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55 ROUGHNE
Brooke didn’t know Elliot at <b>all</b>, <b>so </b>she wasn’t fazed by him. When she spotted Alicia’s lunch lying open, she instantly darted over and snapped the lid shut, frowning. “Seriously, what’s wrong with you?
“Why would you go poking around in Miss <b>Lawrence’s </b>food?”
Brooke tidied up the lunch box, stuffing everything back inside, then turned <i>to </i>Alicia. “Miss Lawrence, we probably shouldn’t hang around here.
“Let’s get out of here. I’ll call Mr. Quinn in a bit and ask if he can get you a fresh <b>meal</b><b>. </b>Ugh, he is unbelievable; who just touches other people’s food like that?”
Brooke grumbled under her breath as they walked away.
Alicia shot Elliot a nce, then, with Brooke and Sienna in tow, she headed out of Dining Hall West.
Hank watched the three girls walk away, and unexpectedly, a wave of relief washed over him. With a faint, crooked smile, he grabbed his Garden Nook Bistro lunch and walked out of Dining Hall West as well.
Hank didn’t expect to find Alicia and the others waiting for him outside.
As soon as Hank stepped out, Alicia called his name. “Wait, Hank.”
Hank pressed his lips together, then shed azy grin. “Waiting for me, huh? You’re here to ask why I betrayed you?”
“You really are clueless, Alicia–always trusting people with everything. Consider this your wake–up call. Next time, try not to be so naive,” Hank muttered, fists clenched so tight his nails bit into his palms.
All he could hope was that his words would finally teach her to stop believing in others so easily. He didn’t expect her to forgive him–he wasn’t looking for that anymore.
Sienna had had enough. She shouted at Hank, “Why are you so ungrateful, Hank? Seriously.
“Alicia treated you like a friend, shared her worst moments with you because she wanted you to see that others have it even harder–that maybe you’re not the only one.
“And
you turn around and use her pain to hurt her? What the hell is wrong with you? Are you crazy?”
Hank just smirked, thatzy attitude unshaken. “I’m just showing her how the world works.”
Sienna was beside herself with rage. She swung her hand up to p Hank, but Alicia caught her by the arm before she couldnd the hit.
Alicia kept her expression serene as she spoke. “Hank, I just want to know one thing. Did you finally bow your head to reality?”
Hank looked at her, startled, then let out a self–deprecatingugh. “You know, I used to be wrong about a lot of things.
19:11 Wed<b>, </b><b>Oct </b><b>1 </b>
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“Those people who were born in Rome, whose lives were golden from the start, I could chase them my whole life and never catch up. Truth is, I can’t even escape the quagmire I was born into.”
He bowed his head slightly toward Alicia. “I’m sorry.”
Then he turned and hurried away, not looking back.
Alicia stared after him, memories of her previous life crashing over her. Back then, she’d really thought Hank was a true friend. <fn85ff> This text is hosted at find{n}ovel</fn85ff>
She remembered how, whenever Tiffany bullied her, it was Hank who had her back–always telling her, “You have to stand up for yourself. Don’t just let anyone push you around. Grow a spine, Alicia.”
Alicia used to be filled with guilt about Tiffany, constantly messed with by the Lawrence family, always believing everything was somehow her fault.
But Hank was always there, hammering the truth into her. “Tiffany getting lost wasn’t on you. What do you even owe her? Why should you let her walk all over you? Are you really that clueless?”
After Hank kept breaking things down for her, Alicia finally started to wake up–slowly, she began to find her own voice.
But in the end, Hank turned on her.
In her previous life, it hadn’t happened in the cafeteria, but he still used her worst memories against her, throwing in her face moments like scrambling with dogs for food or licking someone else’s lunch box.
Back then, it happened a yearter—this time, it all just came earlier.
Back when it happened, the whole mess exploded online.
People went wild, photoshopping her face onto every dirty image imaginable—eating alongside stray dogs, licking lunch boxes, and even sticking her face onto explicit pics from those adult sites, making it look like she was the one doing degrading things.
Overnight, she became the living symbol of scandal and shame.
Whenever Alicia went out, folks would stare at her like she was a sideshow. Some even whispered, asking how much she charged for a night. She was <i>so </i>humiliated that she barely dared to step outside.
It honestly felt like the entire world had turned its back on Alicia. After Sienna’s ident, she’d thought Hank was her only friend left. But he ended up jumping in with Tiffany, bullying her just the same.
Alicia was <i>so </i>lost that she once tried to end her own life. After they managed to save her, she couldn’t bring herself to face anyone anymore. She finally dropped out and shut herself away from the world.
After Alicia dropped out, it was like she just disappeared. No one remembered her anymore. That was when the Lawrence family finally locked her away, turning her into nothing more than Tiffany’s shadow.
During that one time, Alicia managed to escape and went looking for Henry. She stumbled across a news article about a student from Premier Academy who had taken his own life.
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That was when Alicia found out that Hank’s mother and sister had both died from illness. After they were gone, Hank couldn’t take it anymore and ended his own life.
Before he died, he left a suicide note that went viral online. While she was waiting for Henry, she read it.
Alicia couldn’t remember every line he wrote, but the feeling was unmistakable–a raw, tear–stained confession.
Hank admitted he’d crossed lines for the sake of his mom and sister, hurting someone who’d believed in him. Now they were both gone, and all he could do was face the debt he owed for betraying that trust.
With nothing else left in the world, the only thing he could give back was his own life.
Back then, when Alicia read through that note, she knew straight away that he was talking about her.
So, even till the end, he carried that heavy guilt for what he’d done to her.
Hank was a totalputer geek, a real pro. In her previous life, he’d put those mad tech skills to work for Tiffany, helping her with all kinds of shady stuff.
If Alicia chose to treat him with kindness, even after everything he did, maybe he’d actually feel grateful.
Hank might even end up working for Alicia one day. Having a genius hacker on the squad would make her life way easier.
Once she’d straightened things out in her head, Alicia turned to Sienna and Brooke. “Let’s go.”
Sienna was still fuming, but Alicia and Brooke pulled her away.
Back inside Dining Hall West, after a brief silence, the ce exploded with chatter.
“Dude, did you hear that? Elliot just said that was legit Noble Leaf Bistro food.”
“I got a whiff of it, and man, it smelled so good. Like, you can totally tell it’s fresh—not just drowning in some regr old seasoning.”
“What are you, some kind of food detective now? You can sniff out the difference like that?”
“My family’s got a restaurant, and we’re all about herbal cuisine. I’ve been around this stuff since I was a kid, so trust me, I know what real food smells like.
“That aroma? That’s all fresh ingredients, not just sauces–and I swear, there was this hint of actual herbs in there. I even caught a glimpse of one of her dishes, and the herb they put in it?
“You have to simmer it for like six hours just to get the herbal vors out. That’s some seriousmitment. Plus, most of the herbs they used are supposed to be really good for your stomach.”
“No wonder Noble Leaf Bistro’s food costs a fortune, and people are always lining up for it. Their dishes don’t just taste amazing; they actually do you good.
“It’s not just about satisfying your cravings or filling you up; you literally get healthier the more you eat. Man,
19:11 Wed, Oct <b>1 </b>
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I wish my family’s ce could ever reach that level.”
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After hearing the foodie gush like that, everyone suddenly looked down at their own Garden Nook Bistro meals and couldn’t help feeling they just weren’t all that anymore.
Elliot wasn’t feeling like lunch anymore. He nced at Tiffany and said, “I’ve got things to handle today, so I’ll pass. Next time, how about I take you to Garden Nook Bistro for the real deal?”
He said it coolly, then just walked off without another word.
Tiffany’s fingers dug into her palms, jaw clenched so tight she could’ve cracked a tooth. Fuming, she didn’t touch her lunch; instead, she spun around, stomping off, barely keeping her anger from showing.
Nora called after her, “Tiffany, you haven’t even eaten yet.”
“I’m not hungry,” Tiffany snapped, her voice sharp with irritation.
Nora hesitated for a second, then asked, “Well, if you’re not going to eat, can we have it?”
Tiffany didn’t bother replying and just walked off, her frustration clear in every step.
Nora and the others grinned, immediately grabbing seats and diving into the food with gusto.
After leaving Dining Hall West, Tiffany headed back to her ssroom. She found herself all alone, so she pulled out her phone and dialed Maria.
“Mom,” Tiffany whimpered, barely holding back her tears as she spoke to Maria, “Why doesn’t Adam like me? It hurts so much.”
AD