After Death, Love Unveiled (Elara and Lysander)

Seeing Asher just sit there, silent and not even bothering to defend himself. Elara curled her lips into a smirk. Wha seriously thought that after pouting for a few days, I'd come crawling back to make peace with you?" She knew exactly what was going through his head, though.

You

She had been raised in luxury, pampered all her life. Getting kicked to the curb with nothing but the clothes on her back had left scars.

If one always lived humbly, they could manage, but falling from a life of wealth into poverty? That was a pain they didn't forget.

Back then, she'd spend every day lying in bed, lost in her fantasies, dreaming that Asher would finally come to his senses- realize she was innocent, apologize, and beg her to come back.

But all that waiting amounted to nothing. She waited and waited, right up until the end, never once seeing him believe her. Instead, what she got was news of his marriage to someone else and the harsh truth: he had set her up from the start.

And now. Asher probably wasn't living any better than her. She had propped him up for so long, after all.

"No need. Asher snapped, his voice cold and sharp.

Elara let out a soft, sarcastic laugh. "Oh. please. If you think I'd ever come back to stroke your ego, you're fucking delusional. You want me back? You better start begging. And maybe-if I'm feeling really generous-I might toss you a couple of bucks." Her words were playful but deep down, she felt nothing.

She wasn't dumb enough to think he'd actually beg. But she wanted to see it-Asher, on his knees, pleading for her forgiveness.

His arrogance pissed her off. After everything he'd put her through, there was no way she was going to let him get off easy this time. Giving him a bit of false hope? Yeah, that felt just right.

"Never," Asher shot back, cold as ice, refusing to even look at her.

Elara didn't mind. She wasn't in any hurry. After class, she headed straight to the teacher's office.

up a new test for her

Inside. Maia was waiting, along with the dean and a couple of other teachers from her grade. They'd set up a right there on the spot.

Once she finished, they graded her paper together. She aced the results, proving she hadn't cheated on the last exam. Maia gave her a curious look. "Looks like you didn't cheat after all. But I've got to ask-why were your grades so awful before?" Thinking back to how stupidly she'd thrown herself into chasing after Asher, Elara replied, her voice soft, "I was young and dumb, didn't care about school. But we changed tutors at home recently, and I started improving pretty quickly."

Now she finally got it-only people who had faced the harsh realities of the outside world could truly understand how precious school really was.

It was one of the few places where busting their ass actually paid off. But once one stepped out into that cold, unforgiving mess of a world, they learned quickly just how brutal life could get.

Elara strode back into the classroom just as Maia and the dean finished announcing the results of their investigation. When they confirmed she hadn't cheated, Lizzie looked like she'd been slapped in the face. "Wait, what? How the hell did she not cheat?" Maia's expression was grim. This class needs a serious attitude adjustment. Instead of tearing each other down with baseless accusations, you should focus on supporting your classmates. I expect everyone to reflect on this."

Elara turned her gaze to Lizzie, her voice calm but laced with mockery. "Didn't you say you'd drop out if I didn't cheat? You're not planning to back out on that, are you?"

Lizzie stammered, "1... well, L.

"What's wrong? Already chickening out? Some people really can't keep their word. Here's some advice-don't go making bets you can't follow through on next time," Elara shot back, sarcasm dripping from every word. we're all

Daphne, Lizzie's sidekick, couldn't stand by anymore and stepped forward to defuse the situation. "Come on, classmates here. There's no need to take things this far. Lizzie was just concerned, okay? She didn't mean any harm. Cut her some slack. With Daphne jumping in, the rest of the class quickly followed suit, like sheep. "Yeah, dropping out is way too much"

Elara smirked coldly, eyeing the room full of suddenly righteous faces. Funny how they all found their voices now.

She turned her icy glare to Daphine. "You're that worried about her? How about you drop out in her place?"

Daphne's face went pale, her lips pressing into a thin line as tears started to well up in her eyes, playing the victim perfectly. And, just as expected, the rest of the class rushed to her defense. "Elara, seriously? This is between you and Lizziet Leave Daphne out

"Yeah, Daphne's always been nice to you. Why drag her into this?"

Despite the side-eyes and whispered comments, Elara's smile didn't budge. "Nice to me? Seriously? If I were the one getting expelled today, would she still lift a finger to help me?"

Daphne jumped in without missing a beat. "Of course I would! I've always told people to go easy on you."

"Oh, cut the bullshit" Elara rolled her eyes, done with Daphne's fake concern. She turned her attention to Lizzie. "You don't wanna drop out? Fine. But you're still a liar who can't keep her word. So, how about this-run twelve miles instead." Lizzie's jaw dropped. She wasn't an athlete by any stretch of the imagination.

"And if you can't handle that, then drop out, Elara added, leaning back in her seat with a shrug.

Honestly, Lizzie's decision didn't matter much to her, but there needed to be consequences. People had to learn they couldn't just walk all over her.

Grinding her teeth, Lizzie spat, "Fine! I'll do it!"

"Oh, and one more thing." Elara said coolly, not even looking up, "You're gonna scream your apologies the whole time. Tell everyone you lied about me cheating. Make sure the whole damn school hears it.

Lizzie's face paled. "Isn't that a little... much?" she stammered, her voice shaky. The idea of being humiliated like that in front of everyone was terrifying.

"Compared to what you did?" Elara's voice was ice-cold. "Trust me, I'm letting you off easy."

Lizzie was stunned into silence.

After class, Lizzie hit the track, starting the dreaded twelve miles. It wasn't just about avoiding dropping out anymore-it was survival. She had no choice.

Elara settled herself on the nearby steps, keeping a watchful eye on every painful stride. Lizzie's stamina wasn't even in the same league as Asher's-she was gasping for air in no time, struggling to shout out her apologies between breaths.

Daphne sidled up, trying to play mediator. "Elara, come on. Lizzie knows she fucked up. Just let her off the hook this once. She's not fit enough-for this; you're gonna kill her if you push her too far.

"So, what-if your rumors had driven me to fucking kill myself, it'd still be my fault?" Elara snapped, disbelief written all over

her face.

Daphne shrugged. "But you're fine now, aren't you? You're not exactly the type to throw in the towel that easily."

Elara's gaze flicked from Lizzie to Daphne, her expression unreadable in the afternoon light, but the authority was unmistakable. She remembered how, back when things went south, Daphne had the audacity to call and laugh about Elara's "intolerance for Chapter 17

stupidity" Sure, Daphne hadn't been at the center of Asher's schemes, but she knew about them. They all did.

And now, Daphne had the audacity to say she'd pushed Lizzie too far.

"Wow, the nerve of you, Elara said, her voice low but seething. How long are you gonna keep up this act? Do you think I'm one of your little sycophants, hanging on your every word! If you're so damn worried about Lizzie, why don't you run those twelve miles for her? Stop feeding me this half-assed sympathy"