All because of Leo Cullen’s words, I gave up a place at a top-tier university in Ceres and stayed behind to retake the entrance exams with him—three times.

By the fourth year, a girl arrived at our cram school, and Leo forgot the promise we made.

He started skipping class, picking fights, smoking—doing everything but studying.

One day, I stood at the school gate, blocking his path with a textbook in hand as he tried to ditch class.

He smirked, unimpressed, and blew a bubble with his gum, letting it stick to the ends of my hair.

“Naomi…,” he began, “who still cares about studying these days?”

So I stopped caring and avoided him entirely.

When he fooled around in the classroom, I went to the library.

When he played basketball, I sat in a quiet corner with my books.

Even when I craved noodles from my favorite shop, I’d scan the room first to make sure he wasn’t there.

“Are you avoiding me, Naomi?” he asked later, his face in a frown.

I shook my head.

“Why would you think that?”

The crease between Leo Cullen's brows deepened at my question.

He didn’t even know why he blurted it out.

The thought had struck him suddenly as he watched how seriously I was studying.

A flash of anger crossed his face.

“Don’t worry about why I’m asking—just answer me! Are you avoiding me?

“Besides, I’m the one asking questions right now. You don’t get to turn this around!”

I stared at that arrogant, rebellious face.

I couldn’t hold back any longer.

This was the fourth year I’d stayed by his side to take the entrance exams.

In truth, I had already passed the exam three times.

The universities I got into weren’t top-tier, but they were all reputable.

But back then, Leo had come to me and asked, “Will you retake the entrance exams with me, Naomi? I want us to go to the same university together.”

He was my fiancé, and we had grown up together—inseparable since we were little.

When we were young, we made a promise to go to the same university when we grew up.

So, without much hesitation, I agreed to stay behind and repeat the year.

Of course, my decision faced heavy opposition from my entire family.

But I lied to them without a second thought.

I said the university I got into wasn’t ideal, and insisted on repeating the year.

And then it became one year, and then another, and another.

This was already the fourth year I had stayed by Leo’s side.

And still, he couldn’t get into university.

“You can’t keep wasting time like this. It’s already our fourth year. If you still don’t get in… what will you do with your life?” I sighed as I tried to convey the urgency of his situation.

I had meant it as a kind, heartfelt reminder, but to Leo, it sounded like an insult.

He let out a cold laugh.

Then he suddenly yanked a handful of my hair, his face twisting in anger.

“Don’t think just because you’ve stuck around a few years, you get to lecture me! You could read a thousand books and still be nothing but a boring, lifeless nerd!”

The pain hit before I could even react.

I looked down and saw a thick clump of hair in his palm.

He had ripped it right from my scalp!

Tears welled up in my eyes as I stared in shock.

In all our years growing up together, this was the first time he had ever hurt me.

For a moment, a flicker of panic flashed across his eyes.

But it vanished quickly beneath the cold, distant look he gave me.

He muttered an empty “sorry,” turned around, and walked out of the classroom.

Yet I still heard him mutter under his breath, “Boring nerd.”

The pain became unbearable, so I headed to the bathroom to check in the mirror.

At the stairwell landing, I overheard Leo talking to Betty Granger.

“This is fresh from Naomi’s head. I win the bet, right?”

Betty gasped in delight.

“Wow, you’re amazing, Leo! You even managed to yank out that much of Miss Top Student’s hair! Let me touch it—maybe I’ll get smarter too!”

My heart sank.

So that was all I meant to him —a stupid bet.

A wave of cold bitterness washed through me.

Behind me, my classmate, Kitty Fox’s worried voice rang out, “Naomi? Are you okay? There’s blood on your head!”

Kitty’s worried voice snapped me out of my daze.

Instinctively, I reached up and touched my head— Sure enough, my palm came away smeared with bright, crimson blood.

The sight of it stunned me.

“There’s so much blood! You should go to the school clinic!”

Kitty grabbed my arm and led me to the school clinic.

Ahead of us, Leo and Betty turned at the commotion.

The left side of my head was soaked in red.

Betty glanced at me, a glint of amusement in her eyes and a mocking smirk tugging at her lips.

Leo stayed silent, refusing to meet my eyes.

After getting disinfectant and bandages wrapped around my head, I stepped out and almost collided with Leo.

He pressed his lips together, hesitating before finally muttering, “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to do that…”

Had I not heard what he’d said to Betty earlier, I might have believed him.

But now, staring at that false expression on his face, a wave of revulsion washed over me.

The thought of how I had wasted three full years retaking the SATs for someone like him…

I couldn’t hold back the fury any longer.

“Oh, I bet you didn't,” I said coldly.

His eyes widened for a second, then his expression twisted in anger.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? You think I did it on purpose?” he demanded.

Suddenly, I had no desire to keep arguing.

Maybe I deserved this. Maybe I needed the lesson.

I turned to leave, but Leo wouldn’t let me go so easily.

He grabbed my arm roughly. “I’m talking to you—are you even listening?”

His grip was so tight that bruises bloomed across my skin within seconds.

I struggled to break free.

“Let me go.”

Leo, still grinning viciously, remained unmoved.

“Weren’t you acting all tough just now? I already apologized—and you’re still not going to accept it?”

If the school nurse hadn’t come out after hearing the shouting, I don’t know how long he would’ve kept going.

By the time he finally let go, my wrist had gone numb from the pain.

He shot me a furious glare before storming off.

I returned to the infirmary to apply some ointment for the bruises, then slowly made my way back to class.

The next period was PE.

On the way to the field, I crossed paths with Leo and Betty again.

They were playing basketball.

I frowned and turned to head back to the classroom, but Betty immediately pointed at the white gauze wrapped around my head and burst into laughter.

“Look at her—Naomi’s going bald! Even with that white bandage, she can’t hide it! Hey Bald Eagle!”

Leo laughed even louder at that, clearly wanting the whole world to hear it.

“You’re a genius, Betty! ‘Bald Eagle’—what a great nickname. That’s what we’ll call her from now on—Naomi the Bald Eagle!”

Snickers erupted around us, sharp and humiliating.

I bit down hard, splitting the skin on my tongue, the taste of blood spreading in my mouth.

Then I kept my head low and quickened my pace.

But even that wasn’t enough for Leo and Betty.

They refused to stop.

Even when I sat quietly in class with a book, they found ways to humiliate me.

They’d whisper behind my back, then point at the bandage on my head and chuckle—loud enough for others to hear.

“Look, it’s the Bald Eagle again,” they’d say.

More and more students turned to look at me, smirking with a mixture of amusement and pity.

I clenched my fists so tightly my knuckles turned white.

Even when I covered my ears, their words seemed to seep straight into my skull.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.

I slammed my palms against the desk and stood up.

“Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? You hurt me, and now you act like a coward, mocking me behind my back!

“You’re a grown man, for God’s sake!”

Silence crashed over the classroom as everyone’s eyes darted between me and Leo.

His face flushed red, and his eyes widened with rage.

He stormed toward me in a fury—but just then, the teacher walked in. He had no choice but to swallow his anger and return to his seat.

Halfway through the lesson, Leo made up an excuse to go to the restroom—and slipped out with Betty.

I turned my head slightly, watching as their figures disappeared down the hallway.

Then I quickly looked away.

This time, I had no intention of telling the teacher.

They often used that trick to skip class.

I remembered the first time I caught Leo doing it—I had reported him to the teacher right away.

That night, he cursed me out so viciously I could hardly speak.

He called me spiteful and accused me of meddling in his business. He also accused me of being a tattletale.

He had stood there and watched while Betty humiliated me.

She’d burned a lock of my hair with a lighter as she laughed brightly with Leo beside her.

As those memories flooded back, the book I held crumpled in my clenched fists.

Only when Kitty whispered, “Naomi? Are you okay?” did I snap out of it.

I quickly smoothed the pages of the book, but the damage in my heart couldn’t be undone.

“I’m fine,” I muttered.

When school ended, I didn’t go home right away.

Instead, I stayed behind to catch up with my studies.

For the past three years, I had poured all my energy into helping Leo improve his scores.

After all that, not only had he made no progress, but my own grades had slipped further and further.

With only two months left, I finally decided to focus on myself.

I wanted to get into a better university.

What I didn’t expect was that Leo and Betty would return to school.

The two of them burst into the classroom, tangled in a passionate kiss.

In that instant, a sharp, blinding pain radiated through me as I stared at the man before me— my childhood sweetheart, fiancé of many years, the one I had foolishly delayed my future for.

The pen I held slipped from my grasp, clattering to the floor, a sound that finally brought the lovestruck pair back to reality.

Leo caught sight of me sitting silently in the classroom. He froze and instinctively released Betty.

But she was faster and threw herself into his arms with a conniving smile.

“Oh no, the Bald Eagle caught us kissing,” she mocked.

“Do you think that tattletale will run to the teacher tomorrow?”

Leo gazed at her affectionately.

“She wouldn’t dare,” he said.

“One word from me, and she’ll do whatever I say—like a well-trained dog.

“Right, Naomi?”

I bit my trembling lip and looked into those indifferent eyes.

I couldn’t understand how my wholehearted devotion over the years had brought me to this.

I’d given up my chance at university for the promise he had made.

And now, in his eyes, I was nothing but someone to walk all over.

Tears stung the corners of my eyes, and my voice cracked as I spoke.

“I wasted three years of my life on you—all because of a single promise. And this is how you treat me now?”

“That’s because you’re stupid,” he sneered, his tone dripping with contempt. “You clung to some ridiculous fantasy about us.

“Someone like you—a pathetic nerd—could never deserve me.

“Betty and I, on the other hand, are a perfect match.”

I froze in my seat.

Although I had long anticipated this ending, a deep sadness still settled in my heart.

The last trace of affection I had buried deep inside finally faded away.

I forced back the tears and smiled.

"You're right. I was stupid.

"Thank you for teaching me that."

I packed my books, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and walked out of the classroom.

Behind me, Leo tensed as a flicker of panic flashed across his face.

He was about to chase after me, but Betty grabbed his arm.

That one moment of hesitation was enough for me to disappear swiftly across the schoolyard.

Back home, I took a deep breath and swallowed the bitterness in my mouth.

Even though I tried my best to act like everything was fine, my Mom saw right through me.

The white bandage on my head was obvious, and my red, puffy eyes were impossible to hide.

She knew me too well, yet she didn’t say much and just gently examined my wound.

In that quiet moment, guilt overwhelmed me.

I had wasted so many years on someone like Leo. He was not worth it.

From the early days when my parents yelled in anger, to the later days when they spoke in soft persuasion and quiet worry, I had made them anxious for nothing.

"Don’t worry, Mom. This time, I will get into university,” I said firmly as I grabbed her hand.

All those dreams I used to cling to… They were nothing but delusions I created for myself.

The next morning came early.

As I was leaving my home, I inevitably ran into Leo.

He called out to me from behind, but I pretended not to hear, lowered my head, turned quickly, and walked away.

I bought breakfast outside the school gates, ready to head in.

Suddenly, Leo appeared with a dark expression, panting heavily as he grabbed my wrist.

“Don’t you dare say you haven’t been avoiding me,” he snapped.

“You clearly heard me calling you. Why didn’t you wait?”

I calmly pulled my hand from his grasp.

“Sorry. I didn’t notice,” I replied evenly.

Then, under his stormy gaze, I turned around and entered the school.

I had barely sat down when a shadow loomed in front of me. It was Leo again.

He reached out his hand and asked, “So, where’s the breakfast you bought for me?”

His words sent a stinging ache through my chest.

So he did remember that I often bought him breakfast.

But how had he treated me in return?

What right did he have to expect anything from me?

In his eyes, was my kindness to him something he deserved by default?

I looked up at him coldly.

“Can’t you buy your own breakfast? Something wrong with your hands? Or maybe your mouth?” I asked flatly.