Claire frowned in annoyance. "I'm not here for Sloane's birthday party."
She turned on her heel to leave, only to be stopped dead in her tracks again.
"You?"
"Claire, I can't believe you actually had the nerve to show your face here!"
The voice was irritatingly familiar.
Claire glanced over her shoulder. Sure enough, a desperate simp might be late, but he would never miss an opportunity to defend his queen.
It was none other than Levi Charles, the same upperclassman who was always trailing after Sloane like a lost puppy in the cafeteria.
Claire had openly rejected Sloane's invitation, and Levi's loud mouth had turned it into a massive public humiliation for his goddess.
Sloane's expression that day had been absolutely murderous.
Yet somehow, Levi delusionally believed that Claire was the one bullying Sloane, causing her distress.
A guy who couldn't even read his own crush's social cues was destined to be nothing more than a pathetic lackey.
"Exactly! Claire, you need to leave right now. Sloane is going to be so upset if she finds out you're lurking around," Lily chimed in, thrilled to have backup.
Hearing the girl mention Sloane, Levi's face darkened defensively.
"Waiter, kick her out immediately! She wasn't invited to today's event, so why are you even letting her stand here?"
The server was now caught in a terribly awkward position.
Could a girl this poised and stunning really be a party crasher?
"Miss, would you mind showing me your invitation?" the server asked hesitantly.
Claire couldn't even be bothered to waste her breath on Lily and Levi.
As she turned back to the server to explain, another group approached the scene.
"Claire!"
It was Julia, walking arm-in-arm with her brother, Nolan.
Beside them stood Whitney and her date.
He was another foreign exchange student named Jim.
"Miss Claire," Nolan greeted smoothly, far more composed than his sister.
He offered her a warm, charming smile.
"Why are you here all alone? Where's Dane?"
As far as Nolan was concerned, Claire and Dane were an inseparable package deal.
Weren't they supposed to show up to these high-society functions together? Claire nodded politely at the siblings. "He didn't come."
This was Owen's business party; what reason would Dane possibly have to be here?
She hadn't even bothered telling him about it.
Nolan looked a bit surprised by that, but he tactfully kept his thoughts to himself.
"Is something wrong?" Nolan asked, noticing the hostile crowd surrounding Claire.
She appeared to be heavily outnumbered.
Had some kind of drama broken out at the Sterling family's event?
"It's nothing, Julia, Whitney. Why don't you guys take your friends and head inside first? can handle this situation myself," Levi quickly interjected.
Levi was well aware that Julia and Whitney ran in the same elite circles as Sloane.
He also knew the university was
desperate for the advanced medical equipment Whitney's family
provided, and that Julia's family
insanely
wealthyanding t
was
two heiresses was absolute Career suicide.
FindNovel.net
"Handle what, exactly? I haven't even said a word yet," Claire scoffed, utterly speechless at his audacity.
Why was it that not a single person here seemed capable of listening to her?
"Save your excuses, Claire. It's useless. We are absolutely not letting you through those doors."
"Today is Sloane's birthday, and you are not going to ruin her mood."
Levi was vehemently determined to protect Sloane's honor.
If he hadn't twisted the narrative to be so ambiguous in the first place, the rumors of
Claire being rejected for an invite never would have spread.
Seeing Claire standing right in front of him made his guilty conscience flare up, sending a spike of panic through his chest.
Still, as long as he successfully drove her away, everything would be fine. He absolutely refused to let her win!
And there was no way in hell he was going to publicly admit that Sloane was the
one who had offered the invite and been humiliatingly rejected.
"I highly doubt I hold that kind of power over Sloane's emotions."
"But since everyone is so convinced I'm a party crasher, why don't we have Sloane come out here and. clarify the truth? Let's see if she rejected me, or if I rejected her."
As soon as the words left Claire's mouth, all the color completely drained from Levi's
face.
His guilt was glaringly obvious.
"Why so quiet, Levi? I've been hearing rumors all over campus for the last two days claiming I begged Sloane for an invitation and got denied."