The Fake Group Darling Picked a Fight with the Real Boss Chapter 02

The Fake Group Darling Picked a Fight with the Real Boss Chapter 02

He didn’t say anything else.

On the way, the group chat went wild digging up my old history.

Trevor: [Remember back in middle school when some older peers cornered me in the restroom to tease me?]

Colson: [Yep. Harleigh brought the five of us to keep an eye on them for a whole week. Then she gathered photos of them skipping class and picking on younger kids and mailed them straight to the counselor.]

Trevor: [Saved my skin, sure. But she got her parents called in for climbing fences to watch them.]

Colson: [She’s been like that since we were kids. Saving people, yes. By the book, no.]

Manuel, one hand on the wheel, casually spoke up for me in a voice message. “It worked out, didn’t it?”

The chat went silent for a few seconds.

Colson: [Manuel, you’re hopeless.]

Trevor: [One word of advice—Harleigh will keep the rain off you, but don’t ask if she’s the one who made it rain in the first place.]

I almost choked on my laughter in the passenger seat.

He wasn’t wrong.

The biggest storm Manuel had ever faced in his life was indeed caused by me.

But that’s a story for later.

When we pulled up to my home, Manuel carried my luggage upstairs.

Before leaving, he casually mentioned, “Sylvie will probably show up tonight.”

“Isn’t she your new little princess?”

Manuel glanced at me. “Who told you that?”

“For the past year, the most any of us ever called her was ‘the one Rupert brought along.'”

After changing, I scrolled through the local forum.

The top trending post made me laugh out loud.

Title: [The guy’s original group favorite is back. Should I bow out gracefully?]

OP started by stressing how straightforward she was, how she’d never gotten along with girls.

Then went on about how close she’d gotten with a few guys this past year—they picked her up from work, took her to meals, went traveling together.

[Recently this girl they grew up with is coming back. Heard she’s been spoiled by everyone her whole life. Probably a handful.]

Someone in the comments told her to stop imagining things, that the girl coming back had nothing to do with her.

OP replied:

[I just don’t like people who think everyone should revolve around them just because they’ve known each other longer.]

[Besides, girls are so much drama. With guys there’s none of that.]

[If she comes back and gets them to distance themselves from me, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just feel bad for the boys.]

I clicked into her profile.

The background photo was a group shot of guys. Dead center stood a girl, grinning brightly.

Standing all the way in the back, looking quite apart from the group, was Manuel.

No need to guess—it was Sylvie herself.

Before even meeting me, she had already pictured me as an unkind girl in her head.

After a moment’s thought, I left a comment under her post:

[The more you lack something, the louder you brag about it.]