Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 235

Chapter 235

Jessa

The next morning felt… normal.

Which was weird, because nothing was actually normal.

The sky was gray, the air was cold enough that my breath puffed out in little clouds when I stepped out of Mariah’s car, and Ridgeville High looked the same as it always did–brick walls, flickering fluorescent lights, students pouring through the doors like it was any other Tuesday,

But I knew better.

Because Ridgeville didn’t just move on.

It recycled.

It chewed people up until it got bored, then it found someone new.

And today, apparently, it had found someone new.

I walked through the front entrance with Mariah beside me, and immediately I felt it.

Not the sharp, direct stares I’d gotten weeks ago.

Not the obvious looks that screamed what is Noah Carter doing with her?

This was different.

This was quieter.

Whispers that stopped when we got too close.

Phones being lowered too quickly.

Girls leaning into each other like they were sharing state secrets.

Mariah didn’t seem to notice at first. She was talking about something–homework, maybe, or how her mom was already stressing about Thanksgiving like it was a national emergency,

Then we passed a group of sophomores near the trophy case.

And I heard it.

“…I’m telling you, she’s pregnant.”

My steps faltered.

Mariah’s didn’t.

“She totally is.”

“With Jackson Lombardi’s baby.”

I froze.

My stomach dropped so fast it felt like missing a step on the stairs.

Mariah stopped walking.

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Slowly, she turned her head.

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“What,” she said, voice calm in the way a person sounds right before they commit a felony, “did you just say

The sophomores went silent.

One of them–Beth, I think–blinked like she couldn’t believe she’d been caught.

Mariah took one step closer.

“You want to repeat that?”

Beth’s cheeks flushed. “It’s just… what people are saying.

Mariah’s smile was sharp enough to cut glass.

“Oh. People.”

Of course.

The invisible committee of bored teenage girls with too much time and not enough empathy.

“Let me help you out,” Mariah said sweetly. “People also say the earth is flat. Doesn’t make it true.”

Beth’s eyes widened.

Mariah leaned in slightly.

“And if I hear my name in your mouth again, you’re going to wish you stayed silent.”

Beth swallowed hard.

Then she and her friends practically scurried away, disappearing into the hallway like roaches when the lights

turn on.

Mariah exhaled through her nose, muttering, “Unbelievable.”

I stood there, heart pounding.

“Mariah…” I started.

She turned to me, eyes flashing. “I swear to God, Jess, I’m going to lose my mind. Pregnant? Are they insane?”

“I don’t understand how they even-”

“How they even got there?” she finished, throwing her hands up. “Because Jackson and I were snowed in one night and someone decided that means I’m carrying the next Lombardi heir?”

I bit my lip.

I didn’t know what to say.

Because it was awful.

It was disgusting

It was unfair.

And yet…

Chapter 235

My chest felt strange.

Not just angry.

Something else.

Something I hated myself for.

Because as Mariah started ranting again, I realized something.

No one was looking at me.

No one was whispering my name.

No one was saying Noah had been paid off.

No one was laughing under their breath when I walked by.

They weren’t talking about my body.

They weren’t talking about my relationship.

They weren’t talking about me at all.

And for the first time in what felt like forever…

I could breathe.

The relief hit so suddenly it startled me.

It was tiny, selfish, almost instinctive.

Like my brain had gone—

Oh. Thank God. It’s not me today.

And then immediately-

What is wrong with you?

I glanced at Mariah, who was still fuming beside me, and guilt twisted in my stomach.

She didn’t deserve this.

Jackson didn’t deserve this.

Mariah was my best friend.

Jackson was my brother.

And people were tearing them apart like it was entertainment.

I hated it.

I hated Ridgeville.

I hated the way rumors could turn into weapons overnight.

But I couldn’t ignore the truth either.

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Chapter 295

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A small part of me was relieved the spotlight wasn’t on me.

And that made me feel like the worst person alive.

Mariah finally looked over at me.

“Jess?”

I blinked. “Yeah?”

Her expression softened, just a fraction. “You okay?”

I hesitated.

Because what do you even say?

I’m sorry people are saying you’re pregnant, but also thank you for accidentally taking the heat off me?

So instead I just nodded.

“I’m fine.”

Mariah studied me like she didn’t believe that for a second.

Then she sighed, rolling her eyes upward.

“This school is sick,” she muttered. “They get bored and they just… invent things.”

“Yeah,” I whispered.

Invent things.

Destroy things.

Move on.

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