Sloane mentioned that Claire had even participated in the Math Olympiad and won a gold medal.
"If that's the case, she really is impressive."
Hearing her own friends praise Claire's capabilities made Sloane feel even more resentful.
She remembered how she had stolen Claire's spotlight at the beginning of the semester just for online traffic.
Having already built a modest internet following, she had gained a massive wave of new fans by piggybacking on the viral trend of saving a life with a fork.
When she later discovered that Claire was the actual student who had used the silverware to save that life, Sloane felt a bizarre, suffocating wave of discomfort.
It would have been one thing if it were a stranger, but this girl was her underclassman, making it feel as though she had fraudulently stolen someone
else's glory.
Since they crossed paths so often, a lingering sense of awkwardness and shame crept over her every time she saw Claire.
It reached a point where she didn't just dislike Claire; she actively wished the girl would disappear.
So why had she sent Claire an invitation to her party?
Sloane chalked it up to her own vanity.
She had originally wanted to flaunt her superiority, never expecting Claire to reject her to her face.
The girl hadn't even hesitated.
Naturally, that left a bitter taste in Sloane's mouth.
When Levi spread those rumors, she had silently allowed it to happen.
Sloane had wanted to vent her frustrations.
But who could have predicted that Claire would also show up at Luminate on the very day of her birthday?
Sloane had genuinely believed Claire regretted her refusal, and she had prepared herself to graciously accept her uninvited presence.
But it turned out Claire wasn't there for her birthday banquet at all.
Most of the patrons at Luminate were high-profile elites.
As a fake heiress, who else besides Sloane would have invited Claire?
Could it have been one of her former classmates?
But hadn't she grown up in Apex?
Sloane couldn't figure it out, yet she felt inexplicably offended.
The man who showed up later was the real shocker-she had looked into it and found out he was Dane Green, the CEO of Vertex International a man who practically lived in fegend.
Although she didn't know what kind of relationship he had with Claire, the two were undeniably close.
This completely shattered Sloane's understanding of the world.
To make matters worse, Claire was heading to The Starry Lounge on the fifth floor.
Since Luminate opened, even Sloane had never set foot in The Starry Lounge.
She had thought hosting her birthday in the first-floor Lotus Hall made her uniquely privileged.
This realization dealt a massive blow to her ego.
Adding insult to injury, her grandfather actually knew Claire and thought highly of her.
It was like rubbing salt right into Sloane's wounds.
She had never been so humiliated in her entire life.
When Levi wanted to take revenge on her behalf, she had only, only offered a half hearted warning, failing
strictly demand that he set
down.
Sloane simply hadn't wanted to expose her own dark, petty side.
"We don't really have any major conflict; Claire might just have a slight misunderstanding about me because of the rumors Levi spread."
Sloane let out a heavy sigh, her foul mood causing her to completely miss the fleeting flash of mockery in Meiko's eyes.
"If it's just a misunderstanding, then clearing it up will fix everything."
"You're so sweet, Sloane. I'm sure she won't hold a grudge against you."
"It was all that Levi's fault anyway. Outstanding people should be friends with other outstanding people."
"Don't worry, I'll go with you to find her."
What was this girl talking about?
Sloane had absolutely no intention of seeking Claire out to apologize or explain herself.
Besides, she had already tried that before, and what good did it do?
Claire's lukewarm attitude always made Sloane feel like she was trying to warm up to a brick wall.
né
But Meiko was incredibly persuasive, and before she knew it, Sloane found herself dragged along along until were standing right in front of
Claire. o
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