The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 290

Liora’s POV

I’d heard that Paddy’s, the local dive bar outside campus, was hosting an end-of-semester party. I wasn’t initially planning on going, but when I heard that Mia was there, I decided to find her.

We needed to talk. I hadn’t seen her at all since the fight in the hallway the other day. She hadn’t even come to our room to sleep, staying instead with one of the other students down the hall. She was hiding from me.

I wanted to explain everything, especially with the end of the semester coming up in just a few days. This couldn’t go on any longer.

So, I threw on my jacket and started walking to the bar.

I went over what I would say in my head as I walked, but nothing felt quite right. It was bad enough that I had kept this secret from Mia, my closest friend, for the entire semester—and even worse now that I was “dating” Zane.

“Gods, I’m such an idiot,” I muttered to myself, kicking a clump of snow. It skittered across the sidewalk, breaking apart into powder. “I should have told her sooner.”

If my wolf were here, she would have agreed. Probably even scolded me for keeping such a big secret from someone who had only ever been there for me, through thick and thin, all semester. Even at Bianca’s banquet, Mia had endangered herself to help me.

And what had I done? Lied to her. Through my teeth. Over and over and—

Suddenly, the screech of tires made me look up. A white van skidded to a halt in the crosswalk just as I was about to cross the street.

I grit my teeth and went to walk around it. “Jerk,” I muttered. “Can’t you see the stop sign?”

Before I could get around the van, it scooched forward, blocking my way again. I froze as a back door slid open, revealing men—several of them, all wearing plain, white masks that looked like they were from the costume store.

I took a step back as one of the men hopped out.

“What do you want?” My heart began to race. I glanced around, but the street was quiet and empty at this hour.

“Get in,” he said. His voice was muffled by his mask.

A sob escaped me. This was it, wasn’t it? The end of the line, “Please,” I whispered, trembling. “Please let me go—”

The sack was pulled from my head, and I froze.

“Good evening, Miss Belrose.”

I stared up at the man standing in front of me, wearing a pristine suit. Behind him stood a boy holding a phone up, recording me.

“Mr. Alder?” I breathed.

The principal sneered. “Surprise.”

I looked around in confusion. The men had removed their masks. I recognized some of them—security officers from the school. The one holding the camera was a male student whose name I didn’t know as he was two years ahead of me, but I’d seen him in the hallways multiple times.