NovelUSAChapter 311 Clifford felt as if someone had gouged a hole straight through his heart at Citrine's words. The pain was almost physical.
She wasn't wrong. He really was a hopeless mess, incapable of getting his act together.
Travis glanced at Citrine with a smirk and scoffed, "He's the only one in your whole graduating class at Primus Academy who didn't get into college. Honestly, how did someone like him even get accepted in the first place?" Citrine said nothing, but Clifford's eyes snapped to her the moment he heard Travis's words.
He remembered the day he tried to sign up to repeat his senior year. Clifford had gone to see the principal at Primus Academy, desperate for another chance.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtWith the Iverson family now fallen from grace, there was no way he could afford the steep tuition at Elegance Peak Academy. Havencrest Technical College was more affordable, sure, but its resources and reputation were a far cry from what he wanted. When he weighed his options, Primus Academy was the obvious choice-good teachers, low tuition.
So, clinging to a sliver of hope, Clifford had gone to the principal and pleaded for a spot to repeat his final year, promising he'd catch up and keep pace with the rest of the class.
But in the end, the principal turned him down. "Your scores aren't high enough to qualify for a repeat year at Primus Academy," he'd said.
Scores. What a joke. Clifford knew the truth-it was because the Iversons had lost their money.
Anger had flared inside him. He'd shouted at the principal, "Let's not pretend. The Iversons go bankrupt and suddenly you get all high and mighty? When I was scraping the bottom of the rankings year after year, I never saw you threaten to kickout. Now that my family's broke, you show your true colors." Primus Academy had a strict rule: the bottom five students every month were supposed to be expelled. Yet somehow, he'd managed to be the only one who didn't get tossed out, no matter how bad his grades got.
Everyone at school whispered that the Iversons' influence in Havencrest was the reason he got special treatment.
Clifford had always believed that too.
But the principal, seeing how upset he was, must have worried Clifford would do something reckless. He finally broke down and told him the truth.
"Listen, the only reason you got to stay at Primus Academy was because of Citrine-not the Iverson family. They had nothing to do with it." Clifford froze, utterly stunned. "Citrine?" he repeated, dumbstruck.
The principal sighed. "Citrine's an exceptional student. We wanted her to transfer here more than anything, but she refused at first. The only way we convinced her was by promising to admit you too-and not expel you, no matter what." Clifford stood there for a long time, lost in thought as the truth sank in.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmSuddenly, memories cflooding back. Back then, when Citrine had just returned from abroad, she'd planned to attend Elegance Peak Academy-just like he did at the time.
But Clifford, desperate to be closer to Jeanette Iverson, had tried again and again to get into Primus Academy, always falling short. He'd vented his frustration to Citrine in passing, not expecting anything to cof it.
The very next day, he received an acceptance letter from Primus Academy.
Until now, Clifford had always assumed Jeanette had pulled sstrings with Sawyer verson to get him in: stringe'd never imagined...it was actually Citrine. With hindsight, everything becclear. Who had really cared about him all along was obvious.
He'd been such a fool-blind to the difference between those who truly cared and those who didn't.
Jeanette was always top of the class, but never once had she offered to n help her underachieving brothert Instead, she encouraged him to skip classes, to go out and play games. How could anyone claim to care about him while watching him ruin his own life?
Citrine, on the other hand, had always been on his case when she lived with the Iversons. She'd constantly reminded him to study slipped him ve practice tests and notes. He'd shouted at her every time, told her off-yet she never gave up on him. Little did she know, he'd never bothered to look at those notes or exercises. He'd stuffed them in a corner, letting them gather dust. Thinking of this, Clifford's chest tightened with regret and a dull ache.
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