My Fake Boyfriend Is the School Bad Boy novel Chapter 166

Chapter 166 Telling Him I Failed Today

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The silence in the bedroom possessed a crushing weight. Ryder stood frozen on the dark hardwood floor. A single drop of water traced a

path down his bare chest. He did not blink. His hazel eyes locked onto the cheap cardboard box resting on my denim knees.

He looked at the chewed yellow pencil. He looked at the white block eraser. He looked at the glossy photograph of the fourteen-year-old

girl in the gray sweater.

The Crestview delinquent, the boy who feared nothing, looked terrified.

He assumed I saw a monster. He assumed I saw an obsession. He expected me to stand up, drop the box, and run out of his massive

estate. He braced his broad shoulders for my disgust. The muscle in his jaw ticked with frantic energy.

“Raisa,” he breathed. The rough gravel in his voice cracked.

I did not run.

I gathered the pencil, the eraser, the hair tie, and the index card. I placed them inside the cardboard base. I set the glossy photograph on

top. I picked up the lid from the polished floorboards and covered the box. I held the cardboard against my chest like a shield.

I pushed myself off the floor. My wet sneakers squeaked against the wood. My damp gray sweater clung to my skin. I took a step out of

the walk-in closet.

Ryder took a step back. The retreat tore a massive hole in my chest. He wanted to give me space to escape. He offered a clear path to the

bedroom door.

“Do not move,” I commanded. My voice shook, but the demand carried iron.

He stopped. He dropped his hands to his sides. He swallowed. The raw vulnerability in his posture stripped away the billionaire heir

facade. He was a boy standing in the ruins of his deepest secret.

“You found it, he stated. He did not offer excuses. He did not build a lie.

‘I bumped the shelf,” I explained. I took another step forward. “The box fell. The contents spilled.”

‘I can explain.

“Explain what?” I asked. I closed the distance. We stood three feet apart. The heat radiating from his skin fought the bitter chill trapped

in my wet clothes. “Explain the yellow pencil from freshman geometry? Explain the blue ink star from sophomore history?”

He closed his eyes. A sharp breath escaped his lips. I kept my distance. I knew my reputation. I knew my father. I knew a collision with

my world meant destruction for your future. You possessed a pristine path. I wanted to protect it. But I needed a tether. I needed

something tangible.”

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13:52 Fri, Jul 10

Chapter 166 Telling Him I Failed Today

“So you collected my discarded things.”

“I collected pieces of the girl I loved, he confessed.

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He opened his eyes. The golden flecks burned with naked truth. He handed me the final weapon. He gave me the power to crush his heart.

The tears spilled over my eyelashes. They tracked down my cheeks.

“Four years, Ryder,” I whispered. “You watched me for four years. You let me believe I was invisible. You let me call you a distraction.”

“You were the center of my focus.”

I shifted the cardboard box to my left arm. I reached out with my right hand. I pressed my cold, trembling palm flat against his warm

chest. I felt the frantic, heavy beat of his heart against my skin.

He let out a fractured sigh. He lifted his hand and covered my cold fingers.

“I ruined my midterms today,” I told him.

The confession hung in the steam-filled air. Ryder froze. The confusion washed over his sharp features.

“What are you saying?’ he asked.

Chloe demanded the Valedictorian rank,” I said. The truth poured out, unstoppable. She threatened to send the contract to Principal Miller if I kept my grades. She wanted to force your expulsion. She wanted your father to lock you in a corporate cage.”

Ryder tightened his grip on my hand. The protective fury ignited in his eyes, replacing the terror.

“I told you I would handle Miller,” he growled. “I told you to focus on the exams. I told you to protect the masterpiece.”

“Your freedom matters more than a high school title,” I fired back. I tipped my chin up, matching his intensity. “Your future matters more

than a medical scholarship. I will not let a jealous girl destroy you. I sat in the biology room and wrote incorrect equations. I failed the

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