The Zeller estate was nestled in one of the city's most exclusive neighborhoods.
As Claire pulled up to the sweeping driveway, she noticed a lineup of luxury cars already parked out front.
It seemed Zara's "small birthday gathering" had drawn quite a crowd.
Staff members were stationed at the grand entrance to welcome the guests.
Since Claire was Zara's roommate and a VIP on the guest list, the butler immediately ushered her inside the moment she gave her name.
"Hold on a second."
Claire was just about to step through the double doors when a voice called out from behind her.
She turned around.
What a coincidence. It was Zara's two-faced cousin, Zoe Zeller, and her ex-fiancé, Preston Dalton.
The two of them were actually showing their faces here together.
Crashing the birthday party of the girl he had publicly humiliated? They were clearly looking for trouble.
However, Claire quickly realized the "hold on" wasn't directed at her.
She had already crossed the threshold. The people still standing outside were... wait, it was Lex Grant and Skylar Sommers.
Before Skylar could even wave at Claire, they were stopped.
The two girls looked at Zoe. "Hi, were you talking to us?"
Their tone was polite and friendly.
Since neither of them recognized Zoe, they had no idea she was the toxic cousin Zara had vented about in the dorms.
"Yes, I was talking to you."
Zoe's gaze swept over them dismissively. "Are you sure you're in the right place?"
"This is my cousin's birthday party. This is her home."
Zoe's condescending tone left Skylar and Lex utterly confused.
Claire instantly regretted letting them take a cab instead of driving back to campus to pick them up herself.
She should have known better.
Zoe was obviously trying to start a fight.
"Your cousin wouldn't happen to be our favorite wealthy heiress, would she?" Skylar asked casually, using her affectionate nickname for Zara.
But to Zoe, the comment sounded painfully subservient.
Were these just Zara's pathetic little college minions?
She knew it. With Zara's arrogant personality, there was no way she could maintain genuine friendships.
"Well, I just saw you two get out of a cab. Why didn't you drive yourselves?"
"Taxis rarely come up to this
neighborhood. Getting here might
have been fine, but getting homes going to be a nightmare for
Zoe's words were cloaked in fake concern, making it hard to decipher her true intentions.
Since she appeared composed, neither Skylar nor Lex immediately assumed she was being malicious.
"We're college students. We don't own cars," Skylar answered honestly.
Zoe covered her mouth in exaggerated shock. "Oh, wow. That's certainly... unexpected."
"I had no idea Zara associated with people like you."
Skylar finally caught the underlying venom.
She narrowed her eyes, her tone dropping. "What do you mean, 'people like us'?"
"Care to explain exactly what kind of people we are?"
Zoe frowned, clearly taken aback that these nobodies had the nerve to talk back.
She hadn't expected them to be so defensive.
"I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that Zara's social circle is usually
strictly elite. She doesn't typically lower herself to befriends
mmoners."
Zoe tried to pass it off as a harmless observation, but the sheer cruelty of her words
was undeniable.
To make matters worse, Preston
stepped in to defend her. "Zoe isn't wrong Zara is a massive snob She probably doesn't even view you two as real friends."
"If she did, she would have sent a chauffeured car for you instead of forcing you to hail a cab like peasants."
Skylar and Lex exchanged a bewildered look. This couple was genuinely unhinged.
"She's the birthday girl. She's hosting a massive event. Why would we expect her to micromanage our transportation?"
"We're perfectly capable of getting here ourselves."
"We have legs and a map, don't we?"
Preston was handsome, outrageously wealthy, and completely unaccustomed to being spoken to with such blatant disrespect.
His face darkened instantly.
He opened his mouth to put Skylar in her place, but a slow, mocking applause cut him off.
"Well said. Only a pathetic parasite expects someone else to carry them everywhere they go."