Chapter 4 Enrollment Application

Flora also noticed something was off about Arabella. She frowned and leaned in close, whispering, "Aren't you upset?"

"About what?"

Flora was thrown off by Arabella's reaction.

Could it be that Theodric getting a girlfriend had actually broken Arabella's heart? Made her give up completely?

Well, maybe that was for the best. She'd always thought Theodric wasn't good enough for Arabella anyway.

"Never mind." Flora quickly shook her head, shutting down any topic related to Theodric.

"It's nothing. Oh, I need to stop by the principal's office — can you tell my next teacher I'll be late?" With that, Arabella stood up to leave.

"What are you going to the principal's office for?"

Arabella wasn't planning to hide anything about Regina's enrollment. She reached into her bag and pulled out an application form, sighing. "To get a new student enrolled. Class is starting soon — cover for me, I'll explain everything later."

Flora stared at the application form, puzzled.

Who could possibly make Arabella go out of her way like this?

Just as she was about to ask more, the bell rang.

Arabella grabbed her bag, quickly asked Flora to excuse her absence, then headed straight for the principal's office.

She walked in right as the bell was ringing. The moment Principal Daniel Foster saw her, he put down what he was doing. "Arabella, what brings you here? Is something the matter?"

The school received funding from the Obelon Family every year, so naturally they treated anyone from the family with great respect.

"There's a small favor I'd like to ask." Arabella was well-mannered as always. She walked up to Daniel and handed him the application form with both hands.

Daniel took it and murmured quietly, "Regina? A friend of yours? Or a relative of the Obelon Family?"

The implication was clear — if she had any connection to Arabella, some exceptions could be made.

Her brothers' instructions weren't something she could ignore, but she wasn't about to make things easy for Regina either. There was no way Regina was going to enjoy the privileges that came with the Obelon Family name.

In her past life, she had bent over backwards clearing every obstacle for Regina, only to get stabbed in the back. Now that she had a second chance, she wasn't going to make the same mistake.

Arabella caught the hint in his words. She smiled and shook her head. "Just someone who needs a scholarship."

Daniel understood exactly what she meant. He accepted the application with a smile. "Then we'll follow the school's standard procedures."

Regina had submitted her application that morning, and by the afternoon she received a notice about the school's entrance exam.

When she got the message, she read it over and over dozens of times, still unable to believe it.

Wasn't it supposed to be easy for the Obelon Family to get someone into this school? Why did she still have to take an entrance exam like everyone else?

With her grades, there was no way she could get into a top school like Summit Academy.

Regina was a nervous wreck. She spent two agonizing hours waiting before Arabella finally came home.

The moment Arabella walked through the door, Regina rushed over. "Arabella, I got a notice about an entrance exam..."

Before she could finish, Arabella smiled pleasantly. "No need to thank me."

The words hit Regina like a bucket of cold water. The smile she'd been forcing froze on her face, and she choked on whatever she was about to say.

Seeing Regina standing there speechless, Arabella's eyes shifted slightly, and she asked with a calm expression, "What's wrong? Weren't you coming to thank me for submitting your application?"

Summit Academy was known for being fast and efficient. Since Regina had already received the notice today, the exam was almost certainly tomorrow.

In her past life, Regina's grades were terrible. Arabella had used the Obelon Family's name to pressure the principal into accepting Regina despite the pushback. Then, because Regina kept struggling with her classes, Arabella had stayed up late making notes for her and explaining everything step by step.

She had done everything for Regina, letting her own studies slip — and what did she get in return? Not gratitude. Instead, her brothers told her to learn from Regina.

To learn how Regina had climbed from the bottom all the way to the top ten.

She still remembered it clearly — that smug, contemptuous look on Regina's face as she said, "Arabella, you really need to focus on your studies. I made all this progress because I put everything into learning."

Thinking about it now, Arabella's gaze turned ice cold as she looked at Regina, though the smile on her lips only grew wider.

The room was dead quiet. Regina took a deep breath, her eyes quickly welling up. She put on a look of gratitude, staring at Arabella with wide, round eyes. "Of course I'm grateful that you submitted the application for me. It's just — Arabella, Summit Academy is such a prestigious school, and I was only at a small rural high school before. The education there can't even compare to the city. But the exam is already tomorrow..."

She let her words trail off at just the right moment. Her soft, self-blaming tone and her pitiful expression were the kind that would normally make anyone feel sorry for her.

Too bad the person standing in front of her was a reborn Arabella — one who had already seen through every layer of her act.

"In that case, shouldn't you be studying right now?" Arabella listened to everything she said, then asked with complete sincerity. "Time is running out, so I won't keep you. Good luck."

She turned and headed upstairs. She'd been given a second chance at life, and she wasn't about to waste it on someone like Regina.

But just as she reached the stairs, Regina suddenly grabbed her arm. The next second, a voice thick with tears rang out. "Arabella, please — can you help me?"

Arabella turned her arm and gently shook off Regina's hand.

Then Regina's footing gave way, and she stumbled backward.

Before Arabella could even react, a figure came rushing in from the entryway.

"Arabella! What do you think you're doing!" The man moved fast, just barely catching Regina before she hit the ground.

Easton's brow was tightly knitted, his eyes blazing with anger. When he saw the tears at the corners of Regina's eyes, he lost all composure. "You'd better give me an explanation right now. What could possibly justify you putting your hands on Regina?"

"Easton, why does it have to be my fault? Why couldn't she have just lost her balance on her own?" The same scene had played out in her past life, and Arabella felt nothing but a cold emptiness inside. She stood on the stairs, watching Easton with calm, unreadable eyes.

His words made Easton pause, and some of his anger faded.

He was right — he didn't even know what had actually happened. Why was he already blaming everything on Arabella?

Meanwhile, Regina lay in his arms, her face pale. Her hand rested on Easton's arm, and when she felt his attention slipping, she quickly leaned weakly against him and said softly, "Easton, I'm fine. I lost my balance. It has nothing to do with Arabella."

"Nothing to do with her?" Hearing the lingering tremor in Regina's voice, Easton's sympathy surged again. "I'll get to the bottom of this. Arabella's been spoiled by us — she throws tantrums sometimes. But if she did something wrong, we won't cover for her. She'll apologize if she owes you one."

He helped Regina up and carefully guided her to the couch.

The moment she sat down, Regina let out a sharp hiss of pain.

She pulled up her pant leg, revealing her ankle — it had already swollen up red.

The swelling was right there in plain sight. Easton's expression darkened even further, and he looked up, fixing his gaze on Arabella, who showed no sign of remorse.

"Nothing to say for yourself?"