Chapter3

o ensure the boys wouldn't change their minds before the Common App deadline closed, Mari immediately orchestrated a "submission celebration" trip .

Up in the mountains, out of their parents' reach, Blaise and Kieran couldn't log back into their portals.

By the time they returned to Palo Alto, their community college choices would be permanently locked.

Over the next few days, Mari posted on social media unusually frequently .

Photos of Blaise carrying her through the snow, and Kieran sharing his jacket with her by the fire.

She was afraid I wouldn't notice, so she even sent me a text to taunt me.

’Sera, look how happy we are! Must hurt to see the two guys you've loved since childhood acting like my personal backups.‘

A minute later, another message.

‘They’d rather be my safety nets than choose you. Don't you feel like a failure?’

Sitting at my desk, the Stanford acceptance confirmation on my screen.

They thought I’d end up at a community college and be miserable, so they deliberately came to mock me. But they wre wrong.

It wouldn't be long before they had no reason to laugh.

Our community had a tradition. Whenever the student secured a spot at a top-tier university, the HOA board awarded a $50,000 for him or her.

The HOA President posted the announcement:

Congratulations to our community! We have a student who officially got into Stanford! We will present the $50,000 grant tomorrow evening. All residents invited!

The comment section exploded.

Mrs. Hargrove, Blaise’s mother, commented first.*“Thank you all! Blaise worked so hard.We were proud of him .”

Minutes later, Mrs. Ashford, Kieran’s mother, replied. “Excuse me, Cynthia. Kieran is the one who got in. Stop stealing my son's spotlight.”

“You're delusional, Evelyn!” Mrs. Hargrove shot back. “My son scored extremely high. He’s definitely got a spot at Stanford University. ”

“Kieran also did really well. It will definitely be my son who gets into Stanford University. ”

I locked my phone. If they only knew their precious sons had sacrificed their futures for a girl who played the poverty card for a living.

Because of the online brawl, the ballroom was packed the next night. Every resident wanted to see who won.

I arrived in a black dress.

Before the ceremony started, Mari intercepted me by the buffet. Blaise and Kieran flanked her like bodyguards.

Mari said, a smug smile on her face. "Apologize, and we can be friends again, Sarah. But community college has hidden fees. Your parents need to up my monthly sponsorship. Two thousand isn't enough. I need ten thousand a month."

I almost laughed. She demanded I finance the school they tried to trap me in?

I stepped closer. "Mari, let me make this clear. The Caldwell family will not fund a single cent of your existence ever again."

Mari’s eyes welled with tears. She shrank back.

Blaise stepped up. "Don't be a bitch, Sera! Mari is giving you a chance. Refuse, and don't expect us to protect you at community college!"

"You're isolating yourself," Kieran added smoothly. "Be smart."

A slow smirk spread across my face. "Worry about yourselves."

The microphone on the main stage screeched. The HOA President stood near the podium, waving a envelope.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Please welcome the recipient of the Stanford acceptance and our fifty-thousand-dollar grant—Miss Seraphina Caldwell!"

The ballroom erupted. I walked past the frozen trio, climbed the stairs, and took the envelope.

Chaos broke out on the floor.

"Impossible! There’s a mistake!" Mrs. Hargrove stormed the stage.

Mrs. Ashford was right behind her. "This is rigged! That grant belongs to Kieran!"

"There's no mistake." Mrs. Hargrove turned to the crowd, pulling a thick envelope from her designer purse. "I had my housekeeper bring today's mail directly here. The boys' admission packets just arrived. Open them!"

Mrs. Ashford pulled out an identical envelope.

Standing near the edge of the stage, Blaise and Kieran snapped out of their shock. Primal panic washed over their faces.

"Mom, stop! Don't open that!" Blaise yelled, shoving his way through the crowd.

"Mom, let’s go home! Read it there!" Kieran pleaded, his calm demeanor entirely gone.

They planned to hide their community college stunt until the dust settled, hoping their parents would eventually accept it.

But I never expected their mother to announce this publicly in front of so many people.

But the mothers ignored them. They shoved the envelopes at the HOA President. "Read them on the mic!" Mrs. Ashford demanded. "Show everyone who the real scholars are!"

The President nervously adjusted his glasses. He opened the first envelope. He scanned it, frowned, and opened the second.

He leaned into the mic.

"Let's congratulate... Blaise Hargrove and Kieran Ashford. Joint acceptance into...community college. "

A collective gasp sucked the oxygen out of the room.

"Community college?" a CEO whispered in the front row.

"They kept boasting about how well the sons , but their sons ended up going to a mediocre school." another resident sneered.

Mrs. Hargrove and Mrs. Ashford turned pale. They snatched the papers back, staring at the cheap letterhead.

"Blaise." Mrs. Hargrove's voice cracked. "What is this?"

"Kieran!" Mrs. Ashford screamed. "Where is your Stanford letter?!"

The two boys stood paralyzed and couldn't utter a single excuse.

Mari clawed her way to the front of the stage and pointed a shaking finger directly at me.

"Sera! I can't believe you did this!" Mari screamed. "How could you change their college choices?"

All the malice came crashing down on me in a split second.