Falling For The True Heiress

"...What did you just call me?" Xander asked.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

Sylvia simply shrugged, and then she walked right past him as though nothing had happened.

I couldn’t hold it in anymore. A soft laugh escaped my lips as I watched Xander.

His eyes were still wide with disbelief as he turned to stare at Sylvia, who had already walked away as though nothing had happened.

She had just called him a homewrecker...

...and left as if she’d said good morning.

Camila was still laughing.

She held onto Daniela’s shoulder to steady herself this time.

"Oh my God..." she wheezed between laughs. "I think you’ve already made my day."

Daniela wiped the corner of her eye. "I love this," she said.

I shook my head with a small smile before walking after Sylvia.

The crisp morning breeze swept across the school grounds, stirring the leaves overhead as students walked down toward their building.

"Hey, Lia!" Camila’s voice came from behind.

"Why are you leaving me behind?"

I glanced over my shoulder. Camila was already dragging Daniela along as they hurried toward us.

I laughed quietly and kept walking.

---

The rest of the morning passed like every other school day.

Teachers explained lessons, while students answered questions.

Pens scratched softly across notebooks while the air conditioner hummed quietly above our heads.

Sunlight filtered through the classroom windows, warming one side of my desk.

Nothing felt unusual.

Until—

Buzz.

My phone vibrated inside my desk. The sound was faint against the desk, but it was enough to pull my attention away from the lesson.

I frowned slightly and lowered my eyes.

Mom.

My fingers immediately became cold. My heartbeat started racing fast. A strange feeling settled heavily inside my chest.

What happened?

I slowly picked up my phone. Before I could unlock it—

Buzz.

It vibrated again.

I glanced at the new notification. This time, it was from Sylvia.

Sylvia: Is everything okay?

I turned my head slightly. She was already looking at me. Her brows were gently knitted together, worry written all over her face.

I forced myself to smile and gave her a small nod.

"I’m okay," I whispered silently.

She didn’t look convinced. I could tell by the way she continued looking at me. I swallowed quietly and looked back at my phone and took a slow breath before unlocking it.

The classroom suddenly felt strangely quiet.

Even the voices around me seemed distant.

I tapped Mom’s message. The moment I finished reading it...

I froze.

Mom: Your dad has woken up.

My eyes widened.

For a second, I just stared at the message.

Then—

"Ah!"

The scream escaped from my mouth before I could stop it.

The entire classroom immediately went silent. Every head turned in my direction. Even Miss Olivia paused mid-sentence.

I immediately realized what I had done. And my eyes widened even more.

I slapped both hands over my mouth, my heart pounding wildly against my ribs.

"I’m... I’m sorry, Miss," I said quickly.

lowering my head.

Miss Olivia stared at me for a moment before giving a small nod and returning to the lesson.

The lesson gradually resumed again as everyone turned back to the front.

From behind me, I felt someone lean closer.

"Lia..." Camila whispered. "Why are you screaming?"

I didn’t answer her immediately. Instead, I quickly unlocked my phone.

The first person I wanted to tell was Sylvia.

She wasn’t in our family group chat yet. I quickly added her. Before I could type anything, Camila grabbed my shoulder and shook me gently.

"Lia. What happened?"

I leaned back toward her. "My dad..." I whispered, unable to stop smiling.

"He woke up."

The moment the words left my mouth, I immediately covered Camila’s mouth with my hand.

Her eyes instantly widened.

"Mmmph!"

I already knew what she was about to do. She was definitely going to scream.

Daniela must have heard me. She turned around and smiled.

"That’s really nice, Lia."

I nodded. "It is."

I glanced at Sylvia. She was already smiling at me.

I smiled back before quietly turning to face the front again, just in time, before Miss Olivia caught us talking again.

But no matter how hard I tried, I paid attention to the lesson. I couldn’t stop smiling.

Dad was awake.

The bell rang, announcing the start of break. And immediately the classroom became noisy.

Chairs scraped against the floor as students stood. Conversations erupted from every corner, while a group of boys raced out the door, shoving each other and laughing loud enough for the entire corridor to hear.

I zipped up my bag, slipping my notebook inside.

"My baby." Daniela’s voice suddenly came from beside me. "What are you eating during break?"

I raised my head and looked at her. "Me?" I asked, pointing at myself.

Daniela pouted and nodded. "Who else would I be talking to?"

Without thinking, I turned to Sylvia. She hadn’t looked up once.

Her attention seemed fixed on packing her books, but the way her fingers gripped the strap of her bag told a different story.

Before I could say another word, Daniela leaned closer. And at the exact same moment, I turned back toward her.

Our faces collided and my lips accidentally brushed against hers.

Every thought disappeared from my head. I stared at her.

"I think..." I murmured under my breath.

"...I’m done for."

Then, very slowly, I turned toward Sylvia. She was already looking at us.

"Oh, wow," Camila gasped dramatically. "I think I’ll pretend I didn’t just witness that."

She covered her eyes with one hand, but I could still see her laughing through the gaps between her fingers.

"Cam," I said immediately. "That was an accident."

"I know," she replied between laughs. "But good luck explaining that."

Before I could even think of a response, Daniela smiled. Then she unknowingly poured gasoline onto the fire.

"Hmm..."

She touched her lips thoughtfully. "Your lips are really soft, Lia."

My heart skipped a beat as my eyes widened. Slowly, I turned toward Sylvia.

She was looking straight at me. There wasn’t a trace of a smile on her face anymore. Only a quiet frown. The muscles in her jaw tightened.

For a few painful seconds, we simply looked at each other. Then she picked up her bag and walked out of the classroom without saying anything.

I watched the door close behind her. Then I dropped my forehead onto my desk with a quiet groan.

"...Congratulations, Amelia."

"You managed to get yourself into trouble before lunch."

"Hey..." Camila’s gaze followed Sylvia until she disappeared through the classroom door.

"Why did Sylvia leave like that?"

I let out a quiet sigh and rubbed my forehead.

All thanks to Daniela.

"Lia..." Daniela leaned toward me again, a teasing smile playing on her lips.

"...Are you shy?"

I immediately leaned away from her.

Seriously?

Oh, yeah, Ela.

I’m way past shy.

I’m completely roasted.

A helpless smile tugged at the corners of my lips. Without saying another word, I grabbed my school bag and hurried toward the door.

I needed to find Sylvia immediately.

"Hey!" Daniela called after me.

I didn’t stop. Behind me, I heard Camila sigh.

"You little rascal."

I glanced back just in time to see Camila lightly flick Daniela’s forehead.

"Leave her alone."

Daniela rubbed the spot with a confused frown. "What did I do?"

Camila stared at her for a long second before shaking her head.

"She’s already a complete mess because of what you did."

Daniela was still rubbing her forehead and frowned.

"...Is it really that bad?"

Camila slowly nodded. "Mmm."

"You’ve got no idea."

~~~~~ Third-person POV ~~~~~

Camila let out a quiet sigh and shook her head.

"I told you before that she didn’t like girls..."

She paused before pointing at Daniela. "But then you kissed her."

"And don’t even try to deny it. I know you did it on purpose," Camila said, leaning back against her chair and folding her arms.

Daniela smiled helplessly before letting out another deep breath and leaning back too.

"I didn’t know it would turn out like this," she admitted quietly.

"I just..." She looked down at her hands.

"...I didn’t want someone else to come and take her away."

Her fingers traced absentminded circles across the edge of the desk.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.

Daniela’s words replayed in Camila’s mind.

"...I didn’t want someone else to come and take her away."

Somehow, they reminded her of the strange question Amelia had asked yesterday.

"When you’re with Daniel, does your heart ever beat really fast?"

Camila’s brows slowly knitted together.

"...Why did she really ask me that?" she muttered under her breath.

"Huh?" Daniela frowned and looked at her.

"What are you talking about?"

Camila didn’t answer. Instead, she suddenly stood up and grabbed her school bag.

Her expression suddenly turned serious as she grabbed her school bag and walked toward the classroom door.

"Hey!"

Daniela blinked in surprise. "You’re just going to leave me here?"

She quickly stood up, grabbed her own school bag, and hurried after Camila.

"Wait for me!"

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