"Who ordered you guys to do this? I don't even know you guys," Selena asked again.
The short leader replied, "Oh, I'm Max. One of your friends ordered us to mess with Grace. We just wanted to scare her a little bit, without using violence."
He looked behind his back and glared at the guy who almost hit Grace, "But, I guess some guy betrayed my orders."
The leader bowed and promised, " Don't worry, boss, I will take care of it. There won't be any mistakes next time."
Selena remembered Max for being a loyal character in the novel. He also came from a rich family, and his parents pampered him very much, leading him to have bad grades. Even if he gave up on school, he remained true to himself. In the novel, the villainess asked him multiple times to work for her, but he rejected her every time. He might be a delinquent student, but he wouldn't hurt innocent people. The boy also met a tragic ending. His parents' business went bankrupt because they were scammed by a close friend. After that, Max left school and worked hard, but he died in a work accident. By this time, Max's parent were almost bankrupt, but they hid the fact from their son. They did want their son to shoulder their debt.
"Alright, I trust that you will take care of this mess. Bring me the person who ordered you to do this right now," Selena ordered.
A smile drew on her face as the boy left the alley, it reminded her of the days when she worked as a bodyguard. It was hard, but she was surrounded by kind colleagues who were her friends.
After ten minutes, a familiar figure followed the short guy to the back alley.
"Isn't that one of my dear friends?" she scoffed.
Pushing the girl on the brick wall, she lifted up her trembling chin and warned, "Didn't I tell you not to mess with Grace without my permission? What are you going to do if Lucian dislikes me more after this?"
The girl snapped her head sideways, avoiding eye contact. "I'm sorry, Selena, I just wanted to teach that vixen a lesson for you."
Selena tugged the girl's hair backwards and peered into her eyes and snickered, "Don't play dumb with me, I know very well that you have a crush on Lucian. You did it for yourself, not for me."
Shocked that her secret was revealed, she lowered her head and apologized, "Sorry, I won't do it again."
"Again?" Selena laughed, "There won't be any other chances. Pack your things and leave the school. I don't want to see you tomorrow or ever again at school."
The girl dropped to her knees, devastated.
"Please, Selena! I'm your friend, you can't do this to me!" she cried.
"I'm already being nice to you. If I see you at school tomorrow, you can kiss goodbye the business projects between our two families."
Selena flipped her red flaming hair and signalled the boy to follow her out of the dark alley.
That little friend of hers was also a minor villain character. There was no point in pitying her. If she betrayed her orders once, she could do it again. A girl's jealousy can't be ignored. She was only protecting her little sister. According to the book, the girl would've had a sadder ending. Her repeated attempts to hurt Grace led to her downfall. A chill ran down Selena's spine as she realized that all the villains were tortured to death by Lucian, and she was no exception. It was scary to think that the male lead would murder the daughter of his parents' friend.
During the afternoon class break, Selena's homeroom teacher called her into the office.
"Selena, I know it's just the beginning of the semester, but your grades aren't unsatisfactory. You are failing every class except for physical education. As your teacher, I'm very worried about you. It's almost midterm."
"I'm sorry, teacher, I will work hard for the midterm," Selena apologized.
The teacher sighed and suggested, "You can hire some tutors at home. They will help you study faster. You can also ask a classmate to tutor you."
"May I ask Grace to tutor me?" Selena was overjoyed, she could use this as an excuse to see her sister.
Having heard of the rumours of Selena bullying Grace, the teacher hesitated and replied, "I'll ask Grace, and if she accepts, she will tutor you."
There was no reason to say no to the principal's niece. Grace would indeed be a good tutor since she's one of the students with the best grades in the entire year.
Arriving home, Selena quickly gave a call to her mom asking if she could help Max's parents.
"The Carter family? Yes, I heard that they were scammed and on the verge of bankruptcy. They are an honest couple, I'll be glad to help you. Is their son a good friend of yours?"
"Yes, he is."
"Alright, I'll help, but you have to have good grades for the midterm."
"Thank you, Mom! Love you!"
Before sleeping, she summoned the butler and asked him to hire some home tutors for her.
Guessing that there won't be any other scenes for a while, she had to focus on her studies too. After all, if she fails, she won't be able to graduate. She had to work hard if she wanted to go to university with her sister. She bet that her sister would choose a prestigious university. There was no way she would fall behind.
During all week, the hired tutors would come to her house after she finished school. It was nice to be rich and have a teacher all to herself. The tutors quickly realized that Selena was missing the basics. After transmigrating, Selena acquired the villainess' memories, she had some glimpses of what she learned at school. However, the villainess was also not good at school.
The tutors all reassured her that she was learning quickly and that if she kept practicing, she would be fine for the midterm. The mountain of exercises and homework piled up on her desk.
Finally, it was Saturday, the day when her dear sister would tutor her. She made sure to dress comfortably so as not to intimidate Grace. She kept track of the big clock in her living room. Excited and nervous, she watched as the minutes passed by. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, making her jump out of her sofa.
A big smile appeared on her lips as she opened the door, but she quickly changed into her usual poker face after realizing that she had almost acted out of character.
"You are here, didn't expect you to arrive in time," she said coldly.
"Hello," Grace greeted nervously.
Grace was dressed in a white blouse and black pants. It was as if she were going to the office. It was a bit too formal, but Selena didn't care.
"Hi! Since when do you need tutoring?" the person behind Grace laughed.
Selena grimaced as she saw the uninvited guest.
It was the weekend, the perfect time to strengthen her bond with her sister, but someone just had to but in. A headache was slowly forming, she was already feeling tired of having to deal with the male lead.
Lucian felt that Selena wasn't really happy to see him, but he must've seen wrong. There was no way that she was not happy to see him.
Feeling that Lucian was looking at her weirdly, she quickly pushed Grace away and locked on his strong arms.
"Lucian, what are you doing here? How did you know I needed help?" she smiled fakely.
"The teacher said that you needed help, so I tagged along."
'Liar,' Selena thought. He must've heard the teacher and Grace talking and snickily offered his help. She was sure that he was only here to see what kind of drama would unfold.
She gripped his arms harder as she threw daggers with her eyes. If he ever stares at her sister with his disgusting, obsessive eyes in front of her, she swears that she will poke his eyes out.