Let Him Stumble While You Climb Chapter 06

Let Him Stumble While You Climb Chapter 06

Caleb’s smile froze.

“What?”

Vivian opened the envelope.

Inside was an acceptance letter from the community college. She flipped to the first page, where the admitted student’s name was printed in unmistakable letters.

Caleb Davis.

Every laugh and cheerful conversation in the room died at once.

Tens of thousands of people were already watching the livestream, and comments raced across the screen.

[Holy shit! She actually withdrew them? I thought she was just doing this for attention!]

[Oh my God. He’s literally sacrificing his future for a relationship. A 1580 SAT and he’s going to community college? He’s the ultimate simp.]

[That girl is an idiot. She’s an absolute nightmare of a girlfriend! She just ruined her boyfriend’s entire life!]

The screen filled with one brutal comment after another.

Vivian, however, was completely lost in her own romantic fantasy. She did not notice the suffocating silence around her.

She held her phone high, beaming as she deliberately displayed the

—

acceptance letter to the camera.

“I know you planned to attend an Ivy League school far away,” Vivian said, gazing up at Caleb, her voice soft but disturbingly possessive.

“I can’t handle a long-distance relationship, and I definitely can’t stand the thought of you being surrounded by all those brilliant girls.”

“You said it yourself. Your future, money, and career all matter less than I do.”

“I only helped you keep your promise, Caleb. You should be thanking me.”

Caleb stood frozen, as though every drop of blood in his body had turned to ice.

Slowly, he lowered his gaze.

His eyes settled on the community college acceptance letter, and his fingertips began to tremble uncontrollably.

“Vivian, is this some kind of prank?”

That 1580 SAT score had cost him countless sleepless nights.

Vera had sacrificed her own free time to keep him studying, shore up his weak areas, and drill the questions he kept missing until she pulled his score back up point by point.

It represented the promise he and Vera had made as children.

—

It represented two rooms overflowing with SAT practice tests and notebooks filled with every question they had gotten wrong. It represented more than a decade of early mornings and endless studying.

It represented the bright, promising future that should have been waiting for him.

Vivian had destroyed all of it as casually as tearing up a scrap of paper.

No one at the party dared to speak.

They had all survived senior year together, so they understood exactly what a 1580 meant.

It was a score most students could only dream of. It was his ticket to an Ivy League education and the foundation of a secure future.

Now it was all gone.

Caleb swallowed hard. When he finally spoke, his voice was painfully hoarse.

“When did you do it?”

“The day you gave me your password.” Vivian smiled with a mixture of innocence and pride. “Logging in was easy. I withdrew every application. I even removed all your safety schools and left only the community college, so there was no way out.”

“Isn’t this better? We can go to class together every day and head home together afterward. No one will ever separate us.”

“Vera won’t be able to use your childhood friendship as an excuse to

—

cling to you anymore. We’ll finally be free to live however we want.”

Her words destroyed the last shred of hope Caleb had been clinging to.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

He seized Vivian by the shoulders, his eyes blazing with rage.

“This is my entire life!”

His grip hurt, and Vivian struggled desperately to break free.

The joy on her face vanished when she saw his expression.

Although her confidence had crumbled, she stubbornly tried to defend herself.

“What’s wrong with community college?”

“You can still get an education there. You can transfer later and become successful. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”

“Are your degree and your future the only things that matter to you?”

“What about me? Does our love mean nothing?”

Her lips trembled in wounded indignation as she tried to lean into Caleb’s arms.

In the past, Caleb would have softened immediately. He would have hugged her and murmured reassurances until she calmed down.

This time, he instinctively stepped aside.

Vivian missed him and stumbled half a step. Her expression darkened

—

at once.

“Caleb, why are you treating me like this?”

Caleb walked around her and came toward me one slow step at a time.