Sarah immediately found Elena.
“Elena! Stop right there!”
She stormed up to her. “Explain yourself! Why didn’t you help me this time?”
“Sarah, I really was sick. I had no choice but to take the day off… I completely forgot the midterms were that day,” Elena said, shaking her head with an apologetic look. “Still, your scores dropped way too much. You really need to buckle down and study. Didn’t you tell me before that you’d start reviewing properly?”
At first, Sarah had only asked for help swapping tests because she was scared of her parents’ reaction to one bad score.
But once she got away with it once, she did it again.
Every time, she promised to work harder.
But in the end, she always chose the easy way out.
With Elena covering for her, Sarah had nothing to fear-and so her grades kept slipping further.
“I… I promise I’ll do better next time, but this time-!”
“This time, I really couldn’t help it. I had a fever of 102. I couldn’t even get out of bed.”
Elena gently took Sarah’s hand, voice full of apparent concern. “You’re my little sister. You wouldn’t blame me… right?”
Sarah felt like she’d swallowed poison.
Not blame her?
This exam had landed her outside the top 100 for the entire grade.
How could she not blame her?
–
Just before school ended, Evelyn arrived on campus.
When she heard Sarah had ranked below the hundred mark, she panicked like a cat on a hot tin roof. “Sarah’s grades have always been excellent-how could she suddenly score so low?”
“We were surprised, too. Her performance dropped drastically. Elena, on the other hand, did very well. Please don’t worry-“
“Elena?”
Evelyn’s brows furrowed in displeasure.
At that moment, Sarah stepped into the office.
Seeing her daughter with her head hung low and looking so wronged, Evelyn immediately spoke up. “My daughter must’ve just had a bad day. I’m sure there’s a reason for this.”
Then, her eyes darted to Elena, who was handing in homework for her class. Her tone sharpened.
“This is all your fault! What possessed you to transfer to Class Six and bring all their bad habits to your sister? Do you even understand what she’s facing? She’s preparing to study abroad. And now she has a sister in Class Six-do you know how much pressure that puts on her? How could you not think about your sister?”
The homeroom teacher was momentarily stunned.
What did Elena being in Class Six have to do with Sarah?
“I think you’re mistaken. Sarah’s performance this time doesn’t really have anything to do with Elena-“
But before she could finish, Evelyn cut in sharply.
“You wouldn’t understand, Teacher. Birds of a feather flock together. Elena’s always hanging around with thugs and delinquents. What good could come of that?”
Outside the classroom, several Class Six students overheard Evelyn’s words as they walked past the office.
Their expressions darkened.
But Evelyn kept going, unrelenting. “Thank goodness you live in the dorms. If you were home, who knows what kind of bad influence you’d be on your sister! Elena, do you have any idea how to be a decent older sister?”
“Ma’am…”
The teacher tried to interject, but Evelyn shoved Elena hard on the shoulder. “Your elder’s talking to you-why are you just standing there like a mute?”
The shove sent Elena toppling to the ground.
The Class Six students who’d been watching couldn’t take it any longer and rushed into the office.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
Henry hurried over to help Elena up.
Evelyn scoffed coldly. “This is a family matter. What does it have to do with you?”
Then she swept her eyes over the Class Six students in the room. “Of course-it’s Class Six. No wonder you people have no manners.”
Her words were dripping with contempt.
Everyone from Class Six looked deeply uncomfortable.
Colton and Lewis had just stepped inside when Evelyn continued disdainfully, “I’ve always said this school should get rid of Class Six. You’re all just rejects-leeches on society. The only thing you do here is drag down everyone else’s grades. What else are you even good for?”
Silence fell over the office like a curtain of ice.
Everyone stared at Evelyn with cold, disgusted eyes.
This was the kind of adult they hated most-self-righteous and blind to their own arrogance.
“Teacher,” Evelyn said, her tone shifting slightly, “my daughter’s grades are slipping. I can’t sit back and do nothing. If Elena continues associating with these Class Six students, she’ll only have a worse influence on her sister!”
“And because of that,” she pressed, “the school needs to give me a solution.”
“Then let’s cut ties,” Elena said suddenly.
The room froze.
Evelyn stared at her in disbelief.
Everyone else did too.
“If Mother finds me so intolerable,” Elena said calmly, “then let’s cut ties. From now on, I, Elena, have nothing to do with the Delaney family. As for the years you spent raising me-name your price. I’ll pay you back.”
Her voice was steady. Unshaken.
Evelyn looked at her like she was a stranger. “What did you just say?”
“Elena! What nonsense are you spouting? Even if you’re mad, you can’t say you want to cut ties with Mom! That’s so ungrateful! She’ll be heartbroken!”
Sarah instantly rushed to her mother’s side, fiercely scolding Elena.
But Elena stood her ground. “I mean it. Since Mom doesn’t like me, it’s better if we go our separate ways.”
Evelyn stared at Elena’s confident face-then suddenly laughed.
“Fine. Let’s cut ties. The Delaney family has fed and raised you for seventeen years. I won’t ask much-just one million. If you can pay that, we’ll consider it settled.”
“Alright. One million it is.”
Elena agreed without hesitation. “Once I’ve paid that million, I’ll have nothing more to do with the Delaney family.”
With that, she turned and walked straight out of the office.
Henry, worried, followed her out.
Sarah, for her part, was all too happy to see Elena gone-but then she remembered the upcoming math competition. Grumbling inwardly, she chased after her.
“Elena!”
Sarah caught up and grabbed her arm, her voice soft and pitiful. “Do you really mean it? You want to cut ties with us? Mom was just upset, she didn’t mean what she said.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep my word,” Elena replied, pulling her arm back with a calm, detached motion.
She couldn’t even be bothered to fake politeness anymore.
Sarah watched as Elena walked into Class Six, and gave up trying.
Whatever. As long as Elena was still willing to help her, she didn’t care if they were “estranged.”
It’d be better if Elena never came home again.
…
Inside Class Six.
Henry hesitated. “Elena, are you really sure about this? You’re seriously cutting ties?”
“Yeah.”
“But… that’s one million. How are you going to get that kind of money?”
That wasn’t small change.
Elena was still a high school student-how could she possibly earn that much?
“Don’t worry. I have my ways.”
She’d been waiting for an opening like this for a long time.
And now, she finally had it.
Across the room, Nolan watched the lonely but determined look in Elena’s eyes, and his expression darkened.
…
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