"Thought she'd marry into money. Oops."
"Bet he finally got what he wanted."
They didn’t even bother to whisper it behind my back anymore.
At my locker, someone had scribbled“Social Climber”in lipstick. Scarlet. Like a scarlet letter. I wiped it off with my sleeve and didn’t even blink.
I wouldn’t cry.
I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.
At lunch, I ate alone. Shani tried to sit with me, but one glare from the girls who used to worship Leo and she backed off. Not out of cruelty—just survival.
I didn’t blame her. I wouldn’t have picked me either.
The quad, once my accidental kingdom, now felt like a coliseum. Everyone waiting for me to fall completely apart. I held it together, biting the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood.
But practice was the real battlefield.
Coach Roman had us running drills like we were alreadyin postseason playoffs. I welcomed the burn in my lungs. The ache in my legs. Pain was easier than heartbreak.
That was until the ball slammed into the back of my skull.
Hard.
I stumbled forward, stars flashing behind my eyes. Someone gasped. A few girls laughed. The laughter was what got me.
“Keep your head in the game, Bryan,” someone muttered behind me.
I didn’t see who it was. I didn’t need to.
My palms clenched into fists so tight my nails broke skin. Blood welled in my hands as I bent over, trying to breathe through the sudden wave of nausea and heat.
Coach’s whistle pierced the field.
“Jade! You good?”
I straightened, swaying slightly. “Yeah. Fine.”
She jogged over, eyes scanning my face, but I stepped back. “Just a headache. I didn’t eat enough.”
It was a lie. All of it.
But I couldn’t tell her the truth—that Royal Oaks’ beloved daughters had turned into wolves, and I was bleeding out in silence.
Coach nodded slowly, like she didn’t quite believe me but didn’t push. “Take a knee. Grab water. We’ll reset the drill.”
I walked off the field with dignity in tatters, blood smeared on my palms, and a pounding behind my eyes.
But I didn’t cry.
I didn’t scream.
I just sat on the sidelines with my chin high and my soul aching.
They could slash my tires. Humiliate me. Pelt balls at my skull.
But I wouldn’t give them the broken girl they were hoping to see.
