Chapter 156
Linda’s confidence wavered. Her checks flushed red as she realized the tide had turned.
But she was not one to give up easily.
Her eyes welled up with tears as she clasped her hands dramatically.
“Sophia, do you hate me this much?” she said, her voice trembling. “Why would you post something so private? Have you forgotten everything we went through in school? You led the others to bully me because Ryan liked me!
Now you’re leading an internet mob to destroy me. Isn’t that too much?”
Her tears seemed to strike a chord with Alpha Caden, who rushed to her side.
“Sophia!” he barked, his voice filled with fury. “You’ve tormented Linda for years. Apologize to her–now!”
I watched as Linda subtly switched on her phone’s camera, angling it to capture her tear–streaked. face.
It was clear she intended to play the victim, painting me as the villain in her carefully constructed. narrative.
“Rumors,” I said, my tone sharp. “You think you can rewrite history just because we’ve graduated? Spin the past to fit whatever story you want?” I stepped closer, narrowing my eyes. “What exactly are you trying to achieve, Linda?”
She bit her lip, her tears glistening.
“So, what if I am?” she whispered, her voice laced with false vulnerability.
The tension in the room reached a breaking point as the door swung open.
Lirian strode in, his presence commanding immediate attention.
His eyes scanned the room before locking onto me, softening ever so slightly.
Without a word, he crossed the space and pulled me into his arms.
Teame as soon as I received the call,” he murmured, his voice filled with concern. “Are you hurt?”
The Alplaci Subotitute Luna. A Heart Calmiril, A Soul Rebotis
shook my head, but his expression darkened as he turned to Caden, who was still hovering protectively over Linda.
Lirian’s jaw tightened, his rage barely contained.
Behind him stood Eric, now his Beta, and–surprisingly–Mia.
The moment Mia saw Linda, her eyes burned with fury.
“Linda.” Mia spat, stepping forward. “Remember me? Your “best friend“? Or have you conveniently forgotten that too?”
Mia had changed a lot over the years.
The once lively, spirited girl I had known was now a shadow of herself. Her face was pale, her eyes sunken, and there was a weariness in her posture that spoke of a life filled with hardship and disappointment.
The vibrant energy she once had was gone, replaced with a distant, hollow look as though the years had drained the life out of her.
She stood in front of me, looking different in a way I couldn’t quite place, and it took me a moment to realize why.
I hadn’t seen Mia in years, not since that fateful day when she had stood up for Linda, thinking that she was doing the right thing by defending a friend.
But in the end, that act of loyalty had cost her everything.
Mia had been betrayed, cast out of school, and left to face a world that was much crueler than shef had imagined.
Her life had fallen apart, and for what? For a lie.
Linda, on the other hand, was still the same in many ways.
Her beauty had remained, but now it was a hollow shell, a mask that she wore to conceal her true
nature.
Her eyes, once full of warmth and charm, were now cold and calculating, searching for ways to manipulate everyone around her.
I could see right through her.
But the thing that shocked me the most was the change in Mia.
She was no longer the naïve, trusting girl I had once known. She had grown stronger, wiser, and painfully aware of the people who had hurt her.
I watched as Linda, her expression a mix of fake concern and feigned sympathy, took a step toward
Mia.
Her voice was soft, almost sweet, as she spoke, but I could hear the underlying falsehood in her
words.
“Mia, I’ve been so worried about you all these years,” she said, reaching out to grab Mia’s hand. “If it weren’t for Sophia being so heartless back then–forcing you out of school–this wouldn’t have happened to you!”
Linda’s words were dripping with false sorrow, the kind of manipulation that only someone like her would use to try and regain control.
I could tell that she was trying to paint me as the villain once again, but this time, Mia wasn’t going to let her get away with it.
She pulled her hand away from Linda’s grasp with a sharp, decisive movement.
Her eyes locked onto Linda’s, and I could feel the tension in the air.
T
“I won’t be fooled by you again,” Mia said, her voice steady and calm, but there was a hard edge to it
that I hadn’t heard before. “It’s because I trusted you back then that I ended up like this!” She took a step back, her expression cold and unwavering.
“Didn’t you say you really liked Ryan and didn’t care about his family’s poverty? So why aren’t you
with him now?”
