The week began with an uneasy calm. Sara walked into school expecting whispers, but instead found silence — the kind that clung to the air before a storm.
Lina noticed it too. "Too quiet," she muttered, scanning the hallway. "Emily's cooking something."
Sara's stomach knotted. She had fought back once, but she knew Emily wouldn't take defeat lightly.
At lunch, the storm broke.
Sara entered the cafeteria with her tray only to find her usual seat already occupied — by Emily and Hannah.
"Oh, look," Emily drawled, her voice carrying over the chatter. "The Chen princess has arrived. Come, everyone, let's welcome her."
Laughter rippled through the room. On the table in front of Emily sat a stack of printed papers. Sara froze as she caught sight of the first page — a blurred photo of her from the Li family dinner, standing awkwardly in her silk dress, head lowered.
"She thinks she's so important," Hannah sneered. "But in reality? Just a puppet dressed up for her family's business games."
Emily fanned the photos like cards in her hand. "This is who Sara Chen really is. Nothing but a doll."
The room erupted in whispers.
Sara's face burned. Her hands trembled, but she forced herself forward.
"I may be a doll in your eyes," she said, her voice clear despite the sting in her chest, "but at least I don't need to tear others down to feel important."
Gasps echoed. For a moment, the cafeteria froze.
Emily's smirk wavered — just slightly. But then her eyes gleamed with cruelty. "Brave words. Let's see how long that bravery lasts." She tossed the photos across the table. They scattered to the floor like fallen leaves.
Sara bent to pick them up, her heart pounding — but a hand reached down before hers.
Daniel.
He gathered the photos calmly, his tall frame casting a shield over her. Without a word, he dropped them back onto Emily's tray. His gaze was cool, sharp enough to silence the entire cafeteria.
"Pathetic," he said flatly. "If this is all you can do, Emily, then you're not worth anyone's time."
Emily's cheeks flamed. Hannah looked like she wanted to sink into the floor.
Daniel didn't wait for a response. He turned to Sara. "Let's go."
Sara followed numbly, the pounding of her heart louder than the whispers rising behind them.
Outside, under the shade of an old oak tree, Sara finally spoke. "You didn't have to do that."
Daniel's expression was unreadable. "You didn't deserve it."
Her throat tightened. "They won't stop."
"Then neither should you," he replied simply.
The words sank deep into her, heavy but steadying.
That evening at home, Sara moved cautiously through the halls. She hadn't forgotten what she overheard her stepmother saying to Mr. Li. Tonight, she needed answers.
She crept toward the study. The door was ajar, light spilling into the hallway. Inside, her stepmother's voice purred.
"Yes, I understand. The girl is becoming more visible now. That will make her more… valuable. A bond between the Chens and Lis would secure everything."
Sara's blood ran cold. A bond?
Her stepmother continued. "Don't worry. Sara is obedient. If not, we'll make sure she learns to be. In the end, she will marry as required."
Sara staggered back from the door, her heart hammering. Marry?
Her worst fears crystallized into reality. She wasn't just being paraded at dinners — she was a pawn in an alliance she never asked for.
Back in her room, she pressed her trembling hands against her face.
Her stepmother's schemes, Emily's cruelty, her father's silence — all of it loomed like a mountain.
But Daniel's words echoed through the storm: Then neither should you.
Sara lowered her hands, her eyes burning with determination.
If they thought she would bend quietly, they were wrong.
The game had only just begun.