Dumped in the Mud, Crowned in Gold

Georgia's POV

As the sole heir to one of America’s wealthiest families, I had always known the Harrington rule: every heir had to go through all four years of high school under an assumed identity, without using a single dollar of the family fortune.

So I wore thick black-framed glasses and secondhand sneakers and worked part-time jobs to support myself.

Everyone at school mocked me for being poor. They said my face was the only thing I had going for me.

Only Nolan, the top-ranked student in our grade, never looked down on me. Once, he slid half an eraser across the library table to me and told me that education could change a person’s life.

The day we started dating, he held my hand and promised me:

“Georgie, I’ll hold your hand through all of it. No matter how hard things get, I won’t let go.”

I believed him.

But during the outdoor club’s final hiking trip before my four-year disguise was over, a storm rolled in. Savannah, his childhood sweetheart, complained that her ankle hurt.

Nolan immediately let go of me and knocked me into the mud as he rushed to her.

Everyone gathered around Savannah to make sure she was okay. Then they laughed at me for thinking a poor girl like me could ever belong with someone like Nolan.

I didn’t cry.

I took off my glasses and placed my muddy, bloodstained hand in the palm of Holden, the Upper East Side heir who had spent the past two years trying to get me to go out with him.

“If you take my hand, you’re agreeing to be my girlfriend.”

“Okay.”

Just before Thanksgiving break, the outdoor adventure club organized a hiking trip in the Adirondacks.

The sky had been clear when we set out. By the time we were halfway up the mountain, dark clouds had rolled in.

Wind swept heavy clouds over the ridge, and rain hammered the treetops.

“Pick up the pace! There’s an abandoned ranger cabin up ahead. We can wait out the storm there!”

The club president’s voice was nearly swallowed by the wind and rain.

The trail quickly turned to mud. The soles of my old sneakers were worn smooth, and I slipped with almost every step. My faded hoodie was soaked through and clung to my body, while rain covered my glasses and blurred my vision.

Nolan walked on my right, barely holding on to my wrist as he frowned.

“Georgia, pick it up. You’re holding everyone back.”

I pressed my lips together and quickened my pace without answering.

“My ankle!”

A cry came from the front of the group.

Savannah sat on the stone steps, clutching her ankle with tears in her eyes.

She was Nolan’s childhood friend, the girl he had never quite gotten over. Nearly every boy at school was obsessed with her.

Nolan released me without a second thought.

He rushed toward her so quickly that he slammed into me. My foot slipped, and I fell into the muddy water beside the trail.

A branch cut the back of my hand, drawing blood.

I didn’t make a sound. I only looked up and watched Nolan, who always prided himself on staying calm, crouch beside Savannah in a panic.

“Savannah, do you think it’s broken? How bad does it hurt?”

His voice was almost unbearably gentle.

“Nolan, it hurts so much. I can’t walk.”

Savannah leaned into his arms. Her gaze moved past his shoulder and landed on me before her lips curved into a smug smile.

The other students crowded around her. Not one of them gave me a second glance.

“Some people really think the smartest guy in our grade must be in love with them just because he doesn’t make fun of them for being poor.”

“The second something happened, Nolan went straight to Savannah.”

“She seriously thought she had a chance with him? She seriously needs a reality check.”

Sitting in the mud, I wanted to cry. I wanted to be angry.

But neither the tears nor the anger would come.

The last of my hope had simply shattered.

I had believed he could see the real me beneath the disguise.

But he only liked how important he felt next to the poor girl everyone looked down on.

I pushed myself to my feet.

“Nolan, you promised you’d never let go of my hand, no matter how hard things got.”

His body stiffened. Guilt flickered in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by irritation.

“Georgia, can you stop making everything about yourself? Savannah is hurt. You’re used to working yourself to the bone. A little fall isn’t going to kill you. Savannah’s fragile. She’s not built like you.”

“Fine.”

If that was how he felt, I was done with the act.

Nolan lifted Savannah into his arms and headed toward the cabin with the rest of the group following behind him.

I watched them disappear into the rain, then removed my black-framed glasses.

Cold rain struck my face, but my mind had never felt clearer.

A second later, a large black umbrella blocked the storm above my head.

The faint scent of mint and tobacco surrounded me.

I turned and found myself staring into a pair of amused eyes.

Holden.

The one person at Hawthorne Academy no one dared mess with.

He held the umbrella in one hand while the other rested in his pocket. One eyebrow lifted.

“What’s wrong? He ditched you like trash, and now you’re standing here waiting for him to come back?”

Holden was different from everyone else at Hawthorne Academy.

He skipped class, got into fights, and ignored every school rule. But with the powerful Kingsley Group behind him, even the headmaster thought twice before crossing him.

He was always surrounded by beautiful girls from prominent families. Yet the spoiled rich boy kept showing up wherever I happened to be.

Sometimes he came to the diner where I worked, ordered one coffee, and stayed all afternoon. Other times, when students gave me trouble, he casually kicked over a table and scared them off.

“What, cat got your tongue?” Holden asked when I remained silent, a slight frown pulling at his brow.

His gaze dropped to the blood on the back of my hand. Something dangerous flashed in his eyes as he stepped closer.

“Georgia, where’s your backbone? One guy dumps you, and suddenly you can’t even take another step?”

“That’s not it.” I drew a deep breath. My voice trembled from the cold, but my gaze remained steady. “I was just thinking that the trail down is going to be difficult.”