Taylor didn’t ask a single question.
He stood beside Anna and looked straight at me.
“Why was Anna’s essay found in your desk and not someone else’s?” he demanded.
“It’s torn to pieces. Would it kill you to apologize and ask for forgiveness?”
“Your uncle and aunt sent you here to study—not to flaunt your money and act superior in front of poor students.”
Every word stabbed me like a blade.
The whispers around him turned into loud chatter.
“Taylor and Desiree are childhood sweethearts. If even he says so, this must be true.”
“How could she be so cruel? Tearing someone’s essay just to win a competition?”
“She can’t even spare her childhood friend? Seriously, Desiree, be a decent human.”
Then Anna’s voice echoed again in my mind: “I just love these childhood sweetheart stabs-back-the-other scenes. Nothing better than having a rich, dumb dog on your side.”
“Desiree, you’re such a failure.”
I looked in her direction.
Taylor’s tall frame made her appear fragile and small. She glanced at me too—with a smug, slithering smile like a snake lurking in the shadows.
There was no way I’d let this false blame stick. I straightened my back and said calmly,
“If I didn’t do it, then I didn’t. Innocence speaks for itself. Check the surveillance—truth doesn’t lie.”
A few classmates, more level-headed, murmured, “Looking at Desiree’s reaction… maybe she didn’t do it. Could there be more to this?”
Anna’s timing was flawless—her eyes welled up just right as she looked up pitifully atTaylor.
He patted her shoulder, turned to me, and scoffed.
“Oh? So tell me, how much did you pay to bribe the staff in the surveillance room?”
It felt like a slap to the face. My heart stung, and I stared at him in disbelief.
The more I looked at him, the more unfamiliar he felt.
This was the same person who once swore he’d stand by me no matter what.
And now? He stood against me—for someone else.
Anna tugged lightly at his sleeve and whispered, “It’s okay. Let’s go see what she wants.”
Even then, I still believed I could clear my name with the surveillance footage.
I was too naïve.
The staff in the monitoring room told us the cameras had been down since that morning.
I was frozen in place.
Taylor simply shrugged, as if to say, See? I told you so.
Leaning against the hallway railing, he looked relaxed—too relaxed—and sneered,
“Desiree, you really went all out to bully Anna, huh?”
“What’s the matter? Afraid she’ll take your place in my heart?”
I hadn’t done anything, but I was drowning in shame and helplessness.
My nose burned, and tears blurred my vision.
Taylor and I were neighbors growing up.
We didn’t talk at first, but one day he was getting bullied.
I swooped in like some little guardian, scolding the bullies until they ran.
His eyes lit up—he looked at me like I’d dropped from the sky and swore to protect me forever.
I laughed and said, “You can’t even protect yourself. How are you going to protect me?”
Because of that, he signed up for Taekwondo and Sanda classes.
Later, we were always together.
We had similar lives—parents too busy to come home even once every two weeks. Just nannies and silence.
I was lonely. Starved for affection.
Slowly, we walked into each other’s lives, shared our pain, and comforted each other in the dead of night.
He used to say I was his little princess, that no matter what happened, he’d always be behind me.
Always.
