Chapter 4: A Different World

And suddenly, I had a feeling this project was going to be the least of my problems.

The girl smiled as she wrapped her arms around Evan's shoulders, completely comfortable in a way that suggested this wasn't the first time she'd done it. Evan didn't seem surprised either. If anything, he looked used to it.

For a moment, I simply watched.

Not because I was jealous.

I wasn't.

I was just curious.

The girl looked like she belonged on the cover of a fashion magazine. Her dark hair fell perfectly over her shoulders, and even her school uniform somehow looked more expensive than everyone else's.

She finally noticed me standing there.

"Oh," she said, her eyes widening slightly. "Sorry. I didn't realize you were still here."

Her voice was surprisingly friendly.

Evan leaned back in his chair and casually pointed his pen toward me.

"Lily."

That was my introduction.

Just Lily.

Nothing more.

The girl laughed softly before extending her hand.

"I'm Isabella Laurent."

The name immediately sounded familiar.

Not because I knew her personally.

Everyone knew the Laurents.

They were one of the wealthiest families in the country.

Hotels.

Fashion brands.

Luxury resorts.

The kind of family people read about in magazines.

I shook her hand politely.

"Nice to meet you."

She smiled.

"You too."

The conversation lasted less than a minute before I checked the time on my phone.

My stomach dropped.

I was already running late.

"I should go."

Evan looked up from the papers spread across the desk.

"Send me your project notes tonight."

"I will."

"Don't forget."

The annoying thing was that he sounded less like a classmate and more like a boss giving instructions.

I rolled my eyes, packed my books, and left before he could say anything else.

The moment I stepped into the hallway, I felt lighter.

Being around Evan Carter was exhausting.

Everything about him was exhausting.

His attitude.

His confidence.

His stupid smirk.

Especially that stupid smirk.

By the time I reached the dorm building, the sky had already begun turning orange.

Students wandered around campus in groups, laughing and talking about weekend plans.

A normal high school life.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time for one.

"Lily!"

I turned around and immediately smiled.

Ryan Parker was jogging toward me with his backpack hanging from one shoulder.

My best friend.

My partner in crime since middle school.

And one of the few people capable of making me laugh after a terrible day.

"There you are," he said. "I've been looking everywhere."

"You literally texted me five minutes ago."

"Exactly. That's a long time."

I laughed.

Ryan looked pleased with himself.

Then his eyes narrowed.

"You were with Evan Carter, weren't you?"

The smile disappeared from my face.

"How do you know that?"

"The whole school knows."

Of course they did.

This school had a better gossip network than most news channels.

Ryan sighed dramatically.

"Out of all the people in Westbrridge Academy, you got paired with him."

"Trust me, I'm not happy about it either."

For a moment, Ryan looked like he wanted to say something else.

Something serious.

But instead, he shook his head.

"Just be careful, okay?"

That was the second time someone had told me that.

And for some reason, I didn't like it.

Before I could ask what he meant, my phone buzzed.

Work.

My shift started in twenty minutes.

"Great," I muttered.

Ryan looked at the screen.

"Moonlight Café again?"

"Sadly."

"You need a break."

"I need money."

That immediately ended the argument.

Because Ryan knew I wasn't joking.

Westbrridge Academy was filled with students who worried about luxury cars and vacation plans.

I worried about rent, groceries, and keeping my scholarship.

Two completely different worlds.

And every day, the gap between them seemed to grow a little larger.

What I didn't know was that my problems were only getting started.

Because while I was busy trying to survive my first week at Westbrridge Academy...

Someone else had already started paying attention to me.

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