THE LIFE SHE STOLE chapter 5
1361 Words
Chapter Five: The Boy from the Past
Five Years Later...
2016
Five years had passed since Cassandra and Adela first walked through the gates of St. Augustine Preparatory Academy.
The little ten-year-old girls who had once nervously introduced themselves to their classmates were now fifteen-year-old students in Year 10, preparing for some of the most important examinations of their lives.
Many things had changed.
Their uniforms were different.
Their classrooms were larger.
Their lessons were more challenging.
But one thing had remained exactly the same.
Adela had never stopped bullying Cassandra.
Not for a single day.
---
Every morning, the Williams family's black Range Rover would pull out of the mansion.
As usual, Cassandra sat quietly in the back seat while Adela scrolled through her phone.
Neither of them spoke.
After nearly twenty minutes, the car slowed to a stop.
The driver looked into the rear-view mirror.
"We're still two streets away from school, Miss Adela."
"I know," Adela replied without looking up.
She finally turned to Cassandra.
"You know the routine."
Cassandra simply nodded.
She picked up her school bag and stepped out onto the pavement.
"Have a good day, Miss Cassandra," the driver said sympathetically.
"You too, Uncle James."
The car drove away.
Cassandra smiled sadly.
For five years...
This had become her morning routine.
She no longer questioned it.
She simply walked the remaining distance to school alone.
---
St. Augustine Academy was buzzing with excitement that morning.
Students crowded around the notice boards.
Others gathered in small groups, whispering excitedly.
"Did you hear?"
"We're getting a new student today."
"My cousin said he's transferring from England."
"I heard his family owns Collins International."
"They're billionaires."
"I heard he's really handsome."
The rumours spread through the corridors like wildfire.
Even the teachers seemed unusually cheerful.
---
Inside Year 10 Maple...
Mrs. Parker arranged a stack of books neatly on her desk.
The students settled into their seats.
Adela sat with Olivia, Charlotte and Emily as usual.
Cassandra sat by the window, quietly reading a novel while waiting for class to begin.
Mrs. Parker smiled.
"Good morning, everyone."
"Good morning, Miss," the class replied.
"I have someone I'd like you all to meet."
She looked towards the classroom door.
"You may come in."
The classroom fell silent.
A tall teenage boy walked inside.
He wore the academy uniform perfectly.
His dark hair was neatly combed.
His hazel eyes scanned the room curiously.
He carried himself with quiet confidence.
Mrs. Parker smiled proudly.
"Class, this is Ethan Collins."
"He recently transferred from London and will be joining us from today."
"I hope you'll all make him feel welcome."
The classroom erupted into applause.
Ethan smiled politely.
"Thank you."
Mrs. Parker pointed towards an empty seat.
"You may choose any available desk."
Before moving...
Ethan looked around the classroom.
His eyes wandered across unfamiliar faces.
Then...
They stopped.
His heartbeat skipped.
There...
By the window...
Sat a girl with long dark hair buried inside a novel.
She looked older.
More mature.
But those gentle brown eyes...
He would recognise them anywhere.
A smile slowly spread across his face.
"Cassandra?"
The classroom became quiet.
Cassandra looked up.
She blinked twice.
For a second...
She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Then her eyes widened.
"Ethan?"
He laughed.
"It's really you."
Cassandra stood so quickly that her chair nearly fell over.
"Ethan!"
Mrs. Parker smiled in surprise.
"You two know each other?"
Before either of them could answer...
Ethan had already crossed the classroom.
"Cassandra!"
"It's been forever!"
Cassandra couldn't stop smiling.
"I can't believe it's you!"
The entire class stared.
None of them had ever seen the quiet girl smile so brightly before.
Mrs. Parker folded her arms with amusement.
"So..."
"I'm guessing this isn't your first meeting."
Ethan chuckled.
"We grew up together."
"At St. Mary's Orphanage."
The room became silent.
Cassandra nodded.
"We were best friends."
Someone from the back asked,
"Really?"
Ethan laughed.
"Cassandra used to save half her dinner for me whenever I got into trouble."
The class laughed.
"And Ethan," Cassandra added with a grin,
"used to sneak into the kitchen at night looking for biscuits."
"I only got caught twice."
"You got caught every time."
The classroom burst into laughter.
Even Mrs. Parker laughed.
For the first time in years...
Cassandra forgot all about her worries.
---
From the front row...
Adela watched everything.
Her smile slowly disappeared.
"He remembers Cassandra..."
"After all these years..."
She clenched her fists beneath the desk.
"What about me?"
---
During break...
Students crowded around Ethan.
"Where are you from?"
"Is London really as beautiful as people say?"
"Are your parents rich?"
Ethan answered politely.
But every few seconds...
His eyes searched the playground.
Finally...
He spotted Cassandra sitting beneath a large oak tree with a book resting on her lap.
Exactly the way she used to sit beneath the mango tree back at the orphanage.
He excused himself and walked over.
"Mind if I sit here?"
Cassandra smiled.
"You never used to ask before."
He laughed.
"I've learnt some manners."
She laughed softly.
It was a sound Ethan hadn't heard in years.
"I missed that laugh," he admitted.
Cassandra looked away shyly.
"I missed you too."
For a few moments...
Neither of them spoke.
It felt as though five years had disappeared in an instant.
"So..." Ethan finally said.
"Tell me everything."
Cassandra smiled.
"Where do I even start?"
"You start from the day you disappeared."
"I didn't disappear."
"You did."
"I came back to the orphanage and you were gone."
"My parents adopted me."
"They moved us to London almost immediately."
"I tried writing letters."
"I never knew where to send them."
Cassandra smiled sadly.
"I wondered what happened to you."
"And I wondered what happened to you."
---
"So..."
"How have you been?"
Cassandra forced a smile.
"I've been alright."
Ethan studied her carefully.
She smiled...
But something about it felt different.
The Cassandra he remembered had laughed freely.
The girl sitting beside him seemed...
Careful.
As though she was afraid of something.
Before he could ask...
A familiar voice interrupted them.
"Ethan."
Both of them looked up.
Adela stood before them with Olivia, Charlotte and Emily.
She smiled sweetly.
"Hi."
"I don't think we've properly introduced ourselves."
"I'm Adela Williams."
Ethan looked at her.
His expression remained polite.
"I know who you are."
Adela smiled hopefully.
"I was wondering if you'd like to have lunch with us sometime."
"I'm afraid not."
The smile disappeared from her face.
"I've already made plans."
He looked back at Cassandra.
"Weren't you telling me about your favourite teacher at the orphanage?"
Cassandra nodded.
"Sister Margaret."
"Oh yes!"
The two of them continued talking as though Adela wasn't even standing there.
Olivia glanced awkwardly at Adela.
"Maybe... we should go."
Adela nodded stiffly.
As they walked away, she looked back over her shoulder.
Ethan was laughing.
Cassandra was laughing too.
He hadn't looked at her twice.
Her cheeks burned with humiliation.
---
The following weeks only made things worse.
Ethan and Cassandra became inseparable.
They studied together in the library.
Worked on science projects together.
Shared lunch every afternoon.
Walked to the school gate together.
For the first time in years...
Cassandra looked genuinely happy.
Seeing that smile infuriated Adela.
She had secretly admired Ethan from the moment he walked into their classroom.
She had tried talking to him.
Smiling at him.
Even volunteering to be his lab partner.
Each time...
He politely declined.
But whenever Cassandra asked him for anything...
He agreed without hesitation.
One afternoon, Olivia leaned closer to Adela and whispered,
"I think Ethan likes Cassandra."
Adela's grip tightened around her pen.
Her eyes slowly drifted towards the library window.
Inside...
Ethan and Cassandra sat together, laughing over a joke.
A dark smile slowly appeared on Adela's face.
"If Ethan thinks Cassandra is perfect..."
"Then I'll make sure he sees a different side of her."
She had spent five years making Cassandra's life miserable.
Now...
She had a new goal.
She would destroy Cassandra's reputation.
And when she was finished...
She would make sure Ethan Collins never looked at Cassandra the same way again.
End of Chapter Five
- Writer
