My Fake Boyfriend Is the School Bad Boy novel Chapter 98

Chapter 98 The Old Lie Comes Back

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The rest of Monday dragged by in a state of suspended agony. He skipped the cafeteria during lunch. I sat alone at a small table near the

windows, pushing a piece of dry bread around my plastic tray. Harper Vance and her clique occupied a table across the room. They cast

speculative, sharp glances in my direction. They smelled the blood in the water.

At three-fifteen, I stood by my locker. I waited ten full minutes after the final bell. The corridor emptied. The janitorial staff pushed wide

brooms down the center of the hall.

The dark blue Ford truck was already gone from the South Lot.

Tuesday morning arrived with a cruel, bright sunrise.

The routine repeated. Two full days. Fort-eight hours of distance. He did not text. He did not wait by my locker. When we sat in AP

European History, the cold void radiating from the back of the room felt like a physical pressure against my spine.

I survived the academic demands. I answered questions about the French Revolution. I titrated acids in the chemistry lab. I maintained

the facade of the untouchable valedictorian.

Inside, I was bleeding out.

The silence twisted my mind into tight knots. I replayed the fight in the rain over and over. He believed he was toxic. He believed his presence in my life endangered my future. He decided the best way to protect me was to shatter the bond we forged. He sacrificed his own happiness to keep the monsters away from my door.

His logic possessed a dark, twisted nobility. But the result left me hollow.

Tuesday afternoon, the final bell rang.

I packed my calculus textbook into my canvas bag. I needed to visit the library to print a biology worksheet before catching the city bus

home.

I navigated the crowded B-wing. The noise levels peaked as students celebrated the end of the school day. Lockers slammed. Sneakers

squeaked against the polished floors.

I reached the double doors of the library.

I pushed through the heavy wood. The quiet atmosphere of the massive room offered a brief reprieve from the chaos. I walked toward the

computer lab section located behind the tall, wooden reference stacks.

I rounded the corner of a towering bookshelf.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

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Chapter 98 The Old Lie Comes Back

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A group of juniors stood near the printing station. Jenna, my former lab partner, stood in the center of the circle. Trent Lawson and two

other lacrosse players occupied the space beside her.

They did not notice me standing in the shadow of the reference books.

I am telling you, the act is over,” Jenna stated. She crossed her arms over her chest, a smug, satisfied expression painting her features.

“He hasn’t looked at her in two days. They don’t even sit together in History anymore.”

Trent laughed. The sound carried a cruel, vindictive edge. He rubbed his wrist, the memory of Ryder’s grip still fresh from the bake sale.

Steinmann is a psychopath, but he is not stupid, Trent drawled. “He played the game perfectly. He used her to get the administration off

his back. He needed a tutor to fix his midterm grades. Now that the semester is wrapping up, he doesn’t need the charity case anymore.”

My breath stalled in my lungs. My hands turned to ice.

“It makes sense, another girl chimed in. She adjusted the strap of her designer bag. “Did anyone actually believe a guy like that would fall

for Raisa Petrova? She wears thrift store shoes. He was just slumming it for a passing grade.”

Jenna nodded in agreement. “Harper called it on day one. It was a business transaction. He secured his GPA, and he dropped her. The fake dating stunt in the newspaper was just a massive distraction.”

I pressed my spine against the wooden bookshelf. The rough edge of the wood dug through my navy blazer. I squeezed my eyes shut,

struggling to drag oxygen into my lungs.

The original rumor. The lie we used to cover our tracks in the very beginning. It was back.

The student body did not know about Leo. They did not know about the East Side warehouse, the switchblade, or the desperate kiss in the freezing rain. They did not understand the twisted nobility behind Ryder’s silent treatment.

They looked at the distance between us, and they drew the easiest, cruelest conclusion.

They believed he used me. They believed I was a naive, desperate scholarship girl discarded the moment my utility expired.

Without Ryder standing by my side, I was thrown back to the wolves.

I opened my eyes. I stared at the polished wooden floorboards.

She must feel like a complete idiot, Trent laughed. “She actually thought she tamed the bad kid.

A hot, searing flash of anger ignited in the center of my chest. The heartbreak burned away, leaving a sharp, undeniable fury in its wake.

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