The guy-Trevor Prince was completely blindsided by Claire’s blunt refusal.

He thought the earlier tension had passed. It was supposed to be a joke, anyway. Who would have thought she’d take it so seriously and hold a grudge?

Every other girl had taken a sip. Claire was the only one refusing. Was she looking down on him?

“You’re really giving me zero respect here. I was just joking earlier, why are you taking it so personally?”

The smile completely vanished from Trevor’s face.

He was already a bit of a chauvinist, and it irritated him that Claire’s grades blew everyone else’s out of the water.

Calling her a genius was just a sarcastic jab.

Did she actually think she was better than them?

Claire threw him a dark look. “I don’t drink alcohol, and now I don’t even want my water.”

“That look on your face, Trevor. Are you planning to hit me?”

Claire’s casual, dismissive tone made Trevor see red.

Ethan quickly stood up. “Trevor!”

“We’re just students. Forcing people to drink isn’t cool.”

“If you want to drink, knock yourself out. But if Claire doesn’t want to, back off.”

“And that goes for everyone else, too.”

As the unofficial class leader, Ethan was clearly stepping up to defend Claire.

Trevor was furious, but his hands were tied.

Ethan was his roommate, after all.

Trevor knew Ethan came from old money and that his father was a renowned surgeon. Crossing Ethan was a bad career move.

“Fine, fine. If the boss is going to protect her like that, what else can I say?”

After that, Trevor stopped pressuring the girls. He abandoned his aggressive toasting and stuck to drinking with the guys at his table.

Even still, whispers circulated that Ethan was fiercely protective of Claire.

Claire remained silent.

Wasn’t Ethan just doing the decent thing?

Who was he supposed to defend? Her, or that aggressive asshole?

“Do you think Ethan actually has a crush on Claire? He’s always defending her,”

Lily whispered to Tabitha.

They knew Priscilla and Claire had some vague family connection, so they kept their voices low to avoid being overheard.

Macy overheard them but chose to stay out of it.

“Probably. Claire isn’t just smart; she’s gorgeous. I heard she might not be blood-related, but she was raised by a wealthy family “Tabitha muttered back.

“I looked her up online. She’s ridiculously lucky. When she was with The James

Family, their business was booming.”

“The second she left, The James Family went bankrupt.”

“And it didn’t even affect her.”

“Honestly, I feel bad for the real daughter, Cindy.”

“She gets switched at birth, grows up in the middle of nowhere, and then finally

comes home only to get screwed over again.”

“The James Family’s bankruptcy happened so fast, people online were saying it was supernatural bad luck.”

“It’s a crazy world out there, huh?”

The two girls gossiped fervently.

Claire was sitting at their table. She

noticed them shooting covert

glances her way, and though

l.ne

couldn’t catch every word, she knew they were talking about her.

She couldn’t care less. Aside from

Shetation, she barely knew

brief

these people and had no desire So with them.

People were going to talk, and she couldn’t stop them.

Even so, the dinner was a complete drag.

She finished her food quickly, intending to head back to her dorm the second everyone was done.

The others started pitching after-dinner plans—escape rooms, murder mystery games.

Some wanted to hit up a karaoke bar.

But Claire flat-out stated she wasn’t joining any of them.

“You guys go ahead. I didn’t sleep well last night, I just want to go to bed.”

To emphasize her point, Claire let out a perfectly timed yawn.