Chapter 2

I got Mom out of the engagement party, and my phone wouldn't stop buzzing with new messages.

I opened them. They were from Sheila. She called it an apology, but the moment she opened her mouth it was the same filth thrown at me all over again.

"All I said was that she could pull it off lying down. That just means Freya's got natural talent, that she doesn't have to kill herself to get results this good. I was praising her ability to learn. If she took it the wrong way, that's on her own guilty conscience."

The way Sheila spun it, everyone believed the worst of me even more.

"Right, she didn't actually say anything. Why would Freya react so hard over it?"

"Maybe there really is something to it with this Freya."

My university group chat blew up. And that group wasn't just classmates. The advisors were in it too.

It didn't take long before my advisor called.

"Freya, regarding your graduate recommendation, the school has decided to freeze your spot for now. Don't worry, once we've gotten to the bottom of this, we'll clear your name."

After I hung up, my anger hit its limit. I never imagined that even with a second life, Sheila could still reach me and drag me down.

Mom sat beside me, her face full of worry. "Frey, what exactly is going on between that Sheila girl and Caleb? She smears you, and on top of that she's so close with him. You'd better watch out."

Before I could answer her, Sheila tagged me in the group again. "Freya, I was only joking, and you go telling my son you want to call off the engagement. Your relationship can't take much testing, can it? You should know my son won't wait around for you forever."

Sheila played the saint and lectured me, and under her message came another long string of voices questioning me.

"Freya actually called off the engagement? There's definitely something wrong with her. Sheila already said it was just a joke."

I stared at the messages in the group. I hadn't posted a single word in there, and the mood right now was not on my side.

On the way out I'd already called the police and laid out my situation. The station said that words alone couldn't establish anything at this point, and there was no way they'd arrest her over it.

Whenever someone posted something against me in the group, I screenshotted it and saved it. All of it would become evidence of how they'd slandered me.

During all this, Caleb messaged me to explain that Sheila had just spoken too quickly, that she was only joking.

But I knew Sheila's motives were nowhere near that simple.

I texted him back: I've already filed a report with the police. Tell Sheila to be careful.

The second I sent it, Caleb called.

I wanted to hear what he had to say, so I picked up.

"Freya, do you really have to blow this up? Sheila's my best friend. What bad intentions could she have? You're reading way too much into it."

"I'm reading too much into it? Do you have any idea, Caleb? Because of that line she thinks was a joke, my advisor has already told me my recommendation spot is being frozen."

"How much I gave up for that spot, other people might not know, but you know. Don't you?"

"At the engagement party, did you say one word for me?"

The string of questions left Caleb with nothing to say.

"You didn't say anything for me. Caleb, even if we weren't a couple, you know what I went through to get that recommendation. You still should have said something for me."