Ariana's POV
The cafeteria felt colder than usual.
Maybe it was the whispers. The stares. The way everyone suddenly stopped talking the second I stepped inside. As if I was contagious. As if the scandal of being in love with your stepbrother could pass through eye contact.
I kept my head down, clutching my tray like a shield.
Maddi and her hyena squad laughed too loudly at something. No doubt about me. Again.
But it wasn’t their giggles that set my blood on fire.
It was her.
Lana.
Sitting two tables down. Acting like she didn’t help set my life on fire.
She hadn’t spoken to me since the truth came out. Not a text. Not a call. Just silence. And I let it go. I let myself believe she felt bad. That maybe she didn’t mean for things to get so... ugly.
But today?
Today I saw her laugh
