The Coma Prince’s Fiancée novel Chapter 165

She looked up, her cold, penetrating gaze locking onto the group.

They were still running their mouths.

“Give me a break. If hard work was all it took to get into Apex Academy, the standards would be in the gutter.”

“Exactly. Apex requires pure talent. The untalented ones need to quit while they're ahead. The higher their hopes, the harder they'll crash.”

“Candace is just shameless. Five failures and she's still here begging for scraps. If I were her, I'd hide in a regular classroom and stop acting like a clown in public.”

“You—” Edna stammered. She wasn't good with words, and her fists were shaking in helpless rage. A bitter lump formed in her throat, and the humiliating sting of tears threatened her eyes. But she refused to cry in front of the people ridiculing her best friend.

Candace was practically vibrating with anger, but she knew she couldn't out-talk them. Swallowing her pride, she grabbed Edna's hand. “Don't let them get to you. It's not worth it. I'll use my results to shut them up.”

Edna nodded, but Candace's bold claim only made the bullies laugh harder.

Sitting a few rows away, Magee caught the tail end of the harassment. His handsome features darkened.

Thwack.

An empty plastic water bottle flew through the air, nailing the loudest boy squarely in the back of the head.

The boy clutched his head and whirled around furiously. “Who threw that? Show yourself!”

“Hmph.”

Rebecca's icy gaze swept over the boy. “You got hit because your reflexes are tragic. If you can't even dodge a plastic bottle, that's your own problem.”

“You're... you're twisting my words!” the boy stammered, his face flushing crimson.

“Can't handle a little sarcasm?” Rebecca shot back. “You were having a great time mocking others a second ago. Why do you look like you just swallowed garbage now that it's your turn? Oh, so you do know how awful it feels.”

Seeing him still glaring in defiance, she turned her attention to the rest of the group.

“Since when did hard work become a punchline? Were all of you born at the finish line? Is that why you feel so entitled to stand there and tell the people at the starting line that trying is embarrassing?”

She didn't shout, but her voice carried through the massive hall. The impact of her words landed like a physical blow, leaving the room reeling.