Chapter 3

Vivian

"Hey, look who finally decided to join the living!" Noah shouted over the music, grabbing a super-soaker from the deck.

Before I could step back, he aimed it straight at me and pulled the trigger.

Ice-cold pool water blasted across my chest, soaking through my silk robe and leaving me shivering.

Lily let out a dainty gasp, covering her mouth. "Oh, Noah! Stop it! Don't ruin Vivian's expensive clothes!"

Liam leaned against the pool edge, tossing his hair back, eyes full of disdain.

"Why not? Maybe the cold water will wash away some of her elite arrogance. Still planning on running off to Yale alone, Vivian?"

I wiped the water from my face, expression deadpan.

I gripped the balcony railing, looking down at my stepbrother.

"Noah, hosting a wild party at our house without permission while our parents are away on business?"

I let out a soft, mocking chuckle.

"I'm sure your father will be absolutely thrilled to hear about this. Especially since he's been tracking your academic performance every single week."

Noah's face instantly stiffened.

Our stepfather was an incredibly strict billionaire who demanded absolute perfection.

Noah pointed a threatening finger up at me, voice dropping to a harsh hiss.

"You shut your mouth, Vivian! If you dare say a single word to my dad about this, I will make your life a living hell!"

"Don't worry, I don't waste my breath on garbage," I replied smoothly.

Liam sneered, stepping in to protect his buddy. "Don't threaten him with his dad, Vivian. You think you're so secure just because you got into Yale? You're just a lonely snob."

I turned my gaze to Liam, the star quarterback.

"And you, Liam. Giving up your full-ride athletic scholarship to Harvard? I wonder how your family's failing business is going to survive without that prestige."

"Let's see if your mother still calls you her pride and joy when she finds out you traded down to a community college."

Lily flinched, eyes darting between the boys.

She gave them a deeply pathetic, tearful look, but beneath the tears, her eyes flashed with secret, smug satisfaction.

She was clearly thinking about how she had already "destroyed" my Yale application on my computer.

"Noah... Liam... it's all my fault," Lily whimpered, clinging to Noah's arm. "Vivian hates me so much. She's going to ruin everything for us..."

"She won't ruin a damn thing!" Noah barked, his pride completely wounded.

He looked at Liam, and with a coordinated nod, the two of them grabbed the massive bucket of ice water used for the drinks.

Before I could react, Noah hurled the contents upward, splashing another wave of freezing water and ice cubes straight onto my face and robe.

"That's for making Lily cry!" Liam shouted, laughing brutally with Noah.

I stood there, drenched, pieces of ice sliding down my skin.

They thought they had broken me.

They thought this petty humiliation would make me run to them crying, begging for forgiveness.

Instead, I slowly wiped the water from my eyes.

I turned around, walked back into my room, and locked the balcony door tight behind me.

I stripped off the wet robe, changed into dry, comfortable clothes, and walked over to my desk.

I opened a fresh textbook and picked up my pen.

Let them play in the pool.

Let them celebrate their own destruction.

I had a lot of studying to do for Yale.

---

One week later. University Reveal Day.

The St. Jude's auditorium was packed. Billionaires, politicians, high-society media. New York's entire elite class was gathered under one roof.

I stood in the corner, bored. Honestly, if I weren't here to watch a trainwreck, I wouldn't have bothered showing up at all.

"Vivian, why are you hiding here all by yourself?"

Lily strutted over, locking arms with both Liam and Noah. She wore an absurdly expensive gown—obviously, my stepbrother and his rich buddy paid for it.

Noah sneered. "She's hiding because we dumped her. She finally realized she has no right to show her face here."

"Oh, Noah, don't be so harsh," Lily said, patting his arm. "Even if Vivian isn't going to the same school as us anymore, we can still be friends. Right, Vivian?"

Liam sighed. "Lily, you're just too naive. Listen up, Vivian—if you get down on your knees and apologize to Lily right now, maybe we'll let you sit at our table."

"Apologize?" I let out a cold laugh, looking them dead in the eye. "Not in this lifetime. Do your daydreaming somewhere else."

Before Noah could explode, a commanding voice cut in from behind them. "Noah, there you are."

Charles Harrington—my stepfather, the notoriously ruthless billionaire—walked over from a crowd of corporate executives. He gave me a brief nod before turning his stern gaze to his son.

"Vivian, I heard you and Noah had a little disagreement recently. You're adults now, stop playing childish games. Noah already locked in his Yale admission, and Liam secured his Harvard offer. Once you're all in the Ivy League circle, you need to look out for each other."

Liam's mother, Eleanor Vance, joined the circle, raising her champagne glass. "He's right, Miss Sterling. I heard you confirmed Yale too? Splendid. Our boys finally did us proud. They didn't embarrass our family names."

Liam and Noah instantly froze, their eyes darting away in guilty sweat.

Lily, completely oblivious to the sudden tension, chimed in proudly. "Mr. Harrington, Mrs. Vance, you don't understand the full story. Liam and Noah actually made an incredibly brave sacrifice. They realized the Ivy League's elite education is totally hypocritical, so they decided—"

"Lily, shut up for a second!" Noah snapped. He violently squeezed her hand, signaling her frantically to stop.

They obviously wanted to pull off their grand, romantic stunt live in front of the entire school—a public defiance that would leave them with no point of return.

Lily pouted and fell silent.

With the warning issued, Liam and Noah dragged their panic-stricken faces back into the crowd to help their parents socialize.

The moment they left, Lily slithered back over to me, her voice dropping to a malicious whisper. "You think you're going to Yale and leaving me in the dust, Vivian? Just wait until the big screen flashes the final admissions. I can't wait to see the look on your face when everyone sees you got rejected. Let's see how proud you are then!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? You're that confident Yale rejected me? Well then, let's wait and see."

In my past life, this was the exact moment I had panicked. I had lost my mind trying to warn their parents about their insane plan, only to be violently shoved to the ground by Liam and Noah.

This time? I wouldn't utter a single word.

The house lights suddenly dimmed. Headmaster Simon stepped onto the stage, adjusting the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to St. Jude's Prep's annual University Reveal Day!" Headmaster Simon's voice boomed through the speakers. "Tonight, we bear witness to our exceptional young graduates locking in their glorious futures!"

The crowd erupted into thunderous applause.

"And now, let us look at the main screen to reveal the final destinations of this year's graduates!"

The massive digital display began to roll, and every eye in the room locked onto the screen. I coldly watched the headmaster open the certified roster in his hands.

Suddenly, Headmaster Simon's rehearsed smile completely froze. He pushed up his glasses, staring down at the paper with utter bewilderment.

"Let us... let us congratulate Liam Vance and Noah Harrington... for their official enrollment into... the Sunny Valley Vocational Academy?"

Dead silence. The air in the room completely froze.