More and more students were gathering in front of the notice board.
The moment Elara reminded him that they were still engaged, the students around them became even more attentive.
Sebastian’s expression hardened.
With curious eyes fixed on him from every direction, humiliation burned through him.
He had just opened his mouth to speak when Rosalind, standing beside him, suddenly tugged lightly at his sleeve.
“Be careful…”
The words had barely left her lips when her foot twisted, and her whole body tipped to the side.
“Ah!”
Sebastian’s expression changed immediately.
Almost on instinct, he reached out and pulled Rosalind straight into his arms.
“Rosalind!”
Rosalind leaned against his chest, her eyes filling with tears.
“I’m fine…”
Her voice was soft and shaky, but her gaze drifted timidly toward Elara.
“She didn’t do it on purpose, really.”
That one sentence turned every eye toward Elara.
And sure enough, Sebastian took the bait.
He snapped his head up and said coldly, “Elara, enough!”
“I know you’re upset because I’m with Rosalind now, but if you’ve got a problem, take it out on me.
Why are you bullying her?”
Elara stood where she was, not even having moved a single step.
She glanced at Rosalind first, then shifted her eyes to Sebastian.
“Did I touch her?”
Sebastian choked for a second, then frowned.
“If it wasn’t you, why would she fall?”
Elara laughed, light and cold.
“So now if she trips over herself, that’s on me too?”
Rosalind quickly reached out and tugged at Sebastian’s sleeve.
“Sebastian, forget it.
Maybe my sister’s just in a bad mood.”
On the surface, that sounded like she was smoothing things over for Elara.
But the implication was obvious: Elara had supposedly lashed out at Rosalind out of jealousy.
Sure enough, whispers started spreading through the crowd.
“I heard she’s always had it out for Rosalind.”
“Well, one’s the real heiress and one’s the fake one…”
“And now the Merritt heir is with Rosalind.
Of course she’s bitter.”
Sebastian listened to all of it, and the more he heard, the more confident he got.
He stared at Elara with open contempt.
“What exactly can you do besides cause trouble?
Your grades are poor, your research is a joke, and you never stood out at any school event.
You can’t race.
You can’t practice medicine.”
Every word he threw out made the looks around them grow stranger, heavier.
It was like he’d finally found the perfect opening to vent everything.
“Now look at Rosalind.
Great grades, strong research skills, and she can play piano and dance.
Which part of her isn’t better than you?”
“Elara, what exactly do you have that can compare to her?”
Elara listened quietly from start to finish.
No anger.
Not even an attempt to argue.
Only after Sebastian finished did Elara let out a soft laugh.
“Done?”
Sebastian frowned hard.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing much.”
Elara met his gaze, calm and cold.
“I just realized how ridiculous you sound.”
“You called me useless at research?” Her voice stayed light, but every word landed clean.
“Then do you even know I’ve been working at the institute all these years?”
Sebastian froze for a second.
Elara went on, “Do you know how many nights I stayed up for those projects in the lab?
No.
You don’t.”
“And Callum’s racing team getting results—do you know why that happened?”
Sebastian’s expression shifted at once.
A mocking curve tugged at Elara’s lips.
“Because every single training session, the person who really adjusted the car settings and mapped out the strategy was me.”
“Who was the one standing on the podium in the end?”
“Rosalind.”
“And who got all your praise?”
“Still Rosalind.”
The crowd fell silent.
Elara never raised her voice, but each sentence landed with unmistakable force.
“The research results I worked for became part of her résumé.”
“The results I helped Callum’s team achieve became another achievement credited to her.”
“Everything I worked for somehow ended up attached to Rosalind’s name.”
Elara looked at Sebastian, the mocking curve at her lips growing sharper and colder.
“And now you’re standing here telling me she’s better than me at everything?”
Sebastian’s face darkened.
“Cut the crap.
You can stop making things up here.
The institute project was obviously done with Rosalind involved the whole time, and the racing team results were earned by Rosalind herself.”
“The only reason you’re saying all this is because you’re jealous of her.”
Rosalind lowered her lashes, but she could not quite hide her smug satisfaction.
She knew it.
Without proof, no matter how much Elara said, nobody would buy a word of it.
Besides, in everyone’s eyes, she was the real Weston daughter—the one who was outstanding, gentle, and kind, the kind of girl people naturally sided with.
Elara gave a small nod, clearly done arguing.
“Fine.
Since you don’t believe me, let’s skip the nonsense.”
Sebastian froze for a second.
“What are you trying to do now?”
Elara lifted her eyes and looked straight at him, her gaze steady and hard.
“How about we make a bet?”
The students around them immediately grew more interested.
“A bet on what?”
Elara raised a hand and pointed at the bulletin board.
“This year’s final exams.
Whoever takes first place wins.”
Sebastian blanked for a beat, then let out a laugh.
“You?”
He laughed as if the idea were absurd.
“Elara, are you out of your mind?
Do you even know how hard this exam was?”
He didn’t wait for her answer.
“Rosalind has always ranked near the top of the grade, and you…”
His gaze dragged over Elara on purpose, full of open contempt.
“You might not even crack the top ten.”
Elara’s expression didn’t change.
Her voice stayed flat, almost lazy.
“So you’re scared?”
“Who said I’m scared?”
Sebastian scoffed, his pride clearly stung.
“Fine.
A bet’s a bet.”
He stared at her and narrowed his eyes.
“And if you lose?”
“If I lose…”
Sebastian’s expression changed, and a nasty smile spread across his face.
“Then crawl around the entire campus like a dog.
How about that?”
The crowd erupted.
“That’s brutal, seriously?”
“In public too?
Crawling like a dog?”
“Will Elara actually agree to that?”
All eyes landed on Elara at once.
But she only looked at Sebastian quietly, not a trace of panic on her face, like none of this could shake her.
“Sure,” she said.
“But I’m adding one more condition.”
Sebastian’s brows drew together.
“What?”
“If I win.”
Elara spoke slowly, every word clear.
“You get down and crawl like a dog, and in front of everyone, you apologize to me.”
The smile on Sebastian’s face froze for a split second.
Elara kept going, her tone calm but sharp enough to cut.
“You apologize for everything you just said.
You apologize for all the years you smeared me and pinned things on me.
And you also apologize for sneaking around behind your fiancée’s back and getting tangled up with another woman.”
The crowd erupted again.
“What?”
“Wait, isn’t Sebastian still engaged to Elara?”
“Then what’s going on with him and Rosalind now…?”
The looks directed at Sebastian quickly turned skeptical and curious.
Sebastian’s face tightened with anger.
“You—”
He was just about to refuse when Rosalind suddenly spoke.
“I’m in too.”
Everyone paused, stunned.
Rosalind bit her lip and looked straight at Elara.
“Doesn’t my sister think I’m better than her at everything?
Fine.
Then let’s compete.”
“If I lose, I’ll follow the bet too.”
Sebastian spoke up at once.
“Rosalind!”
But Rosalind only shook her head.
“Sebastian, I trust myself.”
Her voice was soft, calm, even a little gentle.
Steady too.
Inside, she was thrilled.
There was no way she’d lose.
She knew exactly what level Elara was at.
Sure, those so-called grades and honors from before had indeed come from Elara secretly covering for her.
But now, even without Elara, she could still take first place.
Better yet, she could humiliate Elara in front of the entire school.
“Fine.”
Elara nodded.
“Then we do it together.”
The bet was officially on.
By now, people nearby had already pulled out their phones.
“Hurry up, hurry up, post it in the group chat!”
“Elara is going head-to-head with Rosalind for first place in the finals!”
“Whoever loses has to crawl like a dog!”
News of the bet spread across campus quickly, drawing even more students to the bulletin board.
And right then, the outer edge of the crowd suddenly went quiet for a beat.
A tall figure was walking over from the school gate.
The man was dressed in a sharp black military uniform, his back straight, shoulders broad, his steps slow and steady.
The students around them instinctively moved aside, making a path.
A few gasps rose in hushed voices.
“Isn’t that someone from the Whitmore family?”
“Adrian?”
“Why would he come to school?”
The man paid no attention to the stares coming from every direction.
His gaze moved through the crowd and settled on Elara.
He had heard that whole bet just now, every last word.
Andrew Fenn stood behind him and lowered his voice.
“Sir, should we help Ms.
Weston?”
Adrian did not answer immediately.
He watched Elara from a short distance away, her expression calm and unreadable.
Facing Sebastian’s humiliation, she hadn’t backed down.
Facing Rosalind’s provocation, she hadn’t bothered defending herself either.
If anything, she had gone straight in and proposed the bet herself.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of panic in those cool, clear eyes.
A flicker of curiosity crossed Adrian’s expression.
If nobody stepped in to help her, how exactly would she deal with this?
A moment later, he spoke in a flat tone.
“No need.”
Andrew Fenn froze.
“But…”
“Watch.”
Adrian finally looked away.
“I want to see just how far she can get on her own.”
After saying that, he stayed outside the crowd.
He didn’t step in, and he didn’t say a single word for her.
He just stood there quietly, watching.
At that moment, Elara had already turned and walked toward the bulletin board.
She lifted her head and looked at the score rankings posted above, her eyes steady and unreadable.
She wanted to see just how far Rosalind could rank without all the help Elara had secretly given her.