BuzzNovel“Cole! Long tno see!” Pierce greeted him with a quick fist bump, and a few others called out to him as he
walked over, clearly all old friends. Alessia just stood quietly off to the side, a gentle smile playing at her lips as
she watched him approach.
“I thought you were going to bail on us today,” someone teased.
“No way,” Cole said, ruffling Alessia’s hair with easy familiarity-a gesture that looked like second nature, as if
he’d done it a thousand times before. “If the lady of the house gives an order, you know | have to deliver.”
Their friends hooted and teased, but neither Cole nor Alessia seemed the least bit embarrassed. Instead, they
acted as if this kind of banter was perfectly normal.
“All the gifts are here. Just claim yours. Pierce, mind helping hand them out?”
“Help? I'm honored,” Pierce said, grinning as he took the suitcase from her.
“Hey, sis Alessia-" Pierce was about to head to the back of the classroom with the gifts when Ileana, looking as
delicate and fragile as ever, somehow slipped in through the crowd.
Stella rolled her eyes so hard it was almost theatrical, but before she could say anything, Alessia stepped
between them, blocking her. Stella just pursed her lips and let it go.
Cole ignored Ileana completely, just gave a short, scornful laugh and perched himself on Alessia’s desk. With his
baseball cap pulled low, he had the easy swagger of a schoolyard kingpin, but never crossed into looking rough
or crude.
Their group had loosely clustered around Alessia, forming a protective half-circle. It couldn't have been more
obvious: they were drawing a line. lleana’s smile twitched at the edges as she tried to hide the jealousy in her
eyes.
Just a fake, she thought bitterly. No wonder these idiots can’t ever beat Crestview High in the finals-they’re all so
clueless. But then again, the dumber they are, the easier to use. If she could work her way up in the Tate family
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtthrough these people, she'd finally get the respect she deserved.
While Ileana daydreamed, Alessia had no interest in playing along.
“What's wrong? Not rushing to play the doting little sister today?”
The comment landed like a slap. lleana’s smile froze, but she just pretended not to
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14:41
Chapter 55
hear. Instead, she raised her voice, feigning innocence, and pointed at the suitcase in Pierce’s hand.
“Alessia, is that the suitcase you insisted on taking with you even after Dad kicked you out? | didn’t realize you
brought it just to give gifts to your friends! If I'd known, | would've said something nice about you to Dad... I'm so
sorry.”
An awkward silence stretched between them; everyone exchanged uneasy glances.
“Pierce, didn’t you call about picking it up before?” Cole asked lazily, twirling a lock of Alessia’s hair around his
finger.
“Don’t even remind me,” Pierce replied, quick on the uptake. “They almost hung up on me. It was only when |
mentioned Alessia’s nthat they agreed to hand it over. You know, I'd asked everyone | knew to help me
track down that collector's item, and nobody could manage it. Alessia stepped in and got it done, no sweat. My
dad was so proud when | gave it to him as a gift-he turned around and boughtthat Phantom I've been
dreaming about.”
He rattled off the story like he was reciting a grocery list.
I ) I
Yeah, well, I'm not the Tate family’s
HN ”n . .
golden girl anymore, Alessia said
her smilg gedit atasm
“ :
Maybe next tyou should ask the
: : "
real Tate family heiress for help.” The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
« CD: q
No way, Alessia!” Pierce whined,
q . . “
looking genuinely worried. My m
f 0 f 3
grandad s jurming hy riext week,
ahd \was cou nting on you to help me
? . . . ~~
find something special for him!" The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
That snapped the group out of it. They realized just how close they'd cto falling for lleana’s bait.
At their level, money could buy
anything—except the rare treasures
ge
that really showed off your family’s
q q ,
taste and connections, Gifts weren't
about Ace fagsanyiiote the rarer
5 . ,
ake hore unique, the better. They'd
all tried pulling strings on their own,
but nobody took their calls. Alessia,
2 . )
though—if she promised she'd get
you something, you could count on it,
no matter how impossible it seemed.
The only catch was, you had to trade
her something in return. The content
is on novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
Who would believe it was just because she was the Tate family’s daughter?
The group broke into a lively chatter, the tension dissolving. Stella caught sight of lleana’s stormy expression,
stifled a yawn, and lost all interest in the .
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