Kyle’s voice echoed through the hallway, sharp and wounded, cutting deeper than any blade could.Beth froze a few steps behind him, her chest tightening as she struggled to find the right words.“It wasn’t what you think,” she said, her voice trembling despite her effort to stay composed.Kyle let out a hollow laugh and slowly turned around. “Then what is it, Beth? Because from where I’m standing, it looks exactly like what he said.”“It’s complicated—”“No,” he cut in, his eyes dark with frustration. “It’s not complicated. You either told me the truth… or you didn’t.”Beth swallowed hard. “I was going to tell you.”“When?” he fired back instantly. “After I proposed? After your family found out? Or maybe after he showed up and humiliated me in front of everyone?”His words hit their mark. Beth flinched.“I didn’t want to lose you,” she admitted softly.Kyle’s expression hardened. “So you decided to lie instead?”“I didn’t lie!” she snapped, her emotions finally spilling over. “I just…

The next day at school was a whirlwind of gossip. "Did you hear it too?" Kyle was thrown out of Henderson's mansion. I heard Beth's father only approved of Adrian as a potential son-in-law." "Does that mean Adrian is dating Beth?" "Well, it is time Kyle knows his place. Or what does that mean?" "What about Tara? Does that mean she is a size chick?" Kyle had his backpack strapped well as he walked through the midst of the noise.Zack, who had been waiting for a while, rushed forwards towards him and grabbed his hands. "We need to talk," he said, staring into his eyes. "The rumors, are they true?" Kyle looked around and felt so small. He had thought things with Beth were going to be different, but he was back to square one yet again.Kyle sighed. "Yes. He was at the dinner date with Beth and her family," he said, scratching his temple. Zack frowned. "What?" What about the fact that he and Beth dated? Do you know?" Kyle shook his head slightly. "I think I got played once again,

Kyle froze.For a moment, everything Justin had just told him about fighting, about courage, about not running collapsed into a heavy silence.He stared at the message with his hand clenched into a fist form. Kyle was not sure who had sent the message. It could be from anyone. Stephan's, Adrian's, or even Justin's sworn enemies. The words were scratched violently across the side of his car, deep enough to tear through the paint and expose the metal beneath.One of the headlights was shattered, glass scattered like broken ice across the garage floor. The windshield had a spider web crack running from the center outward, as if someone had struck it with full force.Kyle’s jaw tightened.This wasn’t random.This wasn’t a prank.This was a message.A warning. Kyle took his time to look through the damages. It felt more personal. Kyle stepped closer to the car, his fingers brushing lightly against the carved words. The rough edges scraped his skin, and he clenched his fist.A surge of

The moment the crowd dispersed, Kyle fell to his knees. His side was bleeding from the injury he had when he fought Adrian.Zack rushed towards him; his face was a little worried. "Must you always throw your fist to settle everything?" he asked Kyle looked up just in time to see the four of them staring. Tara was looking at him with a worried look on his face. Beth was standing by the school pole, her eyes betraying the worried look in them, and also, there was Kelly, who felt sorry to see Kyle bleeding.But the most important gaze was the one it was coming from. Adrian. His looks were a bit vicious. He turned and walked away the moment he saw Kyle was staring at him. Belinda, who was a passer-by, saw the crowd dispersing and decided to check out what was happening. Her eyebrows were arched the moment she saw it was Kyle. She moved closer with her arms folded. "Were you ever going to listen to what I told you?" she asked Kyle raised his head up slowly; he raised his palm to block

Kyle froze the moment he saw Beth in Adrian's arms. He could not believe Beth just repeated the same thing Tara did to him. "Beth!" he shouted with anger. But Beth didn't answer; she merely kissed Adrian passionately. Kyle's chest rises and falls as he locks eyes with Adrian, who seems to be enjoying himself. Zack rushed towards Kyle's voice and stopped midway when he saw what was going on. He knew Kyle was going to engage in a fight so he immediately ran towards Kyle and pulled him back. "Don't! She is not worth it. She had made her choice, and you need to make yours too." Zack said, staring at Kyle. Kyle simply stood still watching the two of them. Without saying another word, he turned back and walked away with Zack trailing behind him. As they walked, Zack said nothing. He could feel the anger that was radiating around Kyle. He knew the best thing to do was keep quiet. After a while, they both stopped. "Do you want to talk about it?" Zack asked. "No. I think I am good. B