Pampered By Power: The True Heiress Returns

Chapter 290

Since leaving Sivro, Elysia hadn't seen Alice much. She stood up from her seat and walked toward the door, her

smile unwavering. “What brings you here today?” Elysia asked.

At that, Alice immediately looped her arm through Elysia’s, her voice bubbling with excitement. “Elysia, | heard

you were back at school, so | cto see you! You have no idea how much I've missed you these past few

weeks.

But then, as if remembering something, Alice’s smile faded slightly. “Elysia, you didn’t inviteto your reunion

party. Do you know how sad that made me?”

“Reunion party?” Elysia raised an eyebrow. ‘I didn’t see Alice at the party. Is she upset because of that? she

thought.

Her gaze fell on Alice’s pouting lips, and she quickly explained, “I thought Zane would bring you along, so | didn’t

specifically mention it to you. Are you mad?”

Alice nodded; her expression serious. “I am mad, but not at you, Elysia. I'm mad at Zane.”

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Elysia was confused. What does this have to do with Zane?’ Before she could ask, Alice continued, “Elysia, Zane

knew about the party but didn’t tell me. Because of him, | missed such an important moment in your life. I'm so

upset!”

Alice’s eyes welled up with tears, her face the picture of grievance. Elysia reached out and gently patted Alice's

head, about to comfort her, but Alice cut her off with a determined look.

“So, Elysia, to punish Zane, you should joinin ignoring him until he realizes his mistake.”

‘Ignore Zane?" Elysia hesitated, and Alice’s eyes filled with even more grievance. “Elysia, you're not going to

stand withon this, are you? | guess | really am the most pitiful one here-no one cares about me.”

Alice's lips trembled, and she hung her head low, looking like she might burst into tears at any moment. Seeing

her like this, Elysia’s heart softened. “Alright, I'll join your little alliance, okay?” she said with a chuckle.

The moment the words left her mouth, Alice's face lit up, and she threw her arms around Elysia. “I knew you'd

take my side! You're the best, Elysia!”

Elysia couldn’t help but laugh at Alice’s sudden mood swings. ‘How does she go from sad to happy so quickly? |

don’t remember being this emotionally volatile when | was twelve. Is this normal for kids her age?‘ she thought.

Just then, a smooth male voice interrupted her thoughts. “I heard you were back at school, so | cto see for

myself. And here you are.”

Elysia turned to see Justin walking toward her, a stack of notebooks in his arms. Alice finally let go of Elysia and

glanced at Justin, her expression shifting slightly.

Justin might be the school’s top student and heartthrob, but if he’s going to be competition for Zane, I'm not sure

how | feel about that,” Alice thought. ‘Sure, Zane can be sneaky, but I really like Elysia.

“I can’t just stand by and let someone steal her away. Then again, maybe it wouldn't hurt to let Zane sweat a

little—after all, he’s the one who leftout of the party.’ She quickly masked the faint look of hostility in her

eyes.”

Justin had already reached them, a warm smile on his face. “Welcback,” he said, his tone genuine.

“Thanks,” Elysia replied, her voice calm. As soon as she spoke, Justin held out the stack of notebooks in his han

the notes from the past few weeks. If there's anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me.”

hese are

Elysia glanced at the notebooks, her expression cool. “This is your only chance to surpass me. If you lend me

your notes, you'll lose that opportunity.”

It had never crossed Elysia’s mind that Justin would bring her notes. They were competitors, after all. If her

grades slipped

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even slightly, justin could reclaim the top spot in their grade. Doesn't he want to restore his former glory? she

wondered.

Justin, of courer, understood the underlying meaning of her words the corners of this tipa lifted into a faint smile.

“I want to beat you fair and equare, not because you've fallen behind. A victory like that would mean nothing to

me.

For six years, I've had no real competition. You're the first, 1 wouldn't want my oppoment to be defeated so

easily. Besides, if you were in my position, | think you'd do the same?

Elysia focused on his bust sentence. “The schoice? That's not likely, 1 don’t even take notes. How could |

lend him any? All the knowledge is stored in my brain.

If he wants to borrow something, it'd have to be my brain. And brains arerit exactly something you can share,

are they? she thought

Elysia met Justin's gaze, her expression serious. “If you think beatingwill be easy, you're mistaken. Take your

notes back. Even if I'm not at school, you still won't win?

If anyone else had said this, Justin might have doubted them. But coming from Elysia, he couldn't help but

believe her. She

[00 00 000 000 00

When he still didn’t retract the notebooks he was holding out, Elysia added, “As you said, | want to win based on

my own abilities, not because of your notes, | appreciate you, but no thanks

In the past, she had borrowed notes from Justin, but that was for the sake of her classmates in Class 6, not for

herself. Besides, Justin had already helped her enough. Any more, and she’d feel like she owed him too much.

Seeing, Elysia’s refusal, Justin didn’t push further. He pulled the notebooks back and simply said, “Alright.” Then

he turned and walked away,

Elysia watched his retreating, figure, lost in thought. Alice, standing beside her, was uncharacteristically quiet.

She thought there was something strange about the relationship between Elysia and Justin. They seemed like

friends, yet distant. Like rivals, yet closer than rivals.

When school ended that afternoon, Elysia had just stepped out of the gate when she spotted a familiar figure.

She walked straight toward him. “Zane, are you here to pick up Alice?” she asked.

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