That resounding slap definitively extinguished any reverence I had once felt for Karen. I stayed silent, struggling to hold back my tears as I fixed my gaze on Karen, who was standing before me. 

Yet, Karen perceived me as the embodiment of malice, uttering cutting remarks that tore into my very core. “Who do you think you are? How dare you harm my daughter! Why don’t you just drop dead? You’ve been nothing but trouble. I don’t expect you to be as brilliant as Liam and Tina, but at the very least, you shouldn’t be so wicked! I truly wish I had given birth to Tina instead.” 

I clenched my hands tightly, gathering my composure before saying, “It’s not my fault. You are well aware that it was Tina who cheated on the exam. I never—” 

Yet, before I could complete my sentence, Liam cut me off. “Have you lost your mind, Kiara? You ought to know that Tina’s excellence is common knowledge, having ranked first in every high school exam. You, on the other hand, were always dead last. How dare you accuse Tina like that!” 

I merely looked at the people before me. I had endless explanations and mountains of evidence against Tina. Ever since I got into Evergreen High School as the top-ranking student, Tina had always switched out all my test papers. This competition was the only time she didn’t manage to pull it off.