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BONUS
Chapter for reaching 600 PS! Thank you all! 🤍]
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[EVE]
"Wow, she's really getting into it, huh?"
"Does she not realize this is just a rehearsal? I an, there's no need to be that vengeful."
"Do you think she's still bitter about Sophie stealing her role as the heiress?"
"Probably. Eve was acting her whole life as the real heiress, but at the last minute, it went to Sophie instead. Can you imagine? Anyone would be pissed."
"Yeah, and let's be real—Eve's been holding a grudge ever since. She's been on Sophie's case nonstop, even back when Sophie was still pretending to be the maid."
"Honestly, you can see it in her eyes. Every ti Sophie gets a bit of attention, Eve looks like she's ready to claw her way back to the spotlight."
"I'm surprised they even put them in the sa play after all that drama. It's like asking for trouble."
"Well, it definitely adds to the show. I an, look at them now—it's like we're watching a real-life soap opera unfold right on stage."
The whispers and side glances spread like wildfire, fueling the tension between us, eyes darting between Sophie and .
"I didn't even touch her," I said, keeping my voice steady and my expression unreadable.
The last thing I wanted was to give them the satisfaction of seeing crack under the pressure. Showing any emotion now would only feed into what they were already thinking, and I wasn't about to give them that.
The looks on everyone else's faces, however, told a different story. Suspicion hung thick in the air, and it was clear they didn't believe .
Whispers rippled through the group, eyes darting between Sophie and like they were witnessing the climax of a drama series.
Lily stepped forward, her lips curling into a sneer as she crossed her arms. "Oh, of course, you didn't," she drawled mockingly. "Because who in their right mind would ever admit to pushing soone down, right?"
Her words dripped with sarcasm, and I could see the smug satisfaction in her eyes as she glanced around, clearly enjoying the drama. It felt like she'd just poured gasoline on an already smoldering fire.
Should I just leave? It felt pointless to explain myself. The more I talked, the more they'd twist my words, their judgnt already set in stone.
Just as I took a step back, debating my exit, Daniel's voice cut through the rising whispers.
"She didn't push her," he said, his tone surprisingly firm. Within seconds, he was at my side, causing Lily to take a startled step back. Her confident sneer faltered, replaced by a flicker of what seed like jealousy.
"I saw the whole thing," Daniel continued, pointing directly at Sophie. "She just fell on her own."
A wave of murmurs rippled through the room. The shock on everyone's faces was almost comical.
It was one thing for to defend myself, but when Daniel—the campus crush and top student known for his seriousness—stepped in, the tide turned imdiately.
With his reputation for honesty and level-headedness, it was no surprise that everyone naturally sided with him.
Riri chid in with a light chuckle. "Did you see that? She actually fell! Sophie, you should eat more vegetables and fruits," she said with a playful smile. "A little gust of wind could knock you over at this rate."
Riri extended a hand to help Sophie up, her expression genuinely puzzled. Despite her usual bluntness, there was no malice in her words, just pure confusion.
And for once, I was grateful for her honest nature, even if she didn't an to take my side intentionally.
Sophie, still on the floor, looked utterly bewildered. Her eyes glistened with what seed like genuine hurt, but I knew better.
"I . . . I didn't fall on my own," she said, her voice trembling with a mix of indignation and forced innocence. "Why would I do that?"
Riri tilted her head, a frown creasing her forehead as she looked between Sophie and . "Then, why would Eve push you in the first place? Think about it—if she really did that, everyone here would've seen it and called her out right away. There's no way she'd be dumb enough to make such an obvious scene and get herself into trouble. It doesn't make sense," she pointed out, her voice laced with genuine confusion.
The room fell silent. Riri's blunt reasoning seed to cut through the tension like a knife. It was one of the things people disliked about her—she always said exactly what she thought, without sugarcoating it.
But right now, that unfiltered honesty was working in my favor.
Sophie's face turned pale, then flushed red. She opened her mouth to protest, but no words ca out. It was as if she realized her plan had backfired. Her usual damsel act wasn't working this ti.
"I . . . I didn't just fall!" Sophie insisted, her voice growing more desperate. "Why would I lie about sothing like this?"
But the whispers had already shifted. A few of the onlookers exchanged glances, their skeptical expressions showing that they were starting to question Sophie's dramatic display.
Maybe for once, they were beginning to see through her act.
"Maybe she's trying to make Eve look bad on purpose. It's so typical of her to act all fragile when people are watching."
"Yeah, she's milking it for sympathy, as usual."
"I always thought that she's crying all the ti. Honestly, it's annoying."
Lily suddenly chid in to save Sophie, "Well, if no one pushed her, then maybe it was a ghost?" She gave a dramatic shiver, as if trying to lighten the tension in the room. Her group of friends imdiately jumped on board, nodding eagerly and giggling.
"Yeah, it must have been a spirit from the old theater stories!" one of her friends joked, eyes wide with fake fear.
"Totally! Everyone knows this place is haunted," another added with a laugh. "Maybe the ghost didn't like the way we were treating poor Cinderella!"
"Right, it's not like Sophie would just fall on her own," one of them added, casting a sympathetic smile at Sophie. "She's way too kind for that."
The group's playful banter made it seem like they were trying to diffuse the situation, but it was clear they were only doing it to cover for Sophie, subtly shifting the bla away from her while making it look like just a silly, harmless misunderstanding.
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