Chapter 23 Claimed
The dress or the money. She couldn't afford either.
Rory looked at Hayes, pleading.
Her face was so fresh. Eyes wet. Begging. No guy could resist that.
Hayes felt protective.
He looked at Luna, who wasn't backing down. "Luna. Give her a break."
Luna clicked her tongue. "Fine."
She crossed her arms. Turned to Hayes. "Why don't you pay for her? She clearly can't afford it."
Hayes: "..."
Rory sniffled. "That's not right."
"Then you pay." Luna said it like it was the most reasonable thing in the world.
Rory: "..."
She went quiet again.
Hayes gritted his teeth. "I'll transfer it tonight. Send me your bank account number."
"Great." Luna gave a thumbs up. "Young Master Sterling. Handsome and generous."
Got her money. She bounced without hesitation.
-
Survived the morning.
At lunch in the cafeteria. Today's special was chicken stew.
The pot bubbled away. Mila came back with two Cokes.
Luna was glued to her phone.
Mila sat next to her. "What're you watching? You're so into it."
"A livestream." Luna took an ice-cold Coke from her with a smile.
"What stream?" Mila leaned over to look.
A girl in a Lincoln High uniform. Ponytail. Fresh-faced. Wholesome.
Mila squinted. "She looks familiar."
Luna filled her in. "The new viral girl from Lincoln High."
"CeCe or whatever, right? I've seen her before."
Mila had switched to green colored contacts today. Fake lashes way too long. Pale purple lipstick.
Luna glanced up at her, then looked back down. "That's her."
Mila was not happy. "Why won't you look at me when you talk?"
Luna told the truth. "Your makeup is blinding me."
Mila froze.
"...Was that a compliment or an insult?"
"I wouldn't insult you. But I can't compliment it either." Luna propped her chin on her hand. "Do you think your makeup looks good?"
"I think... it's fine." Mila's voice dropped. "I know I'm bad at makeup. People make fun of me. Nobody wants to be my friend. If you can't stand me, just say it."
"I don't mind you." Luna twisted the cap off the Coke for her. "And I didn't say ugly. If you like it, wear it. Don't change for other people. Being comfortable is what matters."
That was twenty-two years of hard-won wisdom from her previous life.
She'd been the idiot who kept compromising for Hayes. Kept changing herself for him. A total fool.
Mila looked up, touched. "Luna, thank you. You're the first person who's ever said that to me."
Luna's lips curved. She was about to be modest.
Then Mila kept going. "The heiresses in our circle always talk behind your back. Your temper. Your princess attitude. How you pick fights over nothing. But I think you're great. You're the first real friend I made in New York."
Luna's smile froze. "You could've skipped the first part."
"Oh. Okay." Mila nodded. She raised her Coke. "Cheers."
Luna raised her Coke and clinked it against Mila's. "Cheers."
Over lunch, the Top Donor spammed Chloe's stream with almost three grand in gifts. The stream was blowing up. Chloe couldn't stop smiling. "Thanks, handsome," she cooed.
Back in the dorm after lunch. Luna lay on her bed and texted her brat of a brother.
SadSweetie: [You there?]
Brat: [Talk.]
SadSweetie: [Did you watch your crush's livestream at lunch?]
Brat: [No.]
Luna's eyebrows shot up.
SadSweetie: [How come?]
That's not what a proper simp would do.
Brat: [Busy.]
SadSweetie: [With what?]
Brat: [Someone's private business. Can't say.]
SadSweetie: [Fine.]
Luna didn't push it. She copied her bank account number and sent it to Hayes.
SadSweetie: [Tonight. Don't forget to transfer it.]
-
Meanwhile, Hayes was still in the cafeteria.
He opened his phone, saw the message, frowned, and tossed it back on the table.
The other two at the table went quiet.
Grayson spoke up first. "Who texted you? Must be bad to piss you off this much."
Hayes pressed his lips together. "Luna."
Sage took a sip of water, smiling. "Makes sense."
Grayson nodded, dead serious. "Luna's temper. Not for the faint of heart."
Hayes closed his eyes.
His mind went to that morning. Rory looking up at him.
White shirt. Sweet face. Dark eyes full of admiration.
Nothing like Luna.
Luna's feelings weren't admiration. More like wanting to claim something valuable. Possessiveness.
It made people uncomfortable. Especially Hayes. Trapped. Restless.
Especially because anyone could see the truth. The Sterlings needed this marriage more than the Harringtons. The Sterlings were desperate to replace one of the four founding families.
Growing up, he'd heard plenty of comments. Live-in son-in-law. Freeloader. Stuff like that.
In Hayes's otherwise shiny life, this was his deepest shame.
Someone patted his shoulder. Hayes opened his eyes. Met Sage's amber gaze.
Sage's expression held a hint of sympathy. "Rough, huh?"
Grayson leaned back, grinning. "This is killing me."
Hayes's face went dark. He looked at these two, gloating. A nameless fire burned in his chest.
"Can you two stop fucking laughing?"
Grayson shut up in one second.
Sage zipped her lips, signaling she was done talking.
Grayson was from the Han family, but only a love child. He didn't have much of a say. He usually listened to Hayes.
As for why Sage was so cooperative? She was slippery. Never made enemies with anyone.
Hayes barely ate two bites before he stormed off.
Sage raised an eyebrow. "Your boy Hayes has quite the temper."
Grayson crossed his legs. Took a sip of lemonade. "What about you? Why haven't you been eating with Luna lately?"
Sage's expression cooled.
Shoulder-length hair with a few rebellious streaks of silver. "None of your business."
Grayson: "Right. You've got a temper too. I'll be going then."
Sage didn't even look at him. "Leave."
Grayson laughed from anger. He ran his tongue over his teeth. "Miss Porter. You sure act different depending on who's watching."
-
The afternoon dragged on.
Back home, Luna slumped over her desk, half-dead.
She wasn't going to copy homework today. She was going to grind through every problem, one by one.
The multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions she could mostly figure out. Half from notes, half from searching online.
By the second-to-last math problem, Luna's eyes rolled back. She face-planted on the test paper.