Three days before the SAT, a car slammed into me. My right leg was ruined.

Govind stood beside my hospital bed and said, "I set it up."

He pointed at the cast on my leg and smiled. "You upset Yvette. It's just a broken leg. Better that than watching her cry."

I stared at him, stunned, then dug my nails into his arm hard enough to draw blood.

He shoved me off without a care. Then he patted my head like he always used to.

"Now I get why your parents dumped you at that children's home. With an attitude like yours, you were never gonna be as lovable as Yvette."

Yvette was my older sister.

Fifteen years ago, I got hurt saving Yvette from a speeding car.

She cried to our parents and claimed I'd pushed her.

That same night, bruised and bleeding, I was dumped at a children's home.

When I'd already given up on everything, Govind showed up and promised he'd protect me for the rest of my life.

And now, for her, he was destroying me with his own hands.

It felt like a hand was crushing my throat. Bitter nausea climbed up my chest, and I couldn't even cry anymore.

Govind calmly wiped the blood off his arm. "A few days ago, you fought with Yvette. Her depression got worse again. She couldn't even finish her practice tests. Jovie, if you'd just behaved, would this have happened?"

My whole body trembled. Pain tore through my broken leg, but it still didn't compare to the ice spreading through my chest.

"So you decided to ruin my SAT?"

Govind tipped his head at me, completely guiltless. "I'm protecting you."

Then he reached over and ruffled my hair like he always used to.

That hand used to hold a flashlight over my books during late nights at the children's home.

Now it rested on my head while he said the cruelest things I'd ever heard.

"With a broken leg, you can't take the SAT. Yvette can become the city's top scorer without pressure. Once she's happy again, she'll stop hurting herself over her depression. Your parents won't dump their anger on you either. One sacrificed test for your family's peace. If you'd just be good, wouldn't that be better?"

Be good.

That's what everyone told me my whole life.

The day my parents left me at the children's home, my mom cried and said, "Jovie, be good. We'll come back for you in a few days."

Fifteen years went by.

They never came back.

When kids bullied me at school, the teacher said, "Be good. Don't start trouble. Why are they only targeting you?"

Even after I got into Ridgefield High, my dad only said, "Govind will cover your tuition. Be good. Don't make trouble for him."

I'd been good for fifteen years.

And the person I trusted most shattered my leg.

"You said you'd protect me for life!"

The tears finally fell. I struggled to sit up, but my broken leg shifted, and the pain curled my whole body in on itself.

"You said it! You promised you'd get me out of that hellhole!"

Govind just stood there, looking at me with those same gentle eyes.

Gentle.

Strange.

Disgusting.

"What gives you the right, Govind Swinton?" I screamed, grabbing his arm hard enough for my nails to dig into his skin. "What gives you the right to decide my life? To ruin my SAT?"

He frowned and shook me off.

My hand slipped from his arm and dropped weakly onto the bed.

"Jovie, calm down. Getting emotional won't help you heal."

He looked like he wanted to say more, but then his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen and smiled.

A kind of softness I'd never seen before.

He turned and walked out of the room, his voice low and gentle.

"Yvette, be good. Don't cry. I'm here... Yeah, it's handled. Just focus on studying."

When Govind came back, he was holding a clear folder.

The second I saw what was inside, my heart dropped.

My SAT admission ticket.

A few days ago, Govind said he was worried I'd lose it and offered to hold onto it for me.

Back then, I thought he was being considerate.

Now panic slammed into me.

"Give it back!"

I tried to get out of bed, but my leg was trapped in a cast. The slightest movement sent cold sweat pouring down my back.

Govind stood there calmly, almost confused.

"Jovie, didn't you hear what I said?" He lightly shook the folder. "If you skip the SAT, Yvette can focus. What do you even need this for?"

My whole body shook. I couldn't tell if it was rage or pain.

"Give it back... please..." I'd never begged like this before. "I swear, after the test, I'll leave. I'll stay far away. I won't go back to that family. I won't get in your way anymore. Okay?"

He stood there in the dim light, something unreadable flickering in his eyes.

"Jovie, why do you have to make this so hard?"

He pulled out a lighter and flipped it between his fingers.

Click.

Open.

Click.

Shut.

"Yvette just told me she dreamed you'd cause a scene at the test center. She woke up crying. If you go and upset her, what if she can't even make it into the exam room?"

The flame flickered, then died.

"Be good. Don't make this harder than it has to be."

My heart seized the second I saw the lighter.

"No!"

I don't know where the strength came from, but I rolled off the bed.

Pain ripped through my leg, but I still dragged myself forward.

Then the door slammed open.

Yvette rushed in with red eyes and threw herself into Govind's arms.

"Govind, am I useless? I keep thinking Jovie hates me..."

His hand jolted when she crashed into him.

The flame caught my SAT ticket instantly.

Fire tore through the paper.

Seconds later, all that was left was ash.

Govind froze, staring at the gray ash on the floor, then at me.

He'd only meant to scare me.

"Jovie, I didn't mean—"

"If Jovie hates me that much, then fine! She can have the top score!" Yvette cried, cutting him off. "She can have Mom and Dad too! Should I just die? Would that make everyone happy?"

She threw herself toward the wall, and Govind grabbed her instantly.

"Yvette! Stop!"

Something inside me finally snapped.

"Yvette Jevan, you're freaking insane!" I screamed, forcing myself upright.

Govind's eyes went cold.

Almost on instinct, he kicked me.

I flew backward, the back of my head slamming into the bedframe hard enough to black out my vision.

Blood flooded my mouth.

"Jovie!"

For the first time, panic slipped into Govind's voice as he stepped toward me.

"Govind..." Yvette shook in his arms, eyes red and helpless-looking.

But where he couldn't see, she curled her lips at me in a smile.

Govind stopped walking.

He looked down at the trembling Yvette. The panic in his eyes disappeared.

When he looked back at me, all that was left was disgust.

"Do you really have to act like this? Do you have to make everything such a scene?"

I coughed up blood.

I couldn't speak.

I didn't want to.

Yvette sniffled against his chest. "Govind, let's go. I don't wanna stay here. I'm scared..."

He never looked at me again.

He wrapped an arm around her and walked out.

I dragged myself off the floor and used the wall to keep moving, inch by inch, toward the door.

After leaving the hospital, I took a cab to school.

I limped into the building on crutches and headed straight for the academic office.

Ms. Todd was sorting seating charts. The second she saw me, she frowned.

"Jovie? What are you doing here?"

"Ms. Todd, my SAT ticket got burned. Can I get a replacement?"

Her eyes flicked to my cast before she looked away. "There's only one ticket. We told everyone to keep it safe. If you lost it, that's on you."

"I didn't lose it. It got burned—"

She cut me off immediately, her voice sharp. "Mr. Swinton already called. He said you were emotionally unstable after the accident and might come here causing problems. Besides, the system's already closed. Nobody can fix this now."

"I didn't lose it. Govind burned it..."

"Enough!" She slammed her pen onto the desk. "Jovie Jevan, I know you're a top student, but that doesn't give you the right to act entitled. You screw up at the worst possible moment, then try blaming the man paying for your education?"

I just stood there, stunned.

Five years ago, Govind first showed up at the children's home.

He didn't remember his past. Didn't even know who he was.

Before long, we were inseparable.

He protected me from bullies more than once. One time, when I got locked in isolation, he broke the door open in the middle of the night just to get me out.

Then the Swinton family found him.

Their missing heir was finally coming home.

The day he left, he held my hand and said, "Jovie, I'll come back for you. Once things settle down, I'm getting you out of here."

And he did come back.

His family paid for my school and living expenses.

Every weekend, he visited me. Took me out to eat. Bought me books. Studied with me.

Everyone said Govind Swinton was a good guy. That Jovie Jevan was lucky to have someone like him looking out for her.

I believed it too.

That's why I never imagined he'd betray me.

For Yvette.

I walked out of the office in a haze and somehow ended up in front of the honor board outside the classroom building.

The citywide mock exam rankings were posted there.

My picture sat at the very top.

First Place: Jovie Jevan.

In the photo, I was smiling, eyes bright like someone who'd finally found hope.

Now I stood under it in a leg cast, looking wrecked.

"Jovie?"

A voice came from behind me.

I froze.

When I turned around, Yvette was standing a few steps away, holding onto Govind's arm.

The second she saw me, she shrank against him. "Jovie, how could you sneak out of the hospital and spread rumors that Govind burned your SAT ticket?"

A few students passing by slowed down to stare.

"That's Jovie Jevan? I heard she got hit by a car. Why's she here making a scene?"

"Govind Swinton supported her for years. Turns out she's just an ungrateful brat."

Rage shook through me. I swung my crutch at Yvette.

Before it could hit her, Govind caught it.

Then he shoved me hard.

I slammed straight into the glass honor board.

The crash exploded in my ears.

Glass shattered everywhere.

Sharp pieces dug into my back as warm blood ran down my spine.

I hit the floor hard. Broken glass pressed into my skin, pain ripping through every inch of me.

Above me was my photo.

The girl in it was still smiling.

"Govind, did those fifteen years mean nothing to you?" I lay there, my voice raw. "Back at the children's home, you were the one who got me out of isolation..."

Blood spread across the ground beneath me.

"You said you'd get me out of that hell..."

Govind suddenly laughed under his breath. "Fifteen years?"

He crouched beside me, close enough for me to see the coldness in his eyes.

"Do you really think ending up at that children's home was an accident? That saving you was just luck?"