Chapter 26 Leaked Secrets

Chapter 26 Leaked Secrets
Elsie's Pov

That morning at school, I felt strange in a way I could not explain because for the first time in weeks the campus looked normal and people walked past me without whispering or pointing or pretending not to stare when I met their eyes.

I told myself it was because the truth had come out and Ryan had finally admitted everything publicly, and even though it did not fix what he broke, it shifted something in the way people looked at me. I was no longer the villain in someone else’s story. I was just another student walking to class.

I tried not to overthink it as I walked down the hallway toward my locker because peace can be fragile and I did not want to ruin it by expecting too much.

For the first time in the longest, no one laughed when I passed. No one pulled out their phone to record me and a few people even smiled politely.

I reached my locker and let out a quiet breath as I opened the metal door and started switching my books when suddenly the locker door slammed shut so hard it made my ears ring.

I jumped back in shock and turned around.

Sophia stood there with one hand still pressed against the metal door and a tight smile on her glossy lips. She looked perfect as always, her hair was smooth, her makeup flawless, and her outfit looked carefully chosen like she had stepped out of a magazine. She carried herself like the hallway belonged to her.

“You should be more careful,” she said lightly. “You might hurt yourself.”

I swallowed and tried to keep my voice steady. “What do you want, Sophia.”

She tilted her head slightly as if she found the question amusing. “Straight to the point, I like that.”

Students were passing by but they did not stop. Sophia was good at this. She knew how to make things look casual even when they were not.

“I just wanted to say congratulations,” she continued, folding her arms. “You managed to clear your name. That must feel nice.”

“It does,” I said simply.

Her smile tightened. “Must be exhausting always being at the center of drama.”

I did not respond because I had learned that silence sometimes unsettled people more than arguments.

She took a small step closer. “You know what I find interesting, Elsie.”

I looked at her.

“You will never be as beautiful as me,” she said bluntly, her voice low but sharp. “And yet somehow you keep getting attention from men who should not even look at you.”

The words stung even though I told myself they should not.

“This isn’t about me,” I said quietly.

“Oh, it is,” she replied. “Adrian has been ignoring me lately, he barely picks my calls and is always cancelling all our plans. He barely even looks at me when we are in the same room.”

My heart skipped despite myself.

“That has nothing to do with me,” I said.

She laughed softly. “Oh please.”

I hated the way she said that word.

“You think I don’t notice how he looks at you,” she continued. “How he shows up whenever something happens to you.”

I forced myself to stay calm. “He is my stepbrother.”

“And I am not stupid.”

Sophia stepped even closer until I could smell her expensive perfume. “Someone close to you told me something interesting,” she whispered.

My stomach dropped. “What are you talking about.”

She leaned in until her lips were almost touching my ear. “I suspect something is going on between you and Adrian.”

My entire body went cold.

“That’s ridiculous,” I said quickly, pulling back.

“Is it,” she asked softly, her eyes scanning my face carefully as if searching for cracks.

“Yes.”

She smiled slowly like she enjoyed watching me lie. “Then you won’t mind if I keep watching.”

I felt my pulse in my throat.

“Because if I find out that something is going on between you two,” she continued quietly, “I will tell the whole school. And trust me, after everything you have been through, they will love that story.”

The threat hung in the air between us.

“You’re imagining things,” I managed to say.

“Maybe,” she replied, straightening up again. “But if I’m right, you should be very careful. You don’t want another scandal, do you.”

She stepped back, smoothing her hair as if nothing serious had just happened.

“And just so we’re clear,” she added with a small smile, “you could never compete with me. Not in looks, not in status, not in anything.”

Then she walked away like she had simply stopped by for small talk.

I stood there frozen for a few seconds before turning back to my locker with trembling hands. My books felt heavier now. The hallway noise returned slowly, like I had been underwater and just surfaced.

Her words constantly echoed in my head.

I had never told anyone about that night. Not my mother, not even Aria. I had barely allowed myself to think about it without feeling shame crawl under my skin. Even if I had told Aria, she would never betray me like that. I knew her. She would protect me before she would expose me.

So how did Sophia suspect.

Was it the way Adrian looked at me, or the way I avoided him sometimes.

Maybe we had not been as careful as we thought.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur. I sat through lectures without hearing half of what was said. My notes were messy and incomplete. Every time someone laughed across the room I flinched slightly, expecting it to be about me.

It was never about me, but the fear stayed.

I kept replaying Sophia’s whisper in my head and imagining what would happen if she actually told people. The truth about Ryan had finally cleared my name but this would be different. Sleeping with my stepbrother, even if we were not blood related, even if it happened before anything emotional existed between us, would become a headline overnight. People would not care about context. They would not care about the fact that I was drunk, ashamed and confused.

They would only care that it sounded scandalous.

By the time break arrived, I felt like my chest was too tight to breathe properly. I knew I could not carry this alone. I needed to tell Adrian.

I spotted him near the courtyard speaking to someone from the foundation’s student committee. He looked composed as always, like nothing in the world could shake him.

I walked straight up to him and said quietly, “I need to talk to you.”

He noticed my expression immediately. “Now,” he asked.

“Yes.”

He excused himself without hesitation and followed me toward a quieter corner behind the science building where fewer students passed during break.

“What happened,” he asked once we were alone.

“It's Sophia,” I said.

His jaw tightened slightly. “What about her.”

“She confronted me at my locker.”

His eyes sharpened. “Did she touch you.”

“She slammed my locker.”

His expression darkened. “What did she say.”

I took a deep breath because saying it out loud made it real. “She thinks something is going on between us.”

For the first time since I had known him, Adrian looked genuinely shocked. “What?”

“She said someone close to me told her.”

“That’s impossible,” he said immediately.

“I never told anyone,” I replied quickly. “Not even Aria.”

He studied my face carefully. “Are you sure.”

“Yes,” I said firmly. “I would never.”

He nodded slowly as if calculating something in his head.

“She threatened to tell the whole school if she finds proof,” I added, my voice quieter now. “She said they would love that story.”

Adrian’s eyes darkened in a way that made my stomach twist. “She won’t.”

“You don’t know that,” I said, my composure finally cracking slightly. “You know how this school is. They feed on gossip.”

He stepped closer but did not touch me. “Look at me.”

I did look at him.

“She has suspicion,” he said calmly. “But there's no evidence.”

“But what if she keeps watching.”

“Then we will give her nothing to see.”

The simplicity of his tone almost frustrated me. “It’s not that simple.”

“It is,” he replied. “We will control our actions. She cannot expose what she cannot prove.”

I shook my head slightly. “You don’t understand how this feels.”

His expression softened just a little. “Then tell me.”

I swallowed. “I just got my name back. I just stopped being the girl everyone laughed at. I can’t survive another scandal, Adrian.”

“You won’t have to,” he said firmly.

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

The confidence in his voice steadied me slightly but the fear did not disappear completely.

“What if she’s right,” I whispered before I could stop myself.

He frowned slightly. “Right about what.”

“That something is going on between us.”

Silence fell between us.

Adrian looked at me carefully before answering. “Whatever is going on,” he said slowly, “is our business. Not hers.”

I let out a shaky breath.

“We’ll handle it,” he added. I nodded because I wanted to believe him.

But as I walked back toward class, I knew one that this kind of peace never lasted for long especially with someone like Sophia watching.