She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 15

Loyce tilted her head, lips curling. “Who says I can’t take first place or win awards?”

Everything she’d handed to Quiana, she was taking it back.

“If you can do it, I’ll kneel in front of the whole school and apologize!” Keegan said viciously. “And if you can’t, you can crawl around the campus track like a dog!”

Loyce answered without hesitation. “Fine. But I don’t want you kneeling. Like you said, you’ll crawl around the campus track like a dog and apologize to me.”

Quiana panicked. “No, Loyce! You’ll embarrass the Sampson family!”

Loyce gave her a single sideways glance. “So, are you betting I’ll be top of the department this year? Do you dare?”

Of course Quiana dared. She knew Loyce’s real standing—always near the bottom. She was already imagining Loyce crawling. But she still put on a fake, gentle face. “Loyce, I don’t want to bet with you. I’m afraid you’ll get hurt.”

Keegan said, “She humiliated you, Quiana. Let her learn her lesson. It’ll be good for her.”

Quiana hesitated, then wanting to prove her devotion, said firmly, “Keegan, I’ll take responsibility with you. If I don’t beat her, the bet is on me too.”

Warmth spread through Keegan’s chest. He’d hesitated to break the engagement because of Quiana’s adopted status. But now that he’d heard she was the real Sampson heiress, his last concern vanished. He even felt she was the perfect future wife.

He gripped her hand and called out loudly, “Then let everyone here be our witness!”

Loyce gave a quiet, mocking laugh and headed for the bulletin board where rankings were posted. Behind her, a swelling crowd of students followed, hungry for the spectacle.

Robert thought it over. “Probably. Otherwise you’ll be watching her crawl like a dog.”

Lucian’s mouth curved again. “Then we’ll wait and see.”

A crowd packed in front of the ranking board, staring at the cloth covering it, holding their breath for the moment it dropped.

Quiana kept up the act, trying to “talk sense” into Loyce. “You can still back out. I’ll never make you crawl like a dog, as long as you apologize to me.”

Loyce smiled. “Sorry. I’m absolutely going to make you crawl.”