Claire was slightly speechless.
"Even without the experimental scar gel, your face wouldn't be ruined."
“Consider this a badge of honor from a fight. If your stepsister mocks you, just give her a good scratch across the face too."
"I guarantee she'll never dare bring up your looks again."
Zara paused. "...Claire, that's a terribly brilliant idea!"
Claire smiled. “It's not a terrible idea. If your stepsister can push you around, it just proves your family is blind to her games. Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands."
Zara realized she was right.
Her grandfather was completely oblivious. He had actually married a widow with a
son.
After the wedding, the widow's son had practically taken over the house, exploiting her grandfather's resources while deliberately stirring up drama and causing problems for the actual family members.
Brenda Zeller's son was trouble enough, but his daughter was even worse.
Knowing she wasn't a true Zeller heiress, the girl constantly put on a performance, desperate to outshine Zara, the legitimate daughter.
What infuriated Zara most was that the girl was just as fake and manipulative as Brenda Zeller.
And infuriatingly, people actually fell for her act.
Some even mistakenly believed the stepsister was the real Zeller heiress.
When called out, she would act heartbroken, claiming she never tried to hide her identity and asking if people would look down on her just because she wasn't a blood relative.
Plenty of people—especially men were actually moved by her tearful speeches. They'd argue that the poor girl hadn't done anything wrong.
So what if her biological father didn't share their surname? What did that have to do with anything?
She had taken her grandfather's last name, so why couldn't she just be accepted into the Zeller family?
She was a master at playing the victim.
And way too many people bought into her innocence.
"I'm not as good at faking it as she is. If things get out of hand, my grandfather will definitely take their side!"
That was what angered Zara the most.
He hadn't married a young trophy wife; he'd married an old one.
He framed it as taking care of a fallen comrade's widow and orphan.
But taking care of someone was one thing-why did he have to marry her?
Zara had privately complained that if her grandfather's fallen comrade
knew he had married Comme
widow the
man would be rolling in his grave.
“Your grandfather is definitely a little blind to it all.”
Skylar Sommers chimed in, feeling bad for Zara.
The fact that he favored Brenda Zeller's granddaughter while being so harsh on his own flesh and blood was baffling.
An outsider would think his new wife's son was his own biological child.
Zara looked like she wanted to drop the subject. "Let's not talk about him. He's let his infatuation rot his brain."
If her grandfather heard his granddaughter's remarks, he would have had a heart attack.
He wasn't stupid; he obviously didn't truly favor the non-blood relatives.
It was simply that his own grandchild wasn't as well-behaved or cooperative. Whenever he had to play peacekeeper, he inevitably ended up criticizing his own flesh and blood.
Ultimately, playing the role of a step-grandfather wasn't easy either.
を
"Let's drop it," Claire said, having no interest in playing family therapist. "If you don't want the ointment
forget it. But about your fight ope the instructors didn't catch wind of it?" sŵnovels
Claire was worried Zara wouldn't be allowed to eat dinner later.
The heiress was so delicate that even a simple standing punishment would have her in tears.
"No." Zara shook her head.
They all had reputations to maintain. Taking a petty catfight to the instructors would be crossing a line.
Not only would it ruin their image with the officers, but they could also get the entire dorm penalized.
Even if the two fighters had wanted to escalate it, the rest of the roommates would have stopped them.
Macy Wade, the class monitor, was the one who suffered most, exhausting herself trying to mediate.
"Good. If there's nothing else, we should head back. We have to assemble soon."