the one who showed up at the door was Lola.

She came straight to the point.

"I'll say it plainly. I know you and Jerome had a thing once."

She paused, a trace of scorn in her eyes.

"But I don't care. You've seen how Jerome loves me, haven't you?"

"He never forgot me."

"Getting with you back then was just to spite me."

My hands didn't stop tidying the room. I answered without much interest.

"Fine. Got it."

Lola clearly hadn't expected that reaction. She drew a few sharp breaths, then grabbed my hand.

"Enough! Stop standing there pretending you don't care!"

"Everyone knows you had a crush on Jerome back then!"

I shook her hand off.

Before I could get a word out, Jerome rushed over and threw himself in front of Lola.

"Joanna! Sulk all you want, but don't hurt Lola!"

The look he gave me was full of disgust. He never once noticed my wrist, red where she'd grabbed it.

Only when Lola spoke up did he register what had actually just happened.

He raised his voice, a little uneasy.

"Lola's emotionally fragile. I was just afraid you'd set her off."

I let out a scoffing laugh.

"If that's how you want to see it, there's nothing I can do."

Furious, Jerome charged forward without another word and tore apart the thing clenched in my hand.

I looked at the scraps all over the floor, and for a moment I couldn't breathe.

It was the blessing letter my grandmother wrote me before she died.

Back then I'd told her I'd met someone truly wonderful.

Someone who would stand in front of me when classmates bullied me, who would stay up late organizing notes for me.

Because of him,

I'd finally gone from "the diner owner's daughter" in people's mouths to Harding the Straight-A Star.

I told her this was the person I loved.

And so my grandmother wished for the two of us to end up together.

I crouched down and picked up the pieces one by one, dropping them into the trash.

Panic flickered through Jerome's eyes. He reached out, wanting to wipe the tears from the corner of my eye.

I dodged his hand and said, my voice gone hoarse,

"My boyfriend's coming soon. The two of you should go."

"I've forgotten everything that happened before. I wish you a long and happy life together."

Jerome tried to say something more, but Kenneth stepped in front of me.

He ruffled my hair and pulled me behind him.

"I'm sorry. I got here late."

"Are you hurt?"

When I shook my head, his face went cold as he looked at the two across from us.

"This family doesn't welcome a dog that bites its owner!"

Jerome, eyes rimmed red, reached to grab me, and Kenneth landed a punch on him.

What came next was pure chaos. The two of them grappled all over my tiny room.

Lola watched it all, her hateful glare fixed on me.

The noise gave me a headache, and I shouted:

"Enough!!!"

The two of them finally stopped. I hurried over, anxious, and helped Kenneth up.

"Are you okay?"

"Joanna! I'm hurt worse than he is!"

Jerome stared at me, stunned.

Before all this, seeing him hurt like that would have had tears springing to my eyes.

But now I was busy cleaning Kenneth's cuts, and I brushed him off.

"Got it. Go find a doctor, then."

Lola helped Jerome up. His face was frighteningly dark.

"Fine. Fine. You'd better not regret this!"

After that, Jerome went back to acting like I didn't exist.

He led Lola around introducing her to the neighbors, and everyone said they made a perfect pair.

Lola's feed was full of the designer bags and jewelry Jerome had given her.

Even the class group chat, dead for years, came back to life because of the two of them.

【Oh my God, the ship we all shipped back then is alive again!】

【The class president and the school beauty. My youth is back! Hahaha!】

【Oh please, back then everyone knew Mr. Gilbert only had eyes for Lola. Some people just couldn't take a hint and kept throwing themselves at him……】

【Right, but it all worked out. True love wins in the end~】

【Guys, the person you're talking about is still in here, ahem ahem.】

None of it touched me.

After everything we'd been through, Kenneth and I only grew surer of each other, and things kept warming between us.

When my old deskmate called, I was busy planning the engagement dinner with him.

"Joanna, they're saying they want to hold a reunion!"

"Do you want to come and set the record straight? You explained so many problems to me back then. I can't just stand by and watch them drag your name like this……"

I smiled and turned her down.

"The second I'm off work I get hauled off to look at venues. I'm run ragged. Where would I find the time to bother with that?"

"Don't worry, I'll invite you to the dinner. Don't waste your temper on those people!"

Then I quietly left the group chat.

That only made the ones who couldn't stand me bolder.

They said I had no ground to argue back, and they piled the mud on thicker.

Lola dropped her share of wounded, wronged-sounding posts too, some open, some sly.

It only nailed down the rumor that I'd wedged my way between them.

A few classmates spoke up for me now and then, and got shouted right back down.

Before I knew it the reunion came, and when they saw I hadn't shown, the whole crowd started up with the snide remarks again.

"Some people look like straight-A stars, but who knows how nasty they are underneath?"

"Exactly. All that high-and-mighty act, isn't it just a guilty conscience?"

And then they went back to fawning over Jerome and Lola.

But this time, Jerome cut in with a frown.

Once everyone was full of food and drink, he suddenly called the server over.

"Pack up an order of the crispy skillet potatoes."

Someone beside him teased, "Mr. Gilbert likes little-kid food like that too?"

Jerome let out a soft laugh.

"It's for my girlfriend."

Beside him, Lola went pale.

Someone caught the awkward mood and stepped in with a laugh:

"Hey, look, everyone, Joanna just posted."

My deskmate stood right up:

"That's right. Some people should think before they talk."

"She's busy getting engaged. Of course she didn't come."

The ones who'd been trashing me flushed red.

When Jerome heard that, he froze on the spot.

The next second, he told himself it couldn't be true.

He opened Joanna Harding's page, and there was nothing on it.

He was annoyed at himself, laughing at how easily he'd lost his footing.

The one who'd stepped forward just now was obviously her old deskmate. He'd nearly fallen for that clumsy little act.

But the gasps around him wouldn't stop.

"No way, it's actually real!"

"Ha, that's our Harding the Straight-A Star for you—pulls off something huge without saying a word."

Someone dropped a screenshot in the group chat, and Jerome opened it with a frown.

There it was in plain sight: an engagement party, bride Joanna Harding.

And on the groom's line, Kenneth Maddox's name stabbed at his eyes.

Jerome couldn't believe it. He picked up his phone and read it over and over.

How was that possible?

He sent Joanna a message and got back only a red exclamation mark.

Beside him, Lola stepped up and caught his arm, her eyes red as she spoke.

"Jerome, maybe Joanna just... wants to wish us well?"

But Jerome flinched like he'd been slapped, and shoved her hand away.

"Don't spread nonsense! There's nothing between us!"

Lola stared at him, shocked, her eyes full of hurt.

"You—what do you mean by that?"

"I mean exactly what I said! Didn't we agree? Once this reunion was over, I'd clear things up in front of everyone."

"Well, since all this mess has blown up, I might as well tell them now!"

Jerome said it and steadied himself.

"I've seen everything you've all been saying lately, but I want to set the record straight. Lola and I are just friends, nothing more."

"Joanna is my real girlfriend."

The whole room went silent in an instant. Lola's fingertips went white around her glass.

"Jerome!"

Before she could finish, Jerome cut her off with a scowl.

"Isn't it because you're unstable, dragging up that old promise between us again?"

"Joanna's put up with you this long. Aren't you satisfied yet?!"

She looked like she hadn't expected Jerome to turn into a different person just like that, and the tears kept spilling out.

Then, crying, Lola actually laughed.

"Fine, Jerome. You stand here saying all these noble words, and you think that makes you innocent?!"

"Who was it that admitted I was your girlfriend right in front of her parents?"

"Who stayed with me all night, who made us public?"

"And who was it that stood by while people slandered Joanna, saying she needed to be taught a lesson?!"

Lola grabbed her glass and threw the drink all over him.

"Jerome, I thought you actually still had feelings for me."

"Now I see I was blind!"

"There's no way Joanna would ever want a piece of garbage like you again!"

Jerome went pale and started to explain.

The deskmate quickly pulled up her phone to record, and gave a couple of cold laughs, needling them both.

"All right, you two go ahead and keep up your tragic little romance here."

"Looks to me like Joanna couldn't care less. She's beautifully engaged now!"

"Some people really ought to stop thinking so highly of themselves!"

With that, she stood and walked out the private room door.

The air froze for a moment.

Jerome was soaked through, his face dark and ugly.

Behind him came the sound of a glass shattering, and the room fell into chaos.

I heard that when it broke up, everyone was terribly awkward, and no one said another word in the class group chat.

After all, the gentle, refined class president had become a self-important man who'd betrayed a girl who truly cared,

and the beautiful, gracious class beauty had become a scheming woman trying to wedge into someone's relationship.

When my deskmate ranted about all this to me, I only gave a faint smile.

"I've been sick of those two royals for ages!"

"Always acting so above everyone, like it's the greatest blessing in the world just to be connected to them. Please!"

"All right, don't stay mad. You want this blessing? It's yours."

"Next month I'll treat you to the wedding candy—come catch some real luck."

She happily agreed, again and again.

After I hung up, Kenneth wrapped an arm around my waist, grinning wide.

"So our Straight-A Star knows how to sweet-talk people too?"

"Having you is the greatest blessing of my life!"

I flushed and slapped his hand down.

"Mom and Dad will be home soon. Keep your hands to yourself!"

The one who came looking first, though, was Jerome.

He stared at Kenneth's hand resting on my waist, his eyes burning with fury like they'd spit fire.

"Let go!"

Kenneth played dumb, all innocence.

"Are you talking to Joanna Harding's fiancé?"