Chapter 29 28
Soraya's POV
“It’s finally open. Here’s your result,” Sam said.
I didn’t even realize when I got up from my seat and rushed to him. “What is it?” My voice came out shaky, my palms were sweaty.
Sam stared at the screen with raised brows. “Well, Soraya… I wasn’t expecting this.”
He looked at Darius, and my chest tightened.
“What is it?” Darius asked quickly, moving to sit beside him. His eyes followed the screen, and then suddenly widened.
“That’s the result?”
Sam nodded.
My heart nearly stopped. “What are you two talking about? Just let her see it already,” Mrs. Opaline snapped impatiently.
“Let me see,” I asked, my throat dry, every nerve tensed. My chest was racing, my whole body trembling. Please… just 60%. Even if it was exactly 60%, I would take it. Pain would be if it stopped at 59%. Just 1% away. Oh, God, I was praying silently.
Sam turned the laptop toward me, but before I could reach for it, Emily snatched it up.
“Emily!” Darius barked.
I froze, staring at her.
Her smug face slowly melted and her lips parted in shock.
“What?” I asked, stepping forward desperately.
Darius stood, towering over her. “Emily, give it here.” He took the laptop from her hands and looked at the screen again.
I finally caught a glimpse. 85%. I scored 85%
My breath hitched and my eyes widened. My hand flew to my mouth. “Eighty-five percent?” I gasped. “Oh my God!”
Darius’ lips curved into a smile. Emily’s face twisted in disbelief.
“What?!” she demanded. “That’s… that’s impossible!”
But all I could do was stare at the number glowing on the screen. 85%. I had done it.
A smile stretched across Darius’ lips as he looked at me. “I’m so proud of you,” he said.
I smiled brightly. “I wasn’t expecting to score so high. I’m… I’m so surprised.”
He nodded slowly. “This just shows how smart you really are.”
Mrs. Opaline clapped her hands together. “Congratulations, dear,” she said warmly.
“Thank you so much,” I whispered, my voice shaking with joy.
But of course, the moment couldn’t last.
“That’s a lie!” Emily’s eyes were wide with fury. “This is impossible. How could she score 85%? How?” She pointed a trembling finger at me. “I’m sure she cheated!”
Sam frowned at her. “Cheated? What’s wrong with you, Emily? You know very well that All-Bright School doesn’t condone any form of malpractice in exams. And you also know Darius would never support it. So clearly, she earned it. Why can’t you just be happy for her instead of spoiling the moment?”
Emily’s face twisted. “Don’t you get it? How is it possible she gets 85%? I mean, she’s Soraya. She grew up in some brothel or orphanage or whatever. How can she score that high?”
Her words stung, but I lifted my chin and met her glare. “Look, Emily,” I said firmly, “there are people from wealthy homes like yours who may not be bright, and there are people like me, who may not have perfect backgrounds, but are smart enough to excel.”
“Shut up!” she snapped. “That doesn’t make sense. You had only three days! How could you possibly cover so much and score that high?”
I folded my arms tightly across my chest, refusing to shrink back. “I had three days, yes. And I didn’t sleep those nights. Some of the questions were things I already knew from high school. I paid attention back then, and I always studied in my free time. So, yes it’s possible. I worked for this.”
Emily shook her head violently. “That’s a lie! You don’t get it. It’s not possible for you to score so high.”
I raised a brow at her.
“You even read the wrong books! How can you score that high when you studied the wrong material?”
The moment she said those words, her eyes widened, and her hands flew to cover her mouth.
I smirked. She had just exposed herself.
“What did you say, Emily?” Mrs. Opaline asked sharply, narrowing her eyes. “What do you mean she studied the wrong books?”
“It’s… nothing. I meant—”
“Don’t you dare lie.” Darius interrupted, with clenched teeth. “You don’t want to know what I would do to you, Emily.”
“I didn’t do anything!” Emily stammered, her face pale. “I just… I just said it by mistake.”
“By mistake?” Mrs. Opaline snapped. “Who blurts out something like that by mistake? Saying someone read the wrong books? Who says that?”
I straightened and looked straight at Emily. “I’ll tell you what happened. Emily swapped my books.”
The room went still.
“When Darius got the books for me, she went into my room, took them, and replaced them with hers so I would study the wrong ones,”
Emily gasped. “What? That’s a lie!”
“Really?” I said coldly. “It’s a lie? Then who has these books?”
Right on cue, everyone turned. Irene walked in, carrying a stack of books in her arms. She crossed the room quickly and handed them to me.
“These are your books, right?” I asked Emily. “The ones you swapped with mine.”
Emily staggered back. “What? Those aren’t my books! My name isn’t even on them!”
I held the books to my chest and let out a humorless laugh. “Of course your name isn’t on them. You hadn’t used them before. But these aren’t the books Darius got for me. And there’s no way I would have had books of my own here.” I lifted my chin, staring her down.
“Do you think I didn’t know? I did, Emily. I knew what you did.”
Emily’s face instantly changed to a sullen expression. She rushed to Darius, clutching his arm.
“She’s lying! Why would I swap our books?” Emily cried, tears welling in her eyes.
“Because you don’t want me to pass, Emily,” I shot back. “You hate me to your bones.”
Emily turned to him, holding him tighter, raising her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I didn’t do anything! You know Soraya also doesn’t like me. She’s lying. Darius—”
But Darius’ gaze hardened. He held her by the shoulder and moved away from her.
“Emily,” he said icily, “I already knew the whole truth. Soraya told me about this before now.”