A Fake Heiress’s Guide to Love and Power novel Chapter 197

Two years ago, his parents were in a terrible car crash while moving to a new house. Mr. Whitley died at the scene, and Ms. June has been in a coma ever since, To keep The Whitley Group afloat during the chaos, he took a year off from school Even after stabilizing the company and returning to his studies, he only comes back for major exams. That’s why he isn’t in the regular class, but instead sits among the investors.

When Justin spoke about it, his tone was casual, almost light, but no one knew better than him just how much effort Cole had poured into holding things together. Justin had watched Cole grow up, looked out for him like a brother, so he understood exactly what it all had cost.

Besides, everyone knew about Cole’s situation–there were no secrets to keep or topics to tiptoe around. Since Dave had brought it up first, Justin figured it was better to fill them in than risk someone cluelessly asking Alessia about it and stumbling into her emotional minefield.

“But just a word of advice,” Justin added, “don’t mention Cole’s parents in front of Alessia. In fact, it’s probably best to pretend you don’t even know Cole exists.”

Unlike how he treated Stella, Justin genuinely saw Cole and Alessia as family–like a brother and sister. He was glad Alessia had finally broken free from the Tate family, found her own freedom, and was surrounded by people who truly cared about.her. Knowing she didn’t dislike the Mortons, he felt it was worth it to warn them. For anyone else, Justin wouldn’t have wasted his breath. Whether they’d listen or not wasn’t something he could control.

Ethan and Liam pressed their lips together and said nothing, but they took Justin’s words to heart.

Out on the field, after collecting their medals, the three of them stepped down from the podium.

“It’s been three years now. I’ye won every championship out there, but never managed to take first place at the school’s sports meet,” Alessia’s rival said with a wry smile. There was a hint of frustration, but more than anything, admiration.

She was a nationally ranked athlete–maybe she’d been unwilling to accept defeat the first year, maybe even the second. But by the third year, losing to the same person over and over, and not even one who’d had professional training… Well, that left no room for complaints.

“See our team captain over there?” Alessia gestured toward Pierce.

Her rival followed Alessia’s finger and spotted Pierce spinning around with th of their classmates, laughing like a fool.

She nodded. “Yeah, what about him?”

“This is his last year here. If we don’t win, he’ll be moping for a week. So… sorry about that.” Alessia’s lips curled into a confident grin.

Her rival shook her head and sighed. “You know, your class always seems so laid–back, like everyone’s in their own world. But when it comes to team competitions, you all give it everything you’ve got.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than the announcer declared that their class had just won the boys‘ long jump too.

They exchanged a smile–one shrugged, the other rolled her eyes in resignation.

–

“My friends are over there. I’ll catch you later. Three years running–I’m just glad you never decided to go pro, or else…” Her rival trailed off, grinned, then waved goodbye and jogged off toward her own group.

Alessia didn’t reply, just smiled faintly–a smile that never quite reached her eyes. As the crowd bustled around her, she let out a quiet sigh, barely audible above the noise. She was about to leave when Stella suddenly launched herself across the field and threw her arms around her, with Pierce and the others trailing behind.

“Lessie, you were amazing!” Stella squealed, clinging to Alessia’s back like she’d won the championship herself–or maybe even happier than if she had.

Alessia reached back to steady her, laughing as she gently pried Stella off and set her back on her feet. Stella quickly handed her a bottle of water.

“Alessia! You’re my hero!” Pierce cried, beaming like her biggest fan. Somehow, he’d managed to get his hands on a fan printed with Alessia’s face, and several classmates waved matching fans, all grinning ear to ear.

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