Part 3The Golden Hour Of Revenge

The very next day, I learned that Sienna hadn't just become Owen's new neighbor; she had transferred to our school.

We had just finished a round of exams, and the teacher was reviewing our scores. I, the average student, had somehow managed to get the highest grade in English. The moment the teacher opened her mouth to praise me, Sienna appeared at the classroom door.

The whole class erupted. No one cared about my grade anymore; all eyes were fixed on Sienna.

"Wow, we have a transfer student? I’ve never seen a girl this beautiful on campus!"

I soon learned she would be joining our class.

What I didn't expect was her choosing me as her deskmate.

"Eliza, you’re the only girl I know in this class. You’ll have to help me out."

She beamed. "I know you and Owen are close. Can you bring me along when you guys hang out?"

Her smile was like the winter sun—bright, warm, and impossible to refuse. A chill ran down my spine, but I couldn't find a reason to say no.

From that day on, a third person was wedged between Owen and me.

I never had many friends in class. But once Sienna arrived, the other students quickly decided that she and Owen were the obvious, destined match—even if Owen was supposed to be dating me.

"The class queen and the quarterback. Why is Eliza always sticking herself in the middle?"

"Who knows? Some people just try to punch above their weight."

Back then, I genuinely considered Sienna a friend. I even asked her if the students were right, if I really didn’t measure up to Owen.

Sienna just laughed sweetly. "Of course not, Eliza. I mean, you’re not exactly pretty, but Owen doesn’t care about superficial things like that."

"Oh, right! Owen wants to take you to the amusement park this weekend. He was too shy to ask you himself, so he made me pass on the message. Don’t forget!"

Though Owen and I had an unspoken understanding, this was our first official date.

I left school early that Friday. Despite the torrential rain, I traveled to a distant mall to buy Owen a gift.

I picked out a silk tie. The saleswoman asked if it was for my boyfriend, and I shyly nodded.

The day of the date, I wore a light yellow sundress and let my ponytail down for the first time. Waiting outside the amusement park entrance, I kept wondering if I was overdressed.

I waited until nightfall, but Owen never showed. My texts went unanswered.

My excitement was replaced by dread. I started worrying that something terrible had happened to Owen.

It was pitch black outside. Rushing to his house, I tripped, falling hard into the dirt. My yellow dress was ruined, covered in mud, and the gift tie flew out of my hand.

I burst through his front door. My relief at seeing him alive vanished when I saw Sienna lying on Owen’s bed, looking fragile. Owen was standing next to her, preparing a mug of cold medicine.

"What are you doing here? Where have you been? I couldn't reach you all day."

His voice was angry, not relieved. "Don’t you know Sienna got drenched yesterday? She fainted with a fever this morning. If she hadn't been my next-door neighbor, who knows how dangerous it would have been?"

He didn’t apologize for standing me up; he just lashed out at me. In all the years we had known each other, he had never yelled at me like this.

Sienna’s eyes welled up with tears. "Eliza, I know you had an emergency yesterday, but why did you have to take my umbrella in such a downpour?"

"I didn't have any cold medicine at home, and my parents are out of town. I kept texting you, but you blocked me! Thankfully, I came over to Owen’s house just before I passed out. I don't know what I would have done otherwise."

She choked out a sob. "Eliza, I saw you as my best friend here. Why would you do that to me?"

Owen reached out and gently wiped her tears. He cut her off, his voice soft. "It's okay, Sienna. That’s enough."

I was frozen. In Sienna’s narrative, I was the villain.

Tears sprang to my own eyes. After a long moment, I finally spoke, reaching out with the ruined tie. "I didn't take your umbrella, I just—"

But Owen didn’t even look at me. He handed the glass of medicine to Sienna.

I felt like an invisible stranger. After a few minutes, I finally turned and walked out.

That night marked the beginning of our first cold war.

When school started, I quietly moved my seat, no longer sitting next to Sienna.

But the class's attitude toward me grew colder. Sienna had told everyone that I was targeting her because of Owen, successfully painting herself as the injured party.

Everywhere I went, the whispers followed.

"See? I told you she wasn't good enough for the class heartthrob. She just had to butt in."

"The class queen is so sweet; she still tried to be friends with her. Now she's being a snake. Who does she think she is?"

Suddenly, I was the pariah, a scorned girl, even though I had done nothing wrong.

Even Owen refused to meet my eyes.

A girl of seventeen can only endure so much humiliation. Finally, after late study hall one night, I found Owen.

He was sitting at his desk, patiently going over Sienna's corrected exam paper. He looked surprised to see me.

We walked home together. I poured out all my bottled-up anger and confusion, asking him why he was treating me this way.

But when I described how Sienna had deliberately misled me about the amusement park and then framed me for stealing her umbrella, Owen frowned.

He cut me off with an edge of impatience. "I don’t understand why you always have such a massive chip on your shoulder about her. She’s not the manipulative person you’re making her out to be. She’s not into petty drama."

"Since meeting Sienna, I’ve realized how fiercely jealous you are, Eliza. She’s only ever been kind to you, yet you keep slandering her. Is it because she’s prettier that you have to constantly drag her down?"

His voice dropped lower, his tone accusatory. "Do you have any idea how bad her fever was that day? She was still saying it must have been her fault for saying something too harsh to you."

I was stunned into silence. After all these years, Owen wouldn't grant me the most basic level of trust.

"Eliza," he said, and the words were sharp and clean, severing us. "After knowing you this long, I'm honestly disgusted. Are you so unremarkable that you can't bear to see anyone else shine?"