Team NYU? Cute… They All Secretly Joined Team Delilah Chapter 02

Team NYU? Cute… They All Secretly Joined Team Delilah Chapter 02

On the day of our graduation party, the private karaoke room was already buzzing when I pushed open the door.

Sue was sitting beside Delilah, and both of them were wearing identical white dresses.

One of our classmates noticed and teased them.

“You two are matching!”

Sue leaned toward me and explained quietly, “Jade, it’s just a dress. Don’t read too much into it.”

I looked at her without saying anything.

She used to be the one who said we would wear matching best friend outfits forever and take countless pictures together.

Nicolas was sitting in the middle.

The seat beside him had clearly been left open for Delilah.

He waved me over.

“Come here.”

I had just reached them when Delilah said softly, “Nicolas, I’m a little cold.”

He immediately handed her his jacket and shifted closer to her.

The empty seat disappeared.

Nicolas noticed me pause and frowned.

“Jade, don’t just stand there. Sit wherever you want.”

I sat at the far end of the booth.

When we started ordering food, Andrew suddenly spoke up.

“No scallions or ginger. Delilah doesn’t eat them.”

I froze for a moment.

I had hated cilantro since I was little, but Andrew had always said, “What’s wrong with cilantro? Jade, you can’t be so picky.”

Then he would deliberately put a pile of cilantro on my plate.

Eventually, I had learned to tolerate it.

I bit down hard on my lower lip, trying not to let anyone see the change in my expression.

Someone joked, “I heard the four of you are finally splitting up. Still, with Jade’s SAT score, NYU is pretty much guaranteed, right?”

Several classmates immediately agreed.

“Of course. She’s Jade Schmidt.”

Before I could say anything, Delilah suddenly gave a soft laugh.

“Jade, I really wasn’t trying to hurt you. I just…”

“On SAT day, I think I saw a slip of paper tucked behind your admission ticket.”

The room went silent in an instant.

She did not have to spell it out for everyone to reach the same conclusion.

I looked straight at her and asked, one word at a time, “Are you saying I cheated on the SAT?”

Tears immediately spilled from Delilah’s eyes.

“No! I never said that!”

She waved her hands frantically, her eyes turning red.

“I only saw it and didn’t dare say anything. I was afraid it would affect you, and I was afraid everyone would misunderstand you.”

“Jade, please don’t push me like this, okay?”

Sue clutched the hem of her dress, her face pale.

“Jade, maybe Delilah was mistaken…”

I asked her, “Do you believe she was mistaken, or do you believe I never cheated?”

Her lips moved, but she did not answer.

Andrew spoke coldly.

“Delilah never said you cheated. She only said she saw a piece of paper.”

Nicolas frowned too.

“Jade, Delilah has been trying to protect you this entire time. Why do you have to make this sound so ugly?”

I suddenly laughed.

“So all of you really think I’d bring a cheat sheet into the test center?”

I picked up my phone and stopped and saved the recording that had been running.

Then I looked at Delilah calmly.

“Delilah Chavez, falsely accusing someone of cheating on the SAT is serious.”

The room became so quiet that all I could hear was the air conditioner.

I continued.

“What did the paper look like? What was written on it? Where exactly did you see it? What time was it, down to the minute?”

The tears on Delilah’s face seemed to freeze.

I stared at her and pressed her with one question after another.

“Can you explain every detail in front of everyone here?”

Andrew’s face darkened immediately.

“Enough. Do you have to ruin the whole party?”

Sue hurried over to smooth things over.

“Come on, Jade. Delilah was just joking.”

I picked up the glass of water in front of me and said nothing more.

But Delilah suddenly held out her phone.

“Jade, my phone seems to be lagging. Can you help me see what’s wrong with it?”

The moment I took it, she let go.

The phone hit the floor, and the screen cracked instantly.

The entire room fell silent.

Andrew picked up the broken phone and glared at me.

“Why do you keep targeting Delilah today?”

“Apologize.”

I lifted my head.

“She let go herself.”

Delilah immediately shook her head as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Jade, I didn’t… I know you don’t like me, but I would never deliberately drop my own phone.”

Then, as if she were afraid of making me even angrier, she added softly, “Forget it, Andrew. Don’t force her. I’m fine.”

The moment she said that, Andrew’s gaze toward me turned even colder.

Nicolas’s expression darkened too.

“Jade Schmidt, look at her. Are you still going to deny it?”

I stared at him in disbelief, as if I were seeing him for the first time.

The night after the SAT, he had stood below my apartment building holding a bouquet and smiling at me.

“Once we get into NYU, I’m going to ask you out for real.”

Sue walked over and lowered her voice.

“Jade, just say you’re sorry. Everyone is watching. Don’t make this any more embarrassing than it already is.”

“I’m the one making this embarrassing?”

Delilah suddenly stepped forward and reached for my arm.

“Jade, stop fighting with them. I really don’t blame you…”

I instinctively stepped back to avoid her hand.

She seemed to lose her balance and fell sideways.

Her body knocked a wine bottle off the edge of the table.

The sharp crash of breaking glass cut through the room.

Delilah landed on the floor, her dress soaked with spilled wine, and a vivid streak of red quickly appeared beside her leg.

Nicolas was the first person to rush to her.

Andrew spun toward me, his eyes filled with nothing but disappointment and anger.

“Jade Schmidt, you’ve been spoiled rotten.”