Chapter 4

Nine o'clock the next evening, the gymnasium's heavy double doors loomed before me, bass so powerful it thrummed through the soles of my heels.

I glanced at my phone inside my clutch.

The screen displayed a dozen increasingly frantic texts Carter had sent over the past hour. By now, he'd probably discovered I'd stood him up and was speeding here in a fury.

"See you tomorrow," I'd texted back. But I never said I'd arrive like an obedient accessory in his passenger seat.

I pressed both palms against the gymnasium doors and shoved them open.

The deafening music still pounded, but the moment I stepped inside, the chatter near the entrance died almost instantly.

No heavy bangs. No habitual hunched shoulders. Clutching the black purse that held my acceptance letter, I met the stunned stares head-on and descended the stairs with perfect composure.

The black constellation gown sparkled under the crystal chandeliers. Several sharp gasps cut through the crowd.

I'd barely made it down two steps when the doors behind me—still not fully closed—were violently yanked open from outside.

BANG.

The heavy panels slammed into the walls, the furious crash loud enough to cut through even the bass line.

Every eye in the room whipped from me to whoever had just made that entrance.

Carter.

He must have spent an hour leaning on his horn outside my house like an idiot before realizing he'd been played.

Gone was his usual untouchable swagger. Hair disheveled, bow tie askew, chest heaving—he looked like a rabid dog barely containing its fury.

His bloodshot eyes swept the venue frantically before locking onto me.

The instant our gazes met, he froze at the top of the stairs.

Even through his rage, I caught the flicker of involuntary awe in his expression.

But it lasted barely a second. The moment he realized the radiant girl before him had not only played him but wasn't wearing the dress he'd graciously provided, he completely lost it.

He charged down the steps like a bull, closing the distance and clamping his hand around my wrist.

"You fucking played me?!"

His face was ashen, breath hot against my ear as he snarled through gritted teeth. "I waited outside like a goddamn fool for an hour! Not only do you ditch me, you ignore everything I said?! Who the hell did you dress up for?!"

I stared coldly at the fingers digging into my wrist and yanked my arm free.

"For myself."

Carter's hand hung frozen in midair, his expression turning uglier by the second.

"Carter, why are you wasting energy on her?" Chloe click-clacked over in her heels and latched onto his arm.

She raked her gaze up and down my dress, voice dripping with calculated venom. "It's probably just some rental knockoff. You can wrap trash in gold foil—it's still trash. Look, she can't even squeeze out a complete sentence anymore."

A few cruel laughs rippled through the onlookers.

Carter seized the opening like a lifeline, instantly slipping back into his condescending smirk.

"Exactly." He sneered. "Eve, don't think changing your outfit changes the fact that you can only survive by clinging to me. You—"

I laughed.

A soft, dismissive sound that made his words die in his throat.

Rather than dignify their pathetic provocation with a response, I looked at them the way one might observe trained dogs performing tricks then turned and walked toward the refreshment table.

Treating him like he didn't exist wounded him more than any slap ever could.

"Fine..." Carter's voice turned venomous behind me. "Keep the act up. Let's see how long before you're begging me."

Half an hour later, the dance reached its traditional "announcement" segment.

Desperate to reclaim control, Carter shoved Chloe aside, stormed onto the stage, and snatched the microphone from the DJ.

"Everyone!"

His voice boomed across the gym as his eyes cut through the crowd, zeroing in on me. His lips curled into a malicious smile—

Clearly, he viewed this public declaration as the perfect opportunity to grind me back under his heel and force my submission.

Chloe took her cue from below, leading the crowd in enthusiastic cheers.

Carter pulled a cheap velvet box from his pocket and popped it open with theatrical flair. Inside sat a bargain-bin promise ring.

"Eve." He spoke into the mic with that familiar tone of condescending pity. "I know you dressed up tonight to throw a tantrum. Even though you stutter, even though you're nothing without me, I'm not the kind of guy who walks away from someone who needs him."

Cruel laughter scattered through the audience.

"I've decided to bring you with me to State U." He spread his arms like a benevolent god bestowing grace. "Come up here. Put on this ring. As long as you apologize and behave, you still get to stay by my side."

His football buddies immediately erupted in wolf whistles, chanting, "Say yes! Say yes!"

Under Carter's triumphant gaze, everyone waited.

They assumed that under such massive public pressure, I'd revert to form—crawl onto that stage with tearful gratitude and pathetic humility.

But I didn't.

I stood perfectly still, spine straight, a mocking smile playing at my lips.

As confusion began replacing smugness in the crowd's expressions, I walked toward the stage in measured, deliberate steps.

Watching me approach, Carter's eyes gleamed with a victor's arrogance. He extended the cheap ring toward me.

I didn't take it.

Instead, in front of the entire school, I unzipped my black clutch and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. Then I unfolded it.

The Columbia University acceptance letter. The crest and crimson seal practically blazed under the stage lights.

"Sorry." I reached out, plucked the microphone from Carter's hand, and let my voice carry through the massive speakers.

Clear. Cold. Not a single stutter.

"I'm not going to some state school."

"I've already accepted early admission to Columbia University."

The entire gymnasium plunged into deathly silence.

Carter's triumphant expression shattered into a thousand pieces. His pupils dilated violently as his gaze fixed on the paper in my hand like he was staring at something deadly.

"Where the fuck do you get off—" He lunged forward, trying to snatch the letter, panic and fury writhing in his eyes. "You applied behind my back?! There's no way you got into Columbia!"

With his lies exposed, the campus prince mask finally cracked, revealing the deranged child who'd just lost his favorite toy.

I stepped back smoothly, evading his desperate grab.

Watching him unravel—dignity destroyed, utterly unhinged—I felt the last shadow lift from my chest.

I raised the microphone. My gaze swept past Chloe, whose face had turned ashen, before settling coldly on Carter's contorted features.

Each word rang out like a hammer strike: "Carter, you never planned to go to the same college as me. You just wanted to keep a voiceless stutterer under your thumb forever—to feed your sad little power trip."

I tossed the microphone aside.

"But I'm done with your games."

Without missing a beat, I turned my back on him and walked off the stage.

I'd barely made it one step when an unhinged roar tore through the gym, followed instantly by screams from the crowd.

"You bitch—you're not going anywhere!!!"