CHAPTER 165: EXPOSED...

Charis

It was recess time, and I sat by myself in the cafeteria, eating a sandwich while scrolling through my phone. I had found a good webnovel about a girl who could travel between worlds, and I was so lost in reading that I barely noticed the food on my plate.

Slowly, I became aware that people were staring at me. Not the usual curious looks and whispers I’ve been getting since I resumed school, but something else. For some reason, I felt so uncomfortable, but there was not much I could do, and I didn’t want to think too much of it.

I looked up from my phone and saw students at nearby tables pointing at me and whispering to each other.

I tried to ignore it and went back to my story. Maybe they were gossiping about yesterday’s drama with Sandra in the library. Sandra had met me in the library again and didn’t fail to remind me about her relationship with Kael, painting a lot of colourful stories that amused me.

I knew she was lying, but I was too lazy to correct her when she insinuated that I was going after Kael because we shared the same dorm room. As always, school rumours always died down after a few days, which was surprising to me because I thought everyone would be over and done with after that incident.

Suddenly, someone dropped into the seat across from me. I looked up to see Marcus – Marcus Webb, the student president, staring at me with a dazed expression on his face. His eyes were wide and confused, like he had seen a ghost.

I cringed a little and was about to excuse myself and leave, but I remembered Isolde’s instructions about getting close to him. I forced a smile and asked, "Hey, Marcus, how are you doing?"

He still looked completely shocked. His hand reached across the table and touched mine. Then he said one word that made every part of my body freeze.

"Eamon?"

My heart skipped a beat, but I covered it up with an oblivious smile. "Eamon?" I asked, staring at him. "Am I supposed to know him?"

Tears glistened in Marcus’s eyes as his hold on my hands tightened considerably. "You’re Eamon, right? They’re saying you’re Charis Greye, who disguised herself as Eamon. Is it true?"

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," I shook my head, still feigning ignorance. "But if you can make me understand, perhaps, I can help you."

"Don’t fucking lie to me," Marcus growled, slamming his hand on the table. "Now that I see it, you’re Eamon. Everything about you didn’t change except for the longer hair and how you wear boy clothes now. Gosh!" he laughed derisively, "you deceived me. I cared about you so much, but you broke my heart."

"I don’t..." I started saying, then paused.

I turned around and saw that more people were looking at their phones and pointing at me. Some were taking pictures. My heart started beating faster as I pulled my hand away from Marcus and grabbed my own phone.

I opened the news app and saw the headline that cut off air from reaching my lungs as I stared at it:

"MISSING ALPHA’S DAUGHTER FOUND: Charis Greye Lived as Male Student ’Eamon Riggs’ Before Custody Battle"

Below it was a picture of my parents and Isolde entering the courthouse, and another photo from my old school records showing me as Eamon.

I couldn’t breathe. The room felt like it was closing in on me from all sides. I stood up so fast that my chair fell over, making a loud crash that drew even more attention.

Marcus jumped up with me, his face red with anger and confusion. "Tell me if it’s true," he demanded. "Are you really Eamon? My Eamon?"

I tried to walk past him, but he grabbed my arm and wouldn’t let go. "Answer me!" he yelled, loud enough for the whole cafeteria to hear. "Is this true? Are you Eamon? My friend who died?"

His grip was too tight. It hurt, and I could feel tears starting in my eyes. "Please let me go," I begged, but he held on harder.

"Marcus, please," I said again, trying to pull away. "You’re hurting me."

That’s when Kael, Rhett, and Slater walked into the cafeteria. They took one look at the scene and understood immediately what was happening.

"Let her go," Kael said in a loud, clear voice that cut through all the noise.

Marcus turned to look at them, but didn’t release my arm. "This is my business, not yours."

Slater walked over and tried to remove Marcus’s hands from my arm. "She asked you to let go. That means let go."

But Marcus was too upset to listen. He actually tried to fight Slater, swinging his free hand while still holding onto me.

"Let go," Kael said again, moving closer. His voice was still calm.

I could see students all around us holding up their phones to record everything. The thought of this ending up online made me panic even more.

"Please, no videos," I said to the cameras pointed at me. "Please, I beg you."

But they all ignored me; they continued to giggle and talk among themselves as they clicked and made videos.

Marcus was still holding my arm when Kael reached over and tried to peel his fingers away. That made Marcus completely lose control. He let go of me and lunged at Kael with both hands.

Kael stepped to the side smoothly, and Marcus fell hard on the floor. Before he could get up, Rhett grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the exit.

"Come on," he said quietly. "We’re leaving."

We almost ran out of the cafeteria and across campus to our dorm room. Behind us, I could hear Marcus yelling my name, but we didn’t stop until we were safely inside with the door locked.

Once we were alone, everything hit me at once. I started pacing around the living room, crying and shaking. My carefully built life was falling apart. Everyone knew who I really was now. There was no going back to being just another student.

I grabbed my phone and tried to call Isolde, but the number wasn’t connecting. It went straight to a message saying the line was busy. I tried again and again, but nothing worked.

"She’s not answering," I said, my voice getting higher. "Why isn’t she answering? What am I supposed to do?"

Rhett came over and gently took the phone out of my hands. "Breathe," he said softly. "Just breathe with me."

He put his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "In and out. Slow and steady."

I tried to copy his breathing, but I felt like I was drowning. "Everyone knows," I whispered. "Everyone knows who I am. They’ll never let me stay here now."

"Hey," Rhett said, pulling me closer. "Look at me, not at the problem. Just look at me."

I focused on his hazel eyes, the way they were calm and comforting even when everything else was chaos.

"That’s better," he said. "You’re safe here. With us. Nothing has changed about that."

He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. I buried my face in his chest and let myself cry. For a few minutes, the world outside didn’t exist. There was just Rhett’s heartbeat and the feeling of being protected.

Then he tilted my chin up and kissed me softly. It was gentle and warm, and for a moment I forgot about everything else. When we broke apart, I felt a little settled.

"We’ll figure this out," he promised. "All of us together."

That’s when the door burst open and Kael and Slater rushed in. They both looked serious and worried.

"You need to leave campus," Slater said urgently. "Right now."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my panic coming back.

"The school is being flooded with reporters," Kael explained. "They’re at the main gate, the side entrances, everywhere. And campus security is looking for you."

"Why?" Rhett asked.

"Headmistress Vale wants to see you immediately," Slater said. "She’s not happy about the media attention."

I felt my legs get weak. "I can’t face her right now. I can’t face anyone."

"You don’t have to," Kael said firmly. "We’re getting you out of here."

"But where can I go? If reporters are everywhere—"

"We have a plan," Slater interrupted. "Trust us."

Rhett was already moving toward my room. "Pack only what you absolutely need. We leave in five minutes."

As I threw clothes into a bag with shaking hands, I could hear the boys whispering in the common room. They were planning something, but I was too scared to focus on their words.

All I could think about was that my secret was out. The whole world knew that Charis Greye and Eamon Riggs were the same person. There was no hiding anymore, no pretending to be someone else.

I was completely exposed, and I had no idea what would happen next.