Chapter 4

“Did you pick another fight with Stephanie? She’s a good girl—kind and sweet, with no ill intentions toward anyone. But you? You grew up at the bottom of society, bitter, sharp-tongued, and—”

I cut him off with a smile, my voice calm but biting. “And you’re not her fiancé. What gives you the right to lecture me?”

“I... I’m just—”

“You’re just a classmate, at most. What authority do you have to speak to me like this?” I stood up, my voice sharp and unwavering, completely different from the self-doubting Amanda of the past. “Move. A good dog doesn’t block the way.”

His face froze, and then, flushed with anger, he spat, “You’re just an adopted daughter. How dare you talk to me like that? You won’t last a day at this school if you keep this attitude!”

“Only weak people bully others,” I said coldly. “And with the school cracking down on bullying, I doubt you want to be their next example, do you?”

Just then, the bell rang. Forced to back down, he stomped to his seat, but not before throwing me a glare. Throughout class, he kept turning to glare at me, clearly fuming.

Over the next few days, Benjamin made it his mission to make my life miserable.

During gym class, he deliberately threw a ball at my head. In class, he pelted me with crumpled pieces of paper. He slipped fake bugs into my pencil case, stuffed a live mouse into my backpack, and even organized a class dinner, inviting everyone except me.

The original Amanda’s emotions flared up inside me, a mix of anger and helplessness. But I worked hard to push them down, transforming all of that frustration into motivation to study harder.

As for Benjamin’s childish antics? I ignored them every single time. The more I acted indifferent, the more frustrated he became, often stomping his feet in anger like a child throwing a tantrum.

But I had bigger concerns than dealing with him. My focus was on figuring out how to convince the Cooper family to let me live on campus.

After thinking it over, I decided to approach Stephanie.