Franklin rushed toward us and pulled me away from the junkie blonde.

“Careful, b*tch. She’s… my sister!” he warned the girl, who in turn burst into maniacal laughter.

“Aye, young Hargrove” she said sarcastically, giving him a sweeping bow before turning and walking away.

Franklin then turned to me. “What the f*ck are you doing here?” he asked, visibly angry. And before we knew it, all eyes were already on us. He grabbed my hand tightly and began dragging me out of the building.

“You are hurting me!” I cried as soon as we got outside but he ignored me, until we finally arrived at the parking lot. I yanked my hand from his grip and started rubbing my wrist.

“You are lucky I didn’t leave you with that psycho. What the f*ck are you even here for in the first place? Didn’t you have enough already?” he yelled.

“Enough of what, Franklin? Your presence? No! I can never have enough of your presence. And the more you keep hanging around with... Sylvia or whatever her name is, the more I will show up in places you don’t want me to be” I snapped, as he stared at me, mouth agape.

“How did you know her name?” he asked. But I chose to remain silent. “I am talking to you, silly brat!” he shouted, grabbing me and pinning me against my car in the parking lot, his face inches from mine. “How did you know her name?” he repeated, this time more softly.

I didn’t know how to explain that I had heard the name while he was drunk. And I didn’t have a good lie ready either. Saying I just guessed would sound childish, and insane.

As he leaned in further, we were interrupted by the voice of a security guard. “Is everything okay?” the guard asked, raising a brow at us.

Franklin quickly stepped away and told me to leave before heading back into the building.

I was freaked out by how close he had gotten. I could literally hear his heart beating and saw his face turn red. If the guard hadn’t intervened, I might have been crushed by him.

I quickly got into the car and told my driver to take me to school. The worried look on the driver's face said everything, and I completely understood why he hadn’t interfered. I was just glad someone had.

As soon as we arrived at Bluebell Junior High, I hopped out of the car and headed to class. Unfortunately, Mr. Wan was already inside. Even though he was easygoing, I was hesitant to enter, in fear of drawing unnecessary attention.

Eventually, though, I walked in and was immediately met with dozens of staring eyes. Mr. Wan asked why I was late, and I lied, telling him the car broke down on the way.

He simply shrugged and told me to sit. As I walked past my classmates to my seat, I noticed my squad giving me a weird look; more like, What the hell is going on?

After the lesson, Kimberly was the first to ask if everything was okay. She said she had seen my car pass our school on her way in. Hearing that, I lied again and said my brother left his phone at home, so I took it to him at Silver Ridge High.

David then said he had a cousin there in her freshman year, and that he planned to go there after junior high. Kimberly, his girlfriend, said she would follow him. Jessica and Olivia had other schools in mind.

We kept chatting as we headed to the cafeteria, until everyone started staring at us and laughing. Confused, we kept walking until we reached the lockers and saw the spray paint on mine.

Someone had written GLUTTON on my locker.

Furious, I tried wiping it off with my hand, then with some tissue, but it wouldn’t come off. David helped too, but before we could make progress, Nicolas showed up with his squad and started filming us, laughing and making fun.

I couldn’t take it. I grabbed a body spray from my bag and sprayed it right in their faces.

In no time, they scattered, running away as the crowd burst into laughter; much to Chloe and Ava’s disappointment.

“You did the right thing, Seraphina!” someone cheered.

Unknown to us, Nicolas had gone to report the incident to the principal, Mrs. Brian.

We were called in later. I was specifically warned not to use sprays or any harmful substances on other students. The principal didn’t even care why I had done it. I tried to explain, but she dismissed us anyway.

Nicolas mockingly laughed the moment we left the office, sadness written on our faces. We ignored him and headed back to the cafeteria.

After our last lesson of the day, we all went home. I asked my driver if Franklin was back, and he confirmed my worst fear; he was already home and had been in the workout room ever since.

I didn’t want to see him. I had already messed up badly at his school earlier.

When we pulled into the garage, I jumped out of the car and ran to my room, hoping to avoid Franklin. But as I burst into my room, I found him sitting on my bed; going through my diary.

My secret hub. My personal belonging. Even though I hadn’t updated it in a while, I still wished he hadn’t seen it. Some of the contents were secrets I never meant for anyone to read.

I froze. He wore a twisted smile as he flipped through the pages conveniently.

“What makes you think I will ever love you, Miss Caldwell?” he sneered, glaring at me. “And stop referring to me as your heartless fiance, we were never officially engaged. Or do you call this engagement? When did you even start seeing your period?!”