My Stepbrother Wants Me-Chapter 180: Lucy and Sasha

Catherine’s POV

"Uhm... Catherine last night was... so eventful," Lucy said, glancing at me through the vanity mirror. "I went to Julian’s room after he left that boring dinner and we had some very good time alone. I think he’s finally realizing that he needs a woman who understands his position, not someone who brings trouble into his life."

I sat in the back seat, staring out the window, while Lucy sat on the other side, looking entirely too pleased with herself. I was thinking I would escape her annoying taunts when she got busy with doing her makeup. Little did I know that while she was spending those minutes reapplying her lipstick and humming a tune that set my teeth on edge, she was thinking of something stupid to say. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

I didn’t even look at her. I just let out a short, dry scoff. I knew she was lying. If Julian had a good time with her, he wouldn’t have come to me.

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Lucy snapped, turning to face me. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"But do you realise that you can just keep your mouth shut instead of making up silly stories to make yourself feel good?" I said, my tone casual and entirely uninterested. "It’s shameful."

Lucy became defensive immediately. Her face flushed a deep red. "Why would I make it up? We’re engaged. It’s perfectly natural for us to spend the night together. You’re just jealous because your ’Varo heir’ probably went home to cheat with his side chicks while you’re stuck here."

I turned my head slowly to look at her. "I think you’re lying because if both of you really had such a good time, Julian wouldn’t have come to my room looking so angry."

The silence that followed was absolute. Lucy’s mouth opened, then snapped shut. The smugness vanished, replaced by a combined look of shame and fury. She knew I had caught her. She knew that Julian coming to me angry... meant it was because he was jealous about the dinner. It meant he spent his night thinking about me, not her. She didn’t say another word for the rest of the ride to school.

When we got to campus, the atmosphere didn’t improve. Lucy wasn’t finished. She wanted blood for the humiliation in the car. And the only place she could do it was where she had back up.

During our first lecture, while we waited for the lecturer, Lucy turned around in her seat to address the group of girls sitting behind us.

"You know," she began loudly, ensuring her voice carried across the room. "The irony of this whole ’Dante’ thing is that Catherine used to have a huge crush on Julian. It was pathetic. That’s one of the very reasons Sasha didn’t like her, because she was always hovering around like a desperate shadow."

The room went quiet. I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. It was a low blow, designed to make me look like a discarded toy.

Sasha, who was sitting two rows back, looked up from her notebook. She looked tired, but her eyes were still sharp. "Don’t use my name to feel superior, Lucy," Sasha warned. "My issues with Catherine were my own. Don’t drag me into your insecure drama."

Lucy scoffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Oh, please, Sasha. You should be glad that someone can still pronounce your rotten name. You’re barely relevant enough to be a footnote in this school anymore."

That was the breaking point. Sasha stood up so fast her chair screeched against the floor. She didn’t say a word; she lunged. It turned into a flurry of hair and expensive blazers in seconds. The class erupted into shouts as the two of them grappled near the front desk.

The fight didn’t last long. The lecturer appeared at the door, slamming a heavy textbook onto the podium. "Enough! What is going on here? How can you be fighting in the classroom?!"

Lucy pulled away first, smoothing her clothes and putting on a look of innocence. As for Sasha, she was breathing hard.

"I’m disappointed. Two ladies that should know how the school works... are boldly fighting. Why?" the lecturer demanded, looking between the two of them.

"She attacked me first!" Lucy lied immediately, her voice trembling with fake fear. "I was just talking about my engagement, and she just lost it. She’s been harassing me since she returned because she can’t handle losing her status."

"That’s a lie!" Sasha shouted.

The lecturer looked around the room. "Is this true? Who can tell me what happened?"

One by one, the other students; the ones who had already decided that Lucy was the new power in school, nodded. "Yeah, Sasha started it," one girl said. "She just jumped her."

I watched in disgust as they lied. But then, Tessa stood up, looking the lecturer in the eye. "That’s not true. What Lucy narrated is a big lie. That wasn’t what happened."

The class turned on Tessa, murmurs of "shut up" and "stay out of it" filling the air. The lecturer looked at Tessa. "Please Tessa, go on. Tell me exactly what led to this."

I saw the trap instantly. If Tessa told the truth, she would have to mention the "crush on Julian" comment. She would have to bring up the very thing Lucy used to humiliate me. If it was recorded or put into an official report, it would escalate into a scandal that would reach Richard. I couldn’t have that. I couldn’t let the Julian drama become public record again, especially now that everyone believed I was dating Dante.

As Tessa opened her mouth to speak, I reached out and firmly tugged on her skirt. She looked down at me, confused. I gave her a small, shaky nod, telling her not to say anything.

Tessa looked at me, then at the expectant face of the lecturer. She saw the desperation in my eyes and swallowed hard, her voice barely a whisper when she spoke.

"Ne... Never mind," Tessa said, sitting back down.

The lecturer frowned, clearly sensing the tension but unable to prove anything. "Very well. Sasha, Lucy, come with me after class. For now, everyone open your texts to page eighty-four."