Hearing her mother's words, Cindy's emotions swelled, and tears slipped down her cheeks, falling fast and unchecked. “I'm sorry, Mom. I've embarrassed the entire family because of me."
“I'll give it some serious thought," Octavia replied, gently ruffling Cindy's hair before leaving the room.
As soon as Octavia stepped out, Cindy's sobbing came to a sudden stop.
She knew all too well how miserably she'd performed on her exams. Why had she refused to let her mother request a re-grading? Because deep down, she feared the truth: the grading had been accurate, her answers hadn't been changed, and her defeat was entirely her own doing.
There was nothing more humiliating than that.
Better to let her mother believe she was simply too devastated-even to bother double-checking her results. Let them think she was crushed, not careless. At least then, she could cling to a bit of sympathy rather than face the naked shame of failure.
Octavia, too, was careful not to press Cindy too hard. A single misstep—a careless word could push her daughter to do something drastic. After all, what if Cindy truly hurt herself?
Downstairs, Octavia cornered her son. “Cindy's having a rough time. If you aren't going to work today, keep an eye on her, will you?"
“Of course I care,” Lance replied, “but things are insane at the office."
Between work and his graduate studies—his thesis deadline was looming, with the university breathing down his neck—Lance was stretched thin. No matter how much he wanted to help, he simply couldn't spend every waking moment babysitting Cindy.
Then he frowned. “Mom, are you planning to go out today?"
Lance thought it best if Octavia could stay home, given the circumstances.
"I have to go out for a bit. Just two hours; I'll be back," Octavia said. Under normal circumstances, she would have put nothing ahead of her daughter. But lately, she was haunted by the fear that Latham would discover the affair she'd had with Wade. She'd even started quietly moving some assets out of her own name.
"All right, go ahead. I'll give York a call," Lance said, deciding it might be wise to have their family friend keep Cindy company.
Cindy and York had grown
noticeably closer during their recent trip. The chemistry was
undeniable-there'd even been a kiss when the moment was right. The memory of Cindy's bashful, teasing look was still vivid in York's mind in fact, he'd been meaning to call and check in on her exam results
himself. So when Lance's call came, he answered right away.
"Hey, Lance-what's up?"
"York, Cindy really bombed her exams. She's pretty upset," Lance said bluntly. "Are you free right now? Can you come by and check on her? Maybe talk her through it a little. Her emotions are all over the place, and In worried she might do something reckless."
"Of course," York agreed without hesitation. He'd been concerned about Cindy as well-how could he say no?
But, despite his efforts, York's visit didn't lift Cindy's spirits-in fact, it only made things worse when he brought up Claire.
"Cindy," York began gently, "I know having Claire ranked first in the whole city puts a ton of pressure on you, but she's her own person and you're you. Don't measure yourself against her. The lives you've dived have never Been the same she started out ahead, with opportunities and education most people only dream about."
He offered a reassuring smile. "It's not about comparing yourself to someone else. Just focus on being the best version of yourself. That's all that really matters."
But Cindy cringed at his words, her stomach twisting painfully. "York... do you think Claire's better than me too? Do you regret breaking off your engagement with her?" "She's smarter than me, prettier than me-she's better than me in every way." Jealousy burned inside her as she spoke. Beside Claire's effortless excellence, she felt utterly inferior.
York shook his head, gently brushing her hair away from her face. “To me, you're the best-no contest. Besides, Claire was never the real heiress to the James family, so ending the engagement was the only thing that made sense.”
He squeezed her hand, his tone soft and steady. "Cindy, don't let your imagination run away with you."