Chapter 1 The Day I Died

Jasmine's POV

"Did you see it? Jasmine's a total fraud!"

The laughter cut through the corridor like knives. Sharp. Cruel. Unrelenting.

The moment the video leaked, my world fractured.

Shattering like glass beneath a heavy boot.

It was supposed to be just another day at Crestfall Academy... a place where I had bled, clawed, and fought for every inch of ground. A place where I had forced myself to fit in, even when every whisper and sideways glance reminded me that I didn't belong.

But that morning... everything changed.

I turned my head. A group of girls clustered near the lockers, their phones glowing like torches in the dark. The light flickered across their faces, hungry with gossip. My stomach sank. I didn't even need to ask. I already knew.

The video.

My hands trembled as I tightened my grip on my backpack strap.

"Shut up, Mia." I hissed, trying to sound strong, trying to keep my spine straight. But my voice cracked, and their laughter only grew louder.

Each word sliced into me. Each giggle burned.

I pushed forward, fast, desperate to outrun their voices, their eyes, their judgment. The backpack weighed heavier than ever, pressing me into the earth.

The main hall opened ahead, wide and shining with sunlight streaming through stained glass windows. And there...like always... stood Ares.

Tall. Effortlessly confident. The boy who had once held my heart in his hands.

His head tilted back slightly, laughter spilling from his lips as he talked with a group of guys. His presence filled the room, and for a single, fleeting second, I let myself believe I could still lean on him. That he would look up, see me, and shield me.

But the world tilted instead.

"Look!" someone shouted. "It's going viral!"

I froze. My throat went dry. My pulse roared in my ears.

On the glowing phone screen was me.

Not just me.

Me in a hotel room.

Me sitting on a bed in a silky dress far too revealing for Crestfall's polished halls.

Me with a senior executive - Mr. Langford, the academy's biggest donor... his figure half-blurred, his hand brushing my arm.

The camera caught my face in cruel detail: lips parted, eyes wide, dress strap sliding down.

The crowd gasped, then erupted into vicious laughter.

"Wow, so that's how she got her scholarship."

"Scholarship girl? More like a sugar baby girl."

"Guess money isn't the only thing she's good at."

I staggered back a step, air punching out of my lungs.

"That's not..." My voice was too faint. Drowned by the chaos.

The angle. The way it was edited. It looked like I had sold myself to get into Crestfall. The truth didn't matter. Perception was poison, and it was spreading faster than fire.

Ares's voice cut through.

"Jasmine."

I spun. The tone so unfamiliar from the person who calls me "minmin".

He was closer now, his jaw tight, his eyes burning into me. The warmth I used to drown in... gone. Replaced by something sharp. Something accusing.

"It's not what you think," I whispered. My chest rose and fell in panic. "It's not real. Someone set me up."

But his gaze... it pinned me in place. Held me captive. His lips parted like he wanted to believe, but then a shadow of doubt flickered across his face. A flicker I couldn't unsee.

"Ares, please," I begged. My voice cracked in front of everyone. "You know me. You know I wouldn't..."

"Look at her!" Mia's voice rang from the back. "The scholarship girl thinks she can act like one of us? No wonder she dresses like that. Always pretending."

Someone shoved me hard as they passed. My shoulder slammed against a locker. Pain shot through my arm, but the laughter was louder.

And then, a teacher appeared. Mr. Rowen. My chest filled with fragile hope. Surely he'd stop this. Surely he'd defend me.

But his eyes flickered to the screen, to me, to the crowd all in disappointment. His lips pressed thin. And then he turned, walked away.

Like I wasn't worth defending.

Humiliation burned hotter than fire.

I forced myself to look back at Ares. My last anchor. My last chance.

He stepped closer. His voice, low but cutting.

"You're in over your head, Jasmine. This isn't some game anymore."

Game? My throat ached. "Ares, I swear..."

And then desperation ripped through me. Words tumbled out before I could stop them.

"I'm pregnant."

The hallway froze. My chest heaved. My vision blurred. "A month plus. It's yours."

Gasps rippled through the crowd like shockwaves.

Ares's face drained of color, then hardened into steel.

"No," he snapped. His voice was final. "Don't put this on me."

"Ares, I..."

He cut me off, louder now, so everyone could hear.

"That video says it all. Who knows how many men you've been with? You expect me to believe this child is mine?"

The air left my lungs. My heart cracked wide open.

"No..." I shook my head violently. "No, I love you. I've only ever..."

His hand lifted in warning, his eyes full of betrayal that wasn't mine to carry.

"We're done, Jasmine. Stay away from me."

The words echoed in my skull.

"Stay away."

"Stay away."

The floor tilted beneath me. My knees weakened. The faces around me blurred into cruel masks. Phones still recording. Laughter still echoing.

I stumbled backward, back hitting the cold wall, my breath ragged. My heart thundered so loud it drowned out everything else.

This was the boy I gave everything to. The boy I trusted. The boy I carried life for.

And he tossed me away.

The whispers closed in.

"She's disgusting."

"Pregnant? With who?"

"Fake. Trash. She'll never belong here."

I shut my eyes. Every word pierced deeper.

Crestfall was supposed to be my future. My chance to rise.

Now it was a cage of humiliation, closing in, crushing me alive.

A thought hit me like lightning.

I couldn't stay here.

Not like this.

Not broken. Not branded.

I had to disappear. To bury this version of me.

To rise again, stronger. Sharper. Untouchable.

But first, I had to survive this day.

I pushed off the wall, forcing my trembling legs and aching stomach to move. Through the crowd. Through the cruel stares.

I reached the doors. Shoved them open. Cold air slapped my face.

Outside, the world stretched wide and indifferent, but I felt the weight of every stare lingering behind me.

This was the day I died.

The day Jasmine Duvall, the desperate scholarship girl, was buried under lies.

But it was also the day I would be reborn.

My chest heaved. My fists clenched.

"I will make them pay," I whispered into the wind.

And then...

I froze.

The courtyard was empty. Yet my skin prickled, like a thousand invisible needles.

Someone was watching me.

I turned sharply. A shadow flickered near the far gate. A figure I couldn't make out.

My blood ran cold.

This wasn't over.

Not even close.

This was the day I died...

And the day my war began.