Chapter 88
The screen went black , and when it brightened again , a soft , urgent voice broke through .
A woman in a white coat appeared in the cramped little room , frantically shaking the unconscious girl on the bed .
â Elysia .
Elysia , wake up ! The exam has already started .
You need to wake up now ! â
Slowly , Elysiaâs eyes fluttered open , but even as her consciousness returned , it seemed more like a curse than a relief â her head throbbed with a crushing heaviness .
â Youâre finally awake .
Elysia , donât you remember ? Today is your placement test .
â The womanâs tone was filled with urgency and reproach .
â Honestly , whatâs wrong with your family ? How could they not wake you up ? â
As she mentioned parents , the woman suddenly remembered the empty , silent house sheâd walked through earlier .
Assuming Elysia didnât have any parents around , she quickly corrected herself , â I thought maybe they locked you in the bathroom again .
I searched all the bathrooms and empty classrooms in the school ⦠â
She stopped herself , shaking her head .
â Never mind that .
Get up and wash your face .
Iâll take you to grab breakfast .
You can take the next exam after this one ends .
Just stay calm , Okay ? â
At the mention of â after this one ends ,â Elysiaâs eyes widened in shock .
She desperately shook her aching head and scrambled to check her alarm clock .
â Nine oâclock .
No , nine â fifteen .
How could this be ? Did the alarm not go off ? No , impossible .
I remembered setting three alarms .
How could none of them have worked ? â Elysia thought .
Elysia said , â This canât be ⦠Miss , my exam ⦠My exam ⦠â
Elysia sat frozen , completely overwhelmed , mumbling the same words over and over .
Then , as panic surged through her , she began biting her lower lip and shaking her head violently , trying to force herself into clarity .
The school nurse â this woman who had always treated Elysia kindly â looked at her with surprise .
The usually calm and composed girl was now utterly distraught , showing a vulnerability the nurse had never seen before .
Gently , the woman pulled Elysia into a comforting embrace , speaking softly , â Itâs fine , Elysia .
Itâs just one exam .
Thereâs still time to take the others .
I know youâll do great .
â
She recalled how this girl , no matter how much she endured â bullying from her classmates or punishment from the teachers â never once lost her
composure .
Even when covered in bruises , Elysia would offer comfort to others , urging them not to worry .
If the nurse hadnât stumbled upon her being bullied once , no one wouldâve known .
For a moment , the nurse had forgotten that Elysia was just a student â a middle schooler .
And for a middle schooler , nothing was more important than the placement test .
But at least , it wasnât too late .
Thank goodness she had noticed Elysiaâs absence during the exam roll call and managed to get her address from the homeroom teacher .
[ Iâm losing it .
Caellan , why did you have to come back ? Couldnât you have just stayed in your hospital bed ? You came back only to ruin Elysiaâs life .
Now her most important moment has been destroyed â by someone she thought was family .
]
[ When that teacher hugged Elysia , I almost cried .
Finally , someone remembers her .
]
[ Yes , for once , sheâs not the child abandoned by the whole world .
]
[ I remember this teacher .
Wasnât she the one who helped Elysia when Torin punished her so harshly she fainted ? Itâs so fitting that sheâs here to wake Elysia for the exam .
]
Meanwhile , outside the screen , Carllan was gripping his palms so tightly his nails dug deep into his skin .
His lips were pale , trembling as though heâd been drained of all life .
It was his fault Elysia missed her placement test .
His fault .
Self â loathing and guilt consumed him , especially as memories of Elysiaâs gentle care for him flashed through his mind .
This was how he had repaid
her .
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Chapter 88
Caellanâs lips trembled , his voice barely audible as he muttered , â Ruby ⦠you donât have to bet anymore .
Iâve lost .
No matter what Elysia does , sheâs never in the wrong .
I was wrong .
Iâm sorry , Elysia .
I didnât know ⦠â
He paused , choking on his words .
He wanted to say he didnât know the candy wasnât normal , that he didnât know it was Elysia who had taken care of him for two years , that he didnât know Rowena had been lying to him all along .
But ⦠he did it all .
He trusted the wrong person .
He treated the wrong person as family .
He gave Elysia melatonin â laced â candy .
â And that was just in two years .
For the next seven years , he committed even more wrongs .
Caellan thought , â Could he just blame it all on Rowena ? Would blaming Rowena make Elysia forgive me ? â
Clutching his head in agony , Caellan was consumed by despair .
He stayed that way for a long time before finally looking up , only to be knocked flat by a punch to the face .
A boy said , â Damn you , Caellan .
I donât care if I get detention or have to write an apology .
Iâm going to beat you to a pulp for hurting my goddess .
You made Elysia lose an entire exam ! â
A fellow student in uniform stood over him , delivering punch after punch .
Caellan , hearing Elysiaâs name , didnât resist .
He deserved it .
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