After the birthday party, I started seeing Alaric and Delilah together constantly.
Delilah was like a spring fairy–bright and enchanting, with that special feminine charm that made it impossible to look away.
She was a real estate mogul’s daughter, perfectly matched with Alaric in both background and looks.
Delilah was the kind of girl everyone adored.
After she moved to our area, every time I visited the Everhart house, I’d see her curled up with Eleanor.
Eleanor genuinely loved her, showering her with jewelry and gifts that were in a completely different league from what she’d given me.
When mentioning me, Eleanor would look slightly uncomfortable and speak vaguely:
“Selene is Alaric’s childhood friend. Her father is a very capable employee of Alaric’s father. She and Alaric used to play together when they were
little.”
Delilah gave a soft “oh” and immediately linked arms with me affectionately.
“If you’re Alaric’s friend, then you’re my friend too! Can I call you Sel?”
Acting like she owned the place.
Even as dense as I was, I could read between the lines. I stopped visiting as often.
Gregory offered to have the family driver pick up Delilah for school too.
My seat moved from beside Alaric to beside the driver.
Later, when they started attending various events together, Eleanor gently suggested sending a separate car for me.
That car picked me up for a few days before the driver quit, and then the whole thing just fizzled out.
Dad was furious with me for being useless.
“Can’t you try to please them? Can’t you try to please Alaric? You used to be so lively and charming when you were little! Now you’re walking around with that sour face–who’s that supposed to impress?”
I sat by the hospital bed, looking at my unconscious mother without saying a word.
But he kept going: “What’s the point of visiting her every day? She’s been a vegetable for over a year now!”
“If you keep acting like a dead fish, Master Alaric’s going to get tired of you. Then the Everharts might cut off your mother’s treatment!”
But Alaric hadn’t come looking for me in ages. Nothing I did would matter.
Still, Dad’s words hit home–he wouldn’t pay a cent for Mom’s care. The Everharts were covering everything.
So I buried my naive honesty and started carefully reading everyone’s moods.
Alaric would only acknowledge me when I acted close to Delilah.
Eleanor and Gregory would only look satisfied when I helped push the two of them together.
Being tactful and perceptive, I started copying my father–learning how to please the Everharts.
Pleasing Delilah, pleasing Alaric. I was becoming more like Dad every day.
11 1%
Delilah had two devoted childhood friends.
Beckett and Cassian.
They’d been wrapped around her finger since they were kids, completely smitten with her.
The summer before high school, these two love–struck idiots followed Delilah here and transferred schools.
All their families were close friends with shared business ventures.
Beckett and Alaric had known each other since childhood.
So our five person group was officially formed, hanging out together constantly that whole summer.
Beckett was arrogant and domineering, Cassian was charming and reckless.
Two “guard dogs” flanking Delilah, only showing their soft sides to her.
Classic spoiled rich boys with nasty attitudes.
From day one, after learning about my background, they never showed me an ounce of respect.
But Delilah would link arms with me, calling me “Sel” so sweetly.
They’d play nice for her sake, maintaining surface–level politeness.
But the underlying distance was crystal clear.
With two aggressive childhood friends protecting her, Alaric felt the serious threat of “two rivals.”
The three of them put on a show of “brotherly harmony” in front of Delilah.
Behind the scenes, it was pure chaos–all three fighting tooth and nail for her attention.
I didn’t get a single moment alone with Alaric that entire summer, never mind a private conversation.
He seemed to have completely forgotten about his old friend.
After some maneuvering, we all ended up in the same class when school started.
Alaric and I had always been desk partners, but this time I stood silently aside, watching them fight over the seat next to Delilah.
Alaric won, of course–his grades gave him first pick.
Beckett and Cassian weren’t happy, glaring at him before scrambling for the seats behind Delilah.
I was carrying my bag toward the seats in front of Delilah and Alaric when Beckett and Cassian blocked my path.
Beckett stretched his long legs across the aisle, grinning smugly:
“Hey Selene, don’t you see Peter back there doesn’t have a desk partner? You should sit with him.”
The boy Beckett called “Peter“-our class oddball–had facial deformities and was hunched in his seat behind Cassian, too scared to speak up.
I instinctively looked at Alaric, but he was chatting with Delilah, smiling warmly.
Cassian glanced at him and lowered his voice with a sweet smile:
“You think he’s gonna stick up for you? Sit. Down.”
Of course Alaric wouldn’t stick up for me.
for Queen’s Throne
13.0%
་ ་་་་་པ
I looked at them expressionlessly, then silently put my bag down in the back row.
Both Peter and I became their targets.
Peter ran their errands while Beckett would snatch my freshly completed homework and turn it in as his own.
Eventually, it evolved into me doing all their assignments.
I became quiet and withdrawn, barely speaking around the four of them. As long as their demands weren’t too outrageous, I’d comply.
Sometimes I’d chat with my desk partner. He was great at math and had noticed me getting the right answers, then erasing them.
He whispered once: “The teacher went over that problem today–same answer you had yesterday. Why’d you write it wrong on purpose?”
I glanced at the four of them laughing and joking up front, my voice barely audible:
“Alaric and Delilah got it wrong. I couldn’t get it right.”
Because I always helped Peter, Beckett would mock me and deliberately spread rumors that Peter and I were a couple.
I couldn’t be bothered with their lies and drama.
But after Peter actually confessed to me privately, Cassian overheard.
That night, Beckett and his crew cornered Peter in an alley and beat him into the hospital.
