Chapter 1

Gemma Taylor, the scholarship girl from our class, sneered at me from across the lawn.

"Chloe, how can you just lounge around at home like this? You used to be so ambitious. Don't tell me you've turned into a spoiled nepo baby living off your parents."

I set my book down and smiled serenely.

"What's wrong with that? Even if I spent ten lifetimes blowing through my family’s fortune, I wouldn’t put a dent in it. Oh, by the way... that Van Cleef bracelet on your wrist—Julian gave it to you, right? It cost a fortune. Be careful not to scuff it."

Gemma’s face instantly flushed bright red.

Right on cue, my childhood friend Julian Hayes walked over, immediately stepping in front of her like her personal white knight.

"Having money doesn't give you the right to look down on others, Chloe. In my eyes, people who earn everything with their own hard work are far more respectable."

I knew he was taking a jab at me. But instead of taking the bait, I turned to Gemma with an amused smirk.

"Hear that, Gemma? He’s hinting at you. He thinks you shouldn't be spending his hard-earned money. You’d better give that bracelet right back to him."

During our freshman orientation camp, my period hit at the absolute worst possible time.

The midday sun beat down relentlessly, baking the asphalt. Clutching my lower abdomen through waves of sharp cramps, I was just about to raise my hand to ask Julian—our squad leader—for a break.

Before I could, a girl in the front row spoke up in a soft, delicate voice.

"Leader, I'm not feeling well. Can I sit out the rest of the drills?"

Julian glanced at her once and nodded without hesitation. "Go rest in the shade."

When it was my turn, I stepped forward. "Julian, I'm on my period and having terrible cramps. I need to sit down too."

He didn't even bother looking at me. Just hearing my voice was enough for an immediate dismissal.

"You've always had an athletic build. Push through it."

Meanwhile, Gemma bounced off toward the shade of the trees, completely fine. Julian even walked over to fill her pink thermos with ice water and left her a portable mini-fan.

Talk about double standards. "Push through it?" If I hemorrhage on the track, are you going to take responsibility?

I bit back a groan, swallowed my anger, and dragged my aching body back into the formation.

Lap after lap, sweat ran into my eyes and soaked my collar. My stomach cramped so violently my vision blurred, and I was running purely on sheer willpower.

If I collapsed here, the stampede of students behind me would trample me to death.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out ahead.

Someone had collapsed from heat exhaustion.

Julian immediately halted the drill and bolted toward the front where Gemma had been sitting.

Taking advantage of the sudden pause, my roommate Brianna noticed how pale I was. Just as my knees buckled and my vision went black, she caught me.

"Leader! Chloe's passing out too!" Brianna shouted.

Her yell dragged everyone’s attention straight to me. Judging by how cold my clammy skin felt, I probably looked worse than Gemma did.

Julian paused, gave me a hard, cold look, and scoffed. "If you couldn't handle it, you shouldn't have played tough. Brianna, take her to the infirmary."

With that, he scooped Gemma into his arms, carrying her bridal-style all the way to the medical tent.

I, on the other hand, was dragged across the grass by my roommates, my feet barely touching the ground.

Right. My life as his childhood friend meant nothing.

Lying on the cot under the air conditioner, sipping hot ginger-honey tea, my senses slowly returned.

Brianna couldn't hold back her frustration. "What is his deal? Is there bad blood between you two? It feels like he deliberately targets you."

I stared at the ceiling, silent.

Bad blood? Oh, absolutely. A human life’s worth of bad blood.

Two years ago, I was kidnapped by a human trafficking ring. The criminals demanded a ten-million-dollar ransom from my parents.

Julian's father was a senior police detective. When he found out, he stopped my sobbing parents from handing over the bags of cash.

He told them, "You cannot give them the money. Paying them off only enables them."

Detective Hayes led the raid himself and got me out alive. But he took a bullet to the chest and died on the scene.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. "It's nothing. I guess I'm just easy to hate. I don't blame him for despising me."

Brianna’s tone turned sharp. "Why shouldn't you blame him? Stop taking all the guilt onto yourself! You didn't do anything wrong!"

Rrrrip!

The curtain separating the beds was violently yanked back.

Julian stood there, his jaw clenched, staring down at me with cold fury.

"Who are you putting on this pathetic victim act for, Chloe?" he snapped. "All because I didn't let you skip one damn drill?"

I pushed myself up, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'm not."

Behind him, Gemma tugged at his sleeve softly. "Forget it, Julian. We're all classmates here..."

Julian exhaled a bitter sigh, turning his back on me. "Transfer to another class, Chloe. I don't ever want to see your face again."