The Billionaire's True Heiress From Fake Jewel to Real Crown novel Chapter 213

“I’m not sure, maybe she’s sick or something,” Claire said, sounding pretty casual about it.

But honestly, it was probably because Cindy got slapped by Octavia. With that handprint still on her face, Cindy was definitely not in any rush to show up at school.

“Since she’s been missing, some people are starting to wonder if she was involved in all that online drama about you,” Sophia said.

“Well, she is Molly’s desk mate, and they’re super close.”

“She’s always been sweet around everyone, so some people are still on her side.”

Normally, they’d get their break right after finals, but since they were seniors, they had to stick around for an extra week of classes. After all this drama, the whole class was just counting down to the holidays. No one was really paying attention to school anymore.

“Just let people say whatever they want, but you don’t need to get involved,” Claire told Sophia. She was worried Sophia might get into an argument—or worse, a fight—trying to defend her. If that happened, Cicely would just freak out again.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep quiet about Cindy. We’re so close that if I start talking about her, people might think you’re the one with a problem,” Sophia said.

Claire looked out for Sophia, and Sophia did the same for her. Neither of them wanted the other to get dragged into trouble. That’s just how real best friends are.

“I really don’t have a problem with her,” Claire said honestly. If she and Cindy had just gone their separate ways after the whole identity mess, Claire wouldn’t have cared one bit. But Cindy kept turning everything into a competition, always comparing the two of them. Claire just didn’t get what she was hoping to prove.

After hanging up with Sophia, Claire headed back to her dorm. Two new roommates had already moved in. They were both from out of state.

Nanette’s family was pretty well-off and, since she had a bunch of brothers, they actually pampered her as the only daughter.

Linsey’s story was the opposite. She only got to go to high school because her older sister started working young and knew how tough it was not having an education. Her parents didn’t want to pay for Linsey’s schooling, so her sister covered her expenses.

Linsey was a straight-A student, super smart, and especially talented at math. Her teachers even tutored her for free and convinced her to join the competition team. This year, Linsey was determined to win a spot for guaranteed college admission—she wanted her sister to be proud.

“Hey, Wendy, do you want to come eat with us?” Claire turned to ask.

Wendy was really quiet and barely noticeable in the dorm. The other two girls hadn’t meant to leave her out—they just honestly hadn’t thought of it.