"Hey! What do you think you’re doing?" Mateo shouted, struggling hard.
The guards looked at him with disgust. "You’re students, and you dare to commit such bold things in the school’s forest? Don’t you know this is forbidden?"
Eleanor’s face turned pale as she tried to pull away. "Wait, it’s not what it looks like! We weren’t..."
The guard cut her off coldly. "Save your excuses. The higher authorities will deal with you. Tomorrow, the entire school will hear your apology in the broadcast room."
Mateo froze, his face draining of color. "Ap... apology? In front of everyone?" His voice cracked.
"Yes," the guard said firmly. "Everyone will know."
Fury burned in Mateo’s chest. "You don’t know who I am! You don’t know which family I belong to!"
The guards only sneered. "We don’t care. Whichever family you belong to should feel ashad of you. Rember, tomorrow everyone will hear the truth."
Both Eleanor and Mateo panicked. They struggled harder, shouting desperately.
"It’s not like that!" Eleanor cried.
"You’re misunderstanding!" Mateo yelled.
But the guards didn’t listen. They shoved the two forward, forcing them along the path.
Just when they were about to disappear, Mateo shouted angrily, "It’s her! She seduced ! I never started anything. It was Eleanor! Check the surveillance caras if you don’t believe !"
Eleanor’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Mateo, you!"
The guards scoffed. "Surveillance caras? Don’t try to fool us. We all know this area has no caras. You’re only shouting like a thief blaming another thief."
Mateo froze, his face turning pale again. Of course, he knew there were no caras. That was exactly why he had chosen this forest spot for his secret etings with Eleanor.
Now his own excuse had backfired, and everyone would soon know.
From behind the tree, Olivia covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing, while Louis grinned in satisfaction.
"Alright then, I will leave now," Olivia said. Since Eleanor and Mateo were taken away, she definitely couldn’t continue to watch the show.
But then Louis’ smooth voice ca from beside her. "So... you are just going to let them go? After only the beginning?"
Olivia blinked in surprise. She turned her head sharply, looking at him with confusion. "What do you an by that?" she asked.
Louis smirked, his lips curving in a way that made him look both mischievous and dangerous. "The show has just started," he said calmly. "Why leave now? Do you want to miss the fun part?"
Olivia frowned, tilting her head slightly. "Fun part? What are you talking about?"
Louis chuckled softly, pulling out his sleek black phone from his pocket. The phone itself looked expensive, like sothing out of reach for normal students.
Without waiting for her response, he dialed a number. His tone was relaxed but also carried authority.
"I want a live feed. Connect now," Louis said to whoever was on the other side of the call. Then he hung up without waiting for an answer.
Olivia blinked again, more confused than ever. "A live feed?" she muttered.
Louis did not answer her question directly. Instead, he tapped his phone quickly and navigated through an app. His fingers moved with practiced ease, as though he had done this countless tis before. Finally, he pressed the cara icon. The screen lit up, showing a video.
When Olivia looked closer, her eyes widened in shock. The footage showed the school principal’s office. Inside, Mateo and Eleanor were already standing in front of the principal, with the two guards beside them. Olivia gasped quietly.
"How... how is this possible? You’re showing live footage of the principal’s office?" she whispered.
Louis’ smile widened slightly, though he kept his eyes on the phone. "I told you," he said in his smooth voice. "The show is just starting."
Inside the video, the guards stood firmly as they reported to the principal. "Sir, we caught these two students kissing each other in the school’s forest," one guard said firmly. "They were breaking the rules."
The principal’s face darkened. His brows furrowed, and he slamd his hand on the desk. "What nonsense is this? Kissing behind the university grounds? Do they think this is a playground?"
Mateo and Eleanor flinched at his harsh tone. Their faces turned even paler.
The principal pointed at them sharply. "Both of you should be expelled imdiately. Students who behave like this have no place in this school!"
Olivia’s hand flew to her mouth. She could not believe what she was hearing. Expulsion. That was worse than anything she had imagined for them.
On the phone screen, Mateo panicked. His face drained of all color, his lips trembling. He knew very well what this ant. He was in the middle of competing for a higher position within his family, and if he got expelled, it would be a disaster. Even if his family did not kick him out completely, his chances of gaining power would be crushed.
"No... Principal, you misunderstand!" Mateo cried, his voice shaky. "I was not the one who started anything. I resisted! I told her no!"
The principal raised his brow, unimpressed. "What are you talking about?"
Mateo’s eyes darted quickly. Suddenly, they lit up, and he pointed at Eleanor with a trembling finger. "It was her! Eleanor seduced ! She forced to do those things! She tried to... to molest !"
Eleanor’s eyes went wide. She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her skin. Rage boiled inside her, but she quickly stopped herself. If she shouted at Mateo right now, both of them would be thrown out together. She needed another way.
Eleanor closed her eyes for a brief mont. When she opened them again, there was a fake sadness in her gaze. She curled her lips into a sorrowful smile and spoke in a trembling voice.
"Mateo... you do not need to keep listening to Olivia’s lies anymore. We are already caught. There is no point hiding it."
Mateo’s eyes widened in confusion. "What? What do you an?"
Eleanor rolled her eyes slightly but then put on her act again. She turned to the principal, her voice soft but steady.
"Sir, I am a decent girl. You can check my records. I have never done anything like this before. But recently, when Mateo and I confird our relationship in front of the whole school, Olivia... who was my best friend... beca jealous. She used to like Mateo, too, but he chose instead. She was angry about that. So she recorded one of our private videos, and she forced us. She told us we had to kiss each other in the forest. If we did not do it, she would release the video."
Eleanor’s voice broke slightly, and she let a few fake tears slide down her cheeks.
"I never wanted this. I only agreed because I was scared. These guards... they must have been arranged by her too. It is all Olivia’s plan."
Olivia, watching from behind the tree, almost laughed out loud at how ridiculous it sounded. But she kept quiet. She wanted to see how far Eleanor was willing to go.
On the phone screen, Mateo’s eyes widened again. At first, he was stunned by her claim.
But then he quickly cald himself. He realized how smart Eleanor was. With just a few sentences, she had shifted all the bla onto Olivia.
Mateo thought to himself,
"She is truly clever. But it is fine. Olivia was only supposed to be my mistress in the future anyway. She can take so of the bla."
So Mateo nodded eagerly and looked at the principal with an injured expression.
"Yes... Principal. I would never do such disgusting things. It was Olivia who forced us."
The principal’s face turned even darker. He slamd his fist on the desk again.
"Do you think I am a fool? If soone told you to kiss in the forest, would you just do it? Do you think I will believe this nonsense? Show proof!"
Eleanor bit her lip hard. She lowered her gaze and whispered inside her heart.
"System, I need evidence. Fake evidence. Do it now."
A robotic voice echoed in her mind.
[I can forge evidence. But there will be consequences.]
"I do not care," Eleanor replied coldly. "Just do it."
[Very well,] the system said.
The next second, Eleanor lifted her head, pulling out her phone with a trembling hand. She quickly opened her chat interface with Olivia. The pride in her eyes was obvious as she showed the screen to the principal.
The chat looked damning at first glance. There was a video at the top, showing Eleanor and Mateo kissing.
If soone looked closely, they would notice the swaying of a tree in the background was unnatural, almost like AI-generated. But at a glance, it looked real enough.
Below the video were several ssages. They appeared to be from Olivia.
The first ssage read: ’If you do not listen to , I will release this video.’
Another ssage read: ’et in the forest and kiss, or else everyone will see this tomorrow.’
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