Part 3I Time-Traveled to Defeat My Boyfriend's Dead Ex, Only to Die Saving Her

Seraphina stared at me, her eyes suddenly turning red and welling up with tears.

She didn't dare blink.

She frantically lowered her head to hide her face, shoveling food into her mouth in big, desperate bites.

Fat tears rolled down her cheeks with each movement, falling silently into her lap.

Damn it, I sighed internally. Seraphina’s mom was a real piece of work, pushing her own daughter to the brink.

We spent the next two weeks like this.

While Seraphina still greeted me with a cool expression, the numbness in her eyes had begun to fade.

She was slowly getting used to my presence.

It had been almost half a month since I transferred, and there was still no sign of Ethan. I was getting antsy, so I decided to ask Maya about him.

Her face lit up with the expression of someone who’d just stumbled upon prime gossip. "Tsk, tsk," she clicked her tongue. "I knew it. Why else would someone go through all the trouble of transferring schools in the middle of senior year? You're here for the golden boy, Ethan, aren't you?"

I started to deny it. "No, I—"

She made an 'O' with her fingers and playfully clamped it over my mouth, shushing me. She gave me a conspiratorial wink, her face saying, No need to explain, I get it. "Don't even try. You can lie to me, but can you lie to your own heart?"

What was with the cheesy soap opera dialogue?

"You're wasting your talent," I said, my head aching. "You should be writing novels."

Her eyes lit up as if she'd found her soulmate. "You think so too? I should write a story about you and Ethan! A brave girl fearlessly pursues her love, conquering the untouchable prince of the school…"

She was off, lost in her burst of inspiration, rambling on and on.

I turned away in exasperation and found myself looking directly into the eyes of Seraphina, who was standing right behind me.

I had no idea when she’d returned.

She stared at me, her expression unreadable, her eyes a little cold.

I felt a strange pang of guilt, though I had no idea what I had to feel guilty about. I fidgeted, suddenly awkward.

Seraphina silently returned to her seat. After a moment, she spoke, her voice calm and even. "Ethan already has early admission. He doesn't have to attend classes. You'll have a hard time finding him at school."

I scratched my head. "Oh, okay. I see."

He'd never mentioned that when we were dating. So, he had gotten early admission too.

He and Seraphina really were a match for each other.

My state school degree felt completely inadequate in front of these two academic powerhouses.