Chapter 16

Madelyn felt thankful that she had developed the love for learning in her past life. Now, at eighteen years old again, she felt confident about studying on her own at the library. She believed she could excel in her high school exams and get into a good university. Madelyn's strongest subjects were in liberal arts, but she struggled with science and math. Still, she had little time to focus on those subjects because she also had to manage cooking and piano classes. As she thought of her busy schedule, she appeared despondent as she sat by the floor-to-ceiling window in the library. She ran her fingers through her hair, feeling overwhelmed. However, she realized that dwelling on her problems wouldn't help, and she could better use her time to learn more vocabulary words. So, she pushed those thoughts aside and refocused on her studies. The library was usually quiet, with only a few students from Class One and Two visiting. During class hours, she had the entire library to herself, except for the librarian. Madelyn was content with this, as she had always enjoyed her own company. Just then, someone came out of the teacher's office and noticed Madelyn through the window on the second floor. The person quickly took a picture and posted it on the school forum. [Look! Madelyn's hiding from Forrest in the library.] In less than a minute, a response came: [Ha, good for Forrest! He managed to drive her away. Now we won't have to put up with her in class anymore.] Another chimed in: [Mark my words, she'll be back in two days.] Someone replied to this with [No chance.] [Why not?] [Because... Forrest just threw all of her desk and chair out to the classroom doorway. The janitor has already carted it off—probably to be sold as scrap.] There were even pictures of Madelyn's textbooks dumped in the trash bin, covered in vomit. Meanwhile, Madelyn had no idea about the discussion happening online about her. She had just finished her practice tests and was getting ready to leave. When she was exiting the library, a text popped up on her phone: [Don't come back right now.] Confused, she slowed her pace and texted back: [What's happened?] The reply came swiftly: [You should check the school forum.] Madelyn had a bad feeling about this. She seldom paid attention to school gossip, but this time she decided to check the school forum. To her dismay, the top threads showed photos of her desk, textbooks, and even her lunch box all thrown away in a trash bin or left in a corner. Her lunch box meant a lot to her, as it was a special gift from her friend Rosario, who had hand-sewn a bag for it. Madelyn knew she had to face the situation, so she headed straight to the classroom. After a moment, someone stood up when they saw Madelyn approaching in the distance. "Look, it's Madelyn. She's here." "I can't believe she has the nerve to come back," someone sneered. "This is going to be interesting. Let's see how she reacts," another said. "Yeah, who does she think she is, coming in like that?" added yet another. Forrest, who had been dozing off, got angry with the noises that disrupted his sleep and threw a book across the room. "Enough! If you keep talking, I'll kick you all out!" With that, everyone fell silent Madelyn walked in through the back door, and all eyes turned to see what would happen next. They expected to see Madelyn angry and embarrassed as she confront Forrest and got scolded. Surprisingly, Madelyn remained calm. Instead of going straight to Forrest, she walked calmly to the trash bin, picked up her lunch box, and brushed off the dirt. When she opened the lunchbox to check for any damage, a bloody rat fell out, causing her to scream. Her face turned pale with fright, and her body trembled. The whole class burst into laughter—the prank had worked. Some students laughed so hard that they pounded their desks. "I can't believe it, look at her!" Serena held a book but didn't dare to speak up, even though she was worried about Madelyn. She pretended to read and avoided making eye contact. Nobody dared to stand up to Forrest, not even the principal, who treated him like a VIP. Right then, the class teacher, Jasmine Manning, walked in holding a book. She looked at Madelyn curiously for a moment, then turned her attention back to the book. "Enough! Stop bullying your classmate. We're getting close to the final exams, so let's focus, okay? This class is falling behind. Madelyn, go back to your seat. Class is starting." Jasmine picked up her phone, pretending to check the time, and discreetly took a photo of the scene and sent it to Zach. Madelyn turned around and quietly watched Jasmine, who looked mature and professional. Seeing Jasmine again after her rebirth stirred up mixed emotions in Madelyn. Jasmine wasn't just her teacher; she was going to become her stepmother. Out of all Hayson's mistresses, she was the only one who managed to marry into the Jent family. What made it even more complicated was the relationship between Jasmine and Zach. It was only three years after Jasmine joined the Jent family that Hayson passed away, but the doctors couldn't figure out the cause of death. On the day of Hayson's funeral, Madelyn even saw Jasmine coming out of Zach's room. Madelyn frowned slightly at the thought. 'Zach Jardin is really capable. He can make any woman do what he wants.'