Chapter 3

"Don't be mad, babe. I'm right here," Kaelen coaxed in a low voice.

In that exact same frame, a cold, malicious voice echoed in my mind.

'Is Maeve out of her mind? Zero self-awareness. Prancing around with the trash trophy I threw away and driving Sloane crazy. Now I have to waste my time cleaning up her mess? Just looking at her pisses me off.'

After placating Sloane, Kaelen finally turned to face me.

The impatience on his face seamlessly morphed into a standard, magnanimous, and apologetic smile.

"Maeve, the advisor told me you took the championship. Congratulations. I knew that even without me there, it wouldn't be tough for you. You're not mad at me, right?"

He was trying to repackage this public confrontation into a "voluntary resignation" of an all-powerful leader.

"Don't mention it," I said, looking him dead in the eye.

My voice was just loud enough for the outer circle of onlookers to hear clearly. "I really should thank you. If you hadn't thrown your spot in the competition away like trash ten minutes before the start just to shoot a video with your girlfriend, I might not have locked in that Stanford admission."

"I wish you two a happily ever after. You deserve each other."

The hallway froze for a second. Then, a wave of irrepressible gasps and whispers exploded like boiling water.

"Holy shit, he dropped out to shoot a TikTok? Is he insane?"

"So his 'more important project' was just being a glorified purse-holder?"

"Giving up the hackathon championship to play boyfriend? What a total loser..."

The envious gazes that had previously landed on Sloane instantly turned into mocking disdain.

Kaelen's composure shattered. He glared at me, his jaw clenching so hard a muscle ticked.

His mental roar crashed recklessly through my mind.

'Maeve, you bitch! She's definitely jealous of Sloane. She's destroying my image on purpose!'

'Damn it, if my parents hear about this, they already think Sloane is braindead. Now they'll never let us be together!'

Listening to his pathetic little calculations, I felt nothing but utter boredom.

I really used to tolerate him without limits. The summer I was twelve, he pulled me out of a rip current at the beach.

That dripping wet, concerned face became the heroic filter I viewed him through for my entire adolescence.

He had once sworn, blushing, that he would marry me in the future.

Before Sloane showed up, I genuinely believed him. I even thought it was only a matter of time before we walked down the aisle together.

But when he pushed me aside without hesitation for Sloane, I just felt tired. Suddenly, the whole thing seemed entirely pointless.

Whatever emotional debt existed between us was officially cancelled.

"Stop acting so high and mighty!" Hearing the mockery around them, Sloane was completely enraged. "You're just jealous Kaelen chose me and not you! You've had a crush on him for years, and now that you can't have him, you're lashing out!"

"Sloane, put away your persecution complex," I said, my tone completely flat. "I don't have a fetish for stupidity, nor do I plan to fish someone's chewed-up gum out of the trash. If you treat him like a treasure, do us all a favor and keep him on a tight leash."

Unbridled laughter erupted from the crowd.

"Y-you bitch!" Sloane's face flushed crimson from the stinging laughter. Shaking all over, she let out a shriek, shoved her way through the crowd, and ran toward the stairwell.

"Sloane! Wait!" Kaelen shot me a vicious glare before spinning around to chase after her.

Over the following week, as if desperate to prove to the world that "dropping out was worth it," Kaelen and Sloane fell into a manic state of exhibitionism.

On the campus lawn, in the café, out by the library.

Their ring-light-wielding, video-shooting figures were everywhere. Sloane would loudly declare to the camera, "My boyfriend gave up Stanford to be with me."

A few underclassmen would crouch nearby, fawning over the romantic script of the "Academic Investor and the Hot Influencer."

I had no interest in their circus, but that didn't mean the clowns wouldn't come to me.

The other day, I walked out of the restroom and looked up to find Sloane leaning against the doorframe, touching up her makeup.

"Keep grinding away at those textbooks," she said, "Kaelen has decided to move out of his parents' house. We've already booked a luxury ocean-view apartment. He said he's going to start a VC firm and take care of me. As for you, you only deserve a lifetime of wrestling with a pile of garbage code."

I pulled out a paper towel, slowly drying every drop of water from my fingers.

"Good for you. Excuse me, you're in my way."

My indifference clearly infuriated her. Just as I walked past her, she suddenly stuck her foot out.

Caught off guard, my center of gravity shifted. I stumbled two steps forward, my shoulder scraping against the rough wall, igniting a burning sting.

Before I could even brace myself against the wall to stand straight, a ridiculously exaggerated scream erupted behind me.

"Ahhh! It hurts!" Sloane had thrown herself heavily onto the floor, tears welling up in an instant.

"Sloane!" Kaelen charged in frantically, dropping to one knee to pull her into his arms.

"Kaelen... Maeve said I stole you from her... and then she deliberately pushed me..."

"Maeve, are you out of your fucking mind?!" Kaelen roared at me. "Your bitter ex act is disgusting! Let me tell you right now—stay away from us, and never look for me again!"

But alongside his roar, his inner voice echoed once more.

'Fuck, this idiot Sloane can't even fake a fall properly. Her screaming is giving me a headache.'

'But... why is Maeve looking better and better lately? So cold, so edgy. It's just a shame she's so boring. If only Sloane had half a brain, that would be perfect. What if I could have both of them in the palm of my hand...'

'Whatever, you can't have your cake and eat it too...'

Disgusting.

A sensation of pure, physical nausea shot straight up to the back of my throat.

I turned around, fixing Kaelen with the kind of stare reserved for hazardous waste.

"You can put your mind at ease. I have zero interest in you, and I won't be looking for you ever again."

With that, I walked straight out.

Ever since hearing exactly what was going on inside his head, I didn't even bother sparing a single drop of emotion on him.

Thank God we never actually dated.