Soon, Mrs. Carter and Nathalia were chatting and laughing like before until Nathalia said good night and excused herself.
After Nathalia left, Mrs. Carter voiced her concern as she caressed her husband intimately. "Honey, I'm a bit worried about that little devil…"
Nathalia had always been a thorn in her side, one that had been got rid of.
Nathalia was a reminder to her failure, the fact that she lost the crown of "Mrs. Carter" to Nathalia's mother.
Nathalia's mother won the title merely because of the wealth of her family, though she never knew the truth. Frank Carter married her just for his own family's benefit.
Every time she thought about the past, it made her clench her fists with anger.
Frank kissed her and soothed her, "Don't worry, baby. I just need some more time, and when it's ready, you can do whatever you like with her."
"Honey, you are the best. I love you so much." Frank responded to her love with showers of kisses, and soon he was taking her to bed.
Nathalia lay on the bed, her mind preoccupied with thoughts, her heart filled with rage. You all think I'm your puppet—you manipulative murderers.
Well! Let's see!
They had successfully awakened her revengeful motives. Anyone that had harmed her mother and her (in her previous life) would never be spared. Anyone.
But what should she do?
She did not have the network, money, nor power. How was she going to compete against her father, who had everything she lacked?
She needed to plan carefully. But for now, she knew she had to stay alive until at least when she got to 20 years old as that was when she could inherit the money from her grandfather. She needed that money to win the battle.
It was Monday morning. The sisters were taken to school in their fancy car as usual. Noble Eden High School, the best high school in town. There were two types of students. Some of them were there because they studied hard for it, and they were there to learn more while the rest was simply because they had the money. Nathalia and Evette belonged to the latter.
On the way to school, Evette had a face as long as a fiddle. However, Nathalia tried to get her to talk or cheer her up, and she refused to speak to Nathalia. Obviously, she was still angry about what happened at the party.
As soon as they arrived at school, Evette got out of the car, slammed it shut, and dashed to her classroom, leaving Nathalia behind.
Nathalia wasn't bothered by it. She slowly wandered to the classroom. Everything was so familiar yet strange. Trees were peacefully standing along each side of the path, flowers blooming, butterflies fluttering about, it all seemed so surreally beautiful.
As she walked into the classroom, she felt like she had been away for years.
In her previous life, she was spoiled and convinced by her so-called parents that there was no need to care much about the study. She finished high school and paid to enroll in an average university. And that was pretty much the end of her academy path.
Thinking back, she regretted it as she now understood why they didn't want her to be good at anything. They didn't want her to shine, to succeed so they could control her easily.
Now, she was determined to learn and thrive to better herself so she could get revenge.
Nathalia stood there for a while, lost in her own thoughts, till a sweet voice awoke her. "Hey, Nathalia, are you ok? Why don't you sit down?"
It was her deskmate, Sophie Watson, a sweet, delicate girl.
"Hey, long time no see," Nathalia replied with a smile. They had been deskmates for a year, yet they had hardly spoken to each other.
It wasn't difficult to understand why there hadn't been much communication between the two. Nathalia had always been shy and introverted while Sophie, low in self-esteem, had kept herself to herself ever since her parents separated.
Was Sophie puzzled? Long time no see? We saw each other last Friday, just a few days ago. Strange. But she's smiling. She has a pretty smile.
As soon as Nathalia sat down, a girl with glasses stood next to her and looked down at her "Nathalia Carter, you got the lowest score in our class again. How embarrassing! Hahaha"
She was Lily Roberts, the class monitor and one of the top students. Somehow she enjoyed making fun of Nathalia and humiliating her.
Nathalia looked up and replied casually but confidently, "Are you concerned about me? Why don't you mind your own business?!"
Why is she always picking on me? I have never offended her or done anything wrong. Nathalia had no idea.
"Nathalia Carter! You, you are." Lily was taken aback, not expecting Nathalia's retort at all. She paused and thought for a second before she raised her voice, "Huh, you are nothing but a rich stupid girl. You think you are better than others just because you are from a rich family."
Lily Roberts came from an average family and in a school like Noble Eden, where kids from rich and powerful families gathered, she was nobody of importance.
Everyone turned and looked.
Nathalia knew what Lily was plotting. Slowly and nonchalantly, she played with her hair as she looked into Lily's eyes and replied coldly, "Aha, I see. You are jealous that I'm from a rich family, aren't you? Poor girl. Is that why you have to pick on me all the time? Jealousy is a dangerous thing. I shall warn you."
"Woohoo!" the crowd exclaimed, shocked by Nathalia's response.
What happened over the weekend? How come she's changed to a different person? I have never seen her defend herself before, not once.
She seemed to shine with immense confidence and glow with magnificent charm. She looked the same, but she had changed. The spectators were captivated by her sudden change and charm.
Nathalia gave her a sweet and confident smile, then continued, "I guess you didn't expect me to say a word, did you? Well, one has to stand up for themselves, or they get bullied by freaks like somebody we know here."
She was no longer the meek, silent lamb she used to be. She'd learned that she had to be strong to live a life she wanted, a life in her own hands, not anyone else's. She would rather be bad and be in control than be good and be taken advantage of.
Lily realized that Nathalia was insulting her, and she glared back angrily. "Are you calling me a freak?! I'm gonna beat the shit out of you, bitch!"
Nathalia didn't even take a look at Lily. She opened the window next to her seat, and a lovely breeze greeted her. She then took a sip of the iced latte she bought earlier. Everyone watched curiously. She is so calm and confident.
After a few more sips, Nathalia replied, "Don't you think you should watch your language? There's no need to be violent."
Her indifference provoked Lily even more. Lily poked a finger at Nathalia's nose, eyes wide open and reddened with anger "Shut the fuck up! You fucking deserve a punch!"
Everyone had their attention focused on the show and had no idea another inspector had joined in, except Nathalia.
Luckily, Nathalia was sitting facing the door. She caught sight of the familiar figure standing by the door straight away. Cheekily she changed her strategy and switched to a friendly tone. "Please calm down, Lily. Our teachers have always said we should help each other instead of fighting and argue. Don't you agree?"