Chapter3

June and graduation season arrived in the blink of an eye. The Beverly Hills Homeowners Association hosted its grand annual scholarship dinner at the exclusive Los Angeles Country Club. It wasn't just a sprawling vanity fair for the social elite; it was the night the $100,000 Ivy League Scholarship was officially awarded.

The ballroom was a sea of exquisite gowns and expensive cologne, bathed in the blinding, daylight-like glow of massive crystal chandeliers. Carter's mother and Julian's mother, both draped in the latest haute couture from Dior, stood by the towering champagne pyramid, locked in a ruthless battle of one-upmanship. After all, in their eyes, their sons were still the golden boys, gripping coveted offers from top-tier universities.

"My Carter got a personal call from the Yale admissions officer," Carter's mother announced, raising her flute of champagne. Her voice was pitched loud enough to ensure the entire room heard. "They said his leadership skills were the most outstanding in this year's applicant pool."

Julian's mother immediately rolled her eyes, refusing to be outdone. "That's nothing. Julian locked in his Princeton offer with a full-ride scholarship! Princeton's acceptance rate hit a record low this year. Only true geniuses get in."

While they traded boasts and surrounding neighbors offered awkward, polite nods, Harper linked arms with Carter and Julian, strutting over to me like a victorious general. She wore a wildly expensive white cocktail dress, looking the very epitome of fragile innocence—a textbook wolf in sheep's clothing.

"Sydney, I assume you've had enough time to reflect," Harper said, tilting her head with a gratingly condescending, patronizing tone. "As long as you apologize to me in front of everyone tonight, and promise that your family will cover my $10,000 monthly allowance at Apollo College, the four of us can still be best friends. Carter says he's willing to forgive your little breakup tantrum."

Carter played his part perfectly, fixing me with a deeply affectionate gaze as he reached out to grab my hand. "Come on, Sydney. Stop making a scene. You haven't spoken to me in over a month, and I've really missed you. Just be well-behaved, and we can work this all out."

"Sorting out the trash is a civic duty," I said coldly, mercilessly slapping his hand away. A sharp smirk touched my lips. "But the three of you are toxic waste disguised as humans, and frankly, you repulse me. Back off."

Harper's face darkened instantly, crocodile tears springing to her eyes on command.

Right then, the HOA president tapped the microphone on stage, his voice booming over the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, the moment we've all been waiting for. Let's give a massive round of applause as we invite Sydney to the stage to accept the Harvard University Admission Scholarship!"

The room erupted in gasps. The two mothers completely abandoned their carefully curated elegance, storming the stage in their stilettos and screaming.

"Impossible! The Ivy League award belongs to our sons! The courier just dropped off the final confirmation letters with the official embossed seals. Read my son's!"

They aggressively shoved the freshly signed manila envelopes into the president's hands, nearly getting into a physical shoving match on stage over whose name would be read first. Carter and Julian went deathly pale. They lunged forward, desperate to stop the spectacle, but were quickly intercepted by security guards.

The president ripped open the first envelope and cleared his throat, but his expression rapidly twisted into a mask of pure confusion. He adjusted his reading glasses, staring hard at the paper before speaking into the mic:

"Let us congratulate Carter and Julian on officially confirming their enrollment at... Apollo Vocational College?"

Dead silence fell over the country club. A second later, the room exploded into a boiling frenzy of whispers and shocked murmurs.

"Apollo Vocational College? Isn't that the absolute worst, bottom-of-the-barrel trade school in the country? A pure diploma mill?"

"Wait, they gave up Yale and Princeton for a sham college? Have these families lost their minds?"

The two mothers looked as though they'd been struck by lightning. They snatched the confirmation letters back, scanning them frantically, their eyes bulging from their sockets.

"Carter! What about Yale?!"

"Julian! Tell me this isn't real!"

Carter and Julian buried their heads in shame, cold sweat beading intensely on their foreheads.

It was in this do-or-die moment that Harper unleashed her terrifying flair for playing the absolute victim. Her eyes flushed red as she pointed a trembling finger straight at me.

"Sydney! Just because we were out of town that weekend, we trusted you to do the final verification in the college portal! Why would you maliciously alter their choices into this school out of some sick, twisted jealousy?!"

Catching her drift instantly, Carter seized the opportunity to shift the blame in front of his livid mother, plunging his verbal knife into me without hesitation. "Sydney, just because I rejected your desperate pleas to get back together, you resorted to something this vile to ruin Julian and me?! Are you even human?!"

Julian was right behind him. "Exactly! We trusted you!"

Hearing this, Carter's mother morphed into a rabid lioness and lunged wildly at me. "You little bitch, you've ruined my son's life! I'll kill you!"

The black-clad bodyguards stationed behind me stepped forward seamlessly, blocking her advance like a wall of solid iron. Taking my time, I strolled up to the stage and plucked the microphone straight out of the bewildered president's hand.

"Now that your little theatrical performance is over," I announced, letting my gaze sweep over their panicked faces, "it's time to hear my version of the truth."

I lifted my hand and snapped my fingers at my father.