99 Times Repeated, Not Once Did They Say I Love You Chapter 04

99 Times Repeated, Not Once Did They Say I Love You Chapter 04

I stopped dead.

It was a mosquito bite. Maeve had turned a mosquito bite into a hickey, and her intent couldn’t have been clearer.

I turned around and locked onto Maeve’s wide, innocent doe eyes.

She flinched and leaned back with a well-practiced tremble.

Her voice went soft. “Hazel, even if you’re a rogue now, you don’t have to sink as low as the other rogues. How are mother and father supposed to hold their heads up?”

For a moment, everyone froze.

Then the accusations came pouring down like a flood.

My mother’s voice lashed like a whip. “Hazel, You exchanged your dignity for a pair of shoes? Have you really sunk that low?”

My father’s face twisted in disgust. “No manners, no shame. That’s what a place like that raises.”

My mother wasn’t done. “I can’t believe we have a daughter this shameless. You’ve dragged this family through the mud.”

I ignored every word.

Instead, I walked toward Maeve one slow step at a time and narrowed my eyes at her. “You seem to know a lot about hickeys. Sounds like you’ve had plenty of experience.”

Her eyes flew open.

She had barely opened her mouth to answer when I stepped forward and called her out in front of everyone.

“Hazel!”

Silas’s roar tore through the courtyard.

He pulled Maeve behind him and glared at me as if he wanted to tear me apart with his bare hands.

“Do you know why we came here today? Maeve insisted on celebrating your birthday. We even brought you a cake.”

His voice climbed higher and higher.

“She keeps saying she feels guilty about everything. She keeps begging us to be nicer to you and let your attitude slide. And this is how you repay her?”

He looked at me as if I were something filthy. “You sell your body for funds, and then you frame Maeve to cover it up. How can you be this vicious?”

Maeve cupped her cheek and bit her lip, and tears rolled down in trembling streaks. “Silas, it’s okay. Don’t blame Hazel. I didn’t mean to.”

Her voice broke off.

The next second, she collapsed.

Silas caught her instantly.

My parents rushed over in a panic, and the three of them fussed around her for a while before they all hurried off together.

In the chaos, they left the paper bag Silas had been holding on the ground.

I walked over and opened it.

Inside was a small slice of strawberry cake.

Maeve loved strawberries.

It was left over from her birthday party.

I laughed.

My whole body was shaking.

This was the cake they’d gone out of their way to bring me. It was a leftover slice of Maeve’s favorite flavor, and every one of them knew I was allergic to strawberries.

The wind stung my eyes.

Luckily, I had stopped expecting anything from them a long time ago.

I tossed the bag in the garbage without a flicker of expression and walked back to the dorm.

That unpleasant little birthday scene didn’t affect me much.

I took first place again in the third and fourth mock exams.

Maybe because graduation was close, Silas stopped coming around to make trouble.

The weather was lovely on the day of the Rank Exam.

I walked out of the testing hall and looked up at the sky.

The sunset spread across the horizon in a deep, furious crimson.

Elara let out a soft sigh. “It’s finally over.”

I went back to the dorm, packed my things, and left the school.

Renting an apartment was too much hassle, so I checked into a hotel again.

While I rested, I started thinking about what part-time work I could do.

Even with a fortune in the bank, I was a bargain hunter to the bone.

The shoes I’d bought for my birthday were priced at a few hundred bucks. I talked the manager into a floor-sample discount and got them for a lower three-figure amount.

By the time I’d figured out what job to look for, the Rank Exam results came out.

Word was that Silas and Maeve had both gotten an A, and everyone praised them for living up to the Alpha’s name.

Silas posted an invitation to their graduation party in the class group chat. The chat blew up at once, and the congratulations and chatter got as loud as a crowded market.

Then someone brought me up.

Brianna: [Wait, what about Hazel? She’s ranked first in the whole grade. She had to have done well too right? why isn’t she throwing a party]

Tyler: [She probably bombed the real one, lol. I saw her after the exam with her eyes all red. She definitely cried about it]

Megan: [Ok, does nobody else think this is weird? Hazel used to rank outside the top 100 and then she just jumps to first in the mocks. Did she cheat]

Tyler: [Thats what I’m saying. No way someone from her background beats Maeve and Silas on merit. So yeah. Cheated]

Brianna: [Exactly. And what did it get her. Real exam exposed her anyway]

Megan: [Eeople from places like that are always working an angle. No wonder the Lioraens kicked her out]

Jordan: [Wait. WHAT? The Lioraens kicked Hazel out? No wonder she moved into the dorms]

Tyler: [Serves her right. A stray doesn’t turn into a wolf just from rubbing up on an Alpha’s scent]

Within seconds, the chat was full of jeers and digs aimed at me.

Then a new message popped up.

Jordan: [HOLY. just heard it from Ms. Stone. Hazel got the ONLY S-rank]