Reborn To Ruin Her Rivals - Chapter 58: Chapter 58

Arielle remained composed as she warned Vanna, "I told you who your enemy is so you'd live with clarity, not so you'd throw your life away.
"If William ever finds out about Eve, you know the consequences."
Vanna wept silently, her gaze lingering on Eve nearby as she struggled to contain her emotions. "So... are we just going to let them get away with it?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Arielle sneered. "Why should we spare them? Letting them live a little longer is only until you're strong enough."
She would never spare a single enemy. She felt that kindness would only make them push their luck.
"Then... what should we do now?" Vanna asked, her thoughts now completely aligned with Arielle's.
"Wait." Arielle's single word cut through the tension, now was not the time for revenge.
Vanna knew all too well that the Boone family's dominance was beyond her challenge, let alone with someone as unhinged as Melinda on their side.
Vanna couldn't help but ask, "How did you know all this?"
She wondered, 'Arielle is just a daughter her family has only recently brought back. Having grown up in the countryside, how could she possibly know anyone from the Boone family?
'Yet Arielle seems to know everything about me, my past, even my former name.
'She even knows about my complicated history with William.
'Even William couldn't find Eve's whereabouts, but Arielle knows.
'Everything about this is just too unnerving.'
Arielle's gaze turned icy cold, so much so that even Vanna was taken aback. Then, in a voice laced with frost, she spoke.
Arielle said, "Know your place. My affairs are none of your concern. We keep to our deal."
'Was that a warning?' Vanna realized.
She realized everyone had their own secrets. She had overstepped today.
Vanna lowered her voice and apologized. "Sorry, I was just curious, I didn't mean anything by it. I promise I won't ask again. Thank you for trusting me. If you ever need anything, you can always come to me."
"Alright, I'll come to you if needed." Arielle waved as she walked away.
She turned to say goodbye to Eve, who stood not far away.
With a gentle smile, she called out, "Bye, Eve. I'll visit you again soon."
Eve stared fixedly at her, silent and expressionless. Then she lowered her head and went back to building with her blocks.
The wounds of two years couldn't heal overnight.
Only time and love could truly mend them.
At Peterborough High School.
Sophia rushed over excitedly, huddled close to the group, and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I just went to the office to hand in my Sandolorian homework, guess what I saw?"
Emma rolled her eyes at Sophia's mysterious act and turned away, clearly uninterested.
She thought with a hint of sarcasm, 'Seriously, what could you possibly see in the teacher's office? The test scores?
'Or maybe you saw someone getting in trouble?'
Olivia propped her head up with one hand and asked casually, "Are the scores out yet?"
'The monthly exam results are about to be released. What else could it be? Once the scores are out, the teacher will be rushing to announce them. Another disaster of a day,' she thought.
Noticing their lack of interest, Sophia leaned in with a sigh and craned her neck helplessly.
She whispered, "Someone you'd all be curious about."
Olivia was the first to react. She turned to Sophia and asked, "Don't tell me it's her?"
Sophia arched her eyebrow, nodded, and grinned slyly. "Bingo! Now, take a wild guess, how'd she score?"
Even Rachel, who had been quietly sitting by the whole time, couldn't help but get curious.
Olivia nudged Sophia's arm and urged, "Spit it out already! Stop keeping us in suspense."
Emma nudged her under the table and complained, "Seriously, hurry up! I hate it when you drag things out like this."
Rachel was also curious, but unlike the others, she didn't press. She figured there was no need to push. Sophia was never one to keep secrets for long and would spill the details without prompting.
Sure enough, the very next second, Sophia gloated, "She only scored 150! That's hilarious, I can't even!"
She sneered, "I thought someone who acted so cocky would at least have decent grades. Sure, I knew she was from the slums, so I didn't expect much, but this bad? Seriously, you could've guessed your way to a higher score with your eyes closed!"
"Are you serious?" a student burst out laughing.
"Dead serious! I triple-checked, right there next to her name: 150 points total!"
"Now she's officially bottom of the school!"
The two front tables erupted into raucous laughter, making heads turn across the classroom.
Curious students leaned in to ask.
Soon, mocking laughter swelled through the classroom.
An object slammed onto the desk.
Then, the sound of a chair scraping across the floor came.
The two sharp noises instantly drowned out the laughter.
Every head in the room whipped toward the back row.
James sat there, his face as dark as thunder, downright terrifying.
With a cold glare, he snapped, "Shut up!"
His icy words cut through the noise, and the classroom fell silent in an instant.
Sophia and the others quickly turned away, fear flashing in their eyes.
Their laughter died instantly. No one dared make another sound.
Arielle kept solving practice problems, her expression unreadable.
In her world, it was as if she were inside a soundproof bubble.
The people and events around her simply didn't exist.
She didn't care why her classmates were laughing, nor did she care about James's sudden outburst beside her.
The sun still shone, and nothing seemed to have changed.
James lounged lazily in his chair, his peripheral vision falling on Arielle.
She sat quietly, head slightly bowed, flipping through her book. Occasionally, she jotted down answers on her test paper or circled key points in the text.
Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating her delicate features and making her even more radiant.
Her eyes, glimpsed in profile, sparkled like stars.
Her skin was as smooth as silk.
Compelled by an impulse, James pulled out his phone and snapped a picture, capturing the beautiful moment.
The soft click of the shutter echoed in the quiet room.
Her lashes fluttered ever so slightly, yet she never once glanced his way.
He found it boring. Propping his head up with one hand, he tilted his head and stared at her openly.
He thought, 'Come on! I'm James. Why would I ever need to sneak a look at someone? Seriously?
'Those guys were so loud, she must have heard that. But even with everyone laughing at her, she didn't react at all. Does she really not care about gossip? Or maybe her grades have always been bad, so this was expected, and she's just accepting the ridicule?
'She always pays close attention in class, takes notes, and keeps studying after school, the picture-perfect model student. There's no way she should be scoring this low! And with her personality, she's definitely not the type to put on an act.'
Homer Haynes noticed James staring outside and followed his gaze.
He wondered, 'Isn't that Arielle?
'Why is James watching her?'
"James, are you thinking about how to tame her?" Homer muttered quietly.
Lance Santiago, grinning from the sidelines, scoffed, "Tame her? Why bother? She's just spineless! At first, she didn't get the class dynamics, but now she does. She hears them trash-talking her and won't even squeak!"
James turned his head slowly, and with just one icy glare, the two instantly fell silent.