Replaced by a True Prince, Your Failure Means Nothing Chapter 07

Replaced by a True Prince, Your Failure Means Nothing Chapter 07

The second they stepped onto campus, Joren spotted a stuffed keychain out of the corner of his eye.

He hurried forward and grabbed the stranger’s arm all of a sudden. “This keychain… who gave it to you?”

The keychain wasn’t one of a kind. But when he’d gifted it to me, he’d drawn a tiny black dot along the kitten ear on purpose, marking it as something irreplaceable.

The student blinked, then glanced at the photo tucked behind Joren’s phone case. Understanding washed over the student instantly.

“Oh, I remember you! Aren’t you the guy who confessed on the sports field that day?”

“The girl in the photo’s your friend? She stood right beside me back then. I said how cute the kitten stuffed was, and she handed it over without hesitation.”

Joren froze on the spot, forcing the words out through a tight throat.

“When… was this?”

The student’s gaze drifted knowingly between Joren and Maren.

“When you two were making out.”

“She stood there watching, totally stunned. I honestly thought she didn’t even know you.”

“Wait a second, she’s also the girl who brought you flowers that day, right?”

Once the student walked away, Joren slowly snapped out of his stupor. All color drained from his face.

“She saw it…”

“She witnessed everything. She knows I cheated on her with you.”

A memory slammed into Joren out of nowhere. He frantically scrolled backward through the group chat history. Shortly after my SATs finished, I’d messaged everyone in the group.

I’d asked what they thought about me setting up a flower stall on their campus to earn extra cash. I’d said it would be perfect—I could make money and get to spend more time with them.

What had their reply been? They’d just brushed me off.

“Won’t work. Our school enforces strict curfews.”

The truth was they had never bothered reading my message carefully at all.

Joren buried his face in his hands, consumed by agony.

No wonder she’d kept staring at him every time they met afterward. He’d recognized a familiar vibe about her, but it had been dimly lit, and he’d never stopped to think deeper.

Why hadn’t he paid attention? He struck his forehead repeatedly, drowning in regret.

Maren paled too. She never imagined I had seen everything long before the truth surfaced. Yet watching Joren fall apart, a sharp wave of jealousy bubbled up inside her.

She reached out for him.

“Joren, it’s alright. You still have me…”

She never got close enough to touch him. Joren shoved her away roughly.

His eyes burned red. “This is all your fault!”

“If you weren’t here, she would never have seen any of it! If you hadn’t begged me to keep her away from HSU, I would have never changed her application!”

“If you hadn’t flooded the group chat with all those posts, I would have noticed her messages!”

Every word came out sharp and unyielding.

Maren stared at him in disbelief, her voice shaky.

“But… aren’t we meant for each other?”

“Meant for each other?”

Joren let out a bitter scoff and fixed her with a frigid look. “When was that ever the case?”

“I only treated you as a friend. You were the one throwing yourself at me. I went along purely because Wynne wasn’t beside me.”

Maren stared blankly at him. “That can’t be… Wynne isn’t half as good as me. Why do you only want her?”

Joren fell silent.

He couldn’t put it into words.

Maybe it started ages ago, when he spotted me huddled alone in a corner and felt a surge of sympathy.

Or maybe it was the day I first pressed a lollipop into his hand.

He couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment. All he knew was that he loved me.

He closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, all emotion faded from his features. He looked at her coldly.

“Whatever we had is over.”

“Until Wynne forgives me, we aren’t even friends.”

After that, he bombarded my inbox constantly. Message after message filled with apologies.

But not a single reply ever arrived.