True Heiress vs. Fake Queen Bee Episode 18

📖 The Story Continues

True Heiress vs. Fake Queen Bee — Episode 18

The final bell had not yet rung, but anticipation for Candice’s party already consumed Western High. Students compared outfits, traded rumors about the Kaplan castle, and displayed invitations like membership cards. Hailey listened from her locker while considering what CeCe had pointed out. The coincidence was too precise to ignore.

She wanted to ask Dedra directly whether Candice was her daughter, but doing so by phone might warn them both. Better to watch what happened at the castle, where every lie would be forced into the open. Until then, Hailey had classes to finish and a friend whose bruised shoulder still worried her.

CeCe stood near the science wing organizing books and a small collection of class supplies. Gail and McKenna spotted her alone before Hailey reached the corridor. The humiliation in the restroom had made them eager to restore their status. They approached CeCe with the predatory confidence of girls who preferred targets without witnesses.

Gail plucked a notebook from CeCe’s arms and flipped through pages of equations. She called her a nerd and asked whether she needed help carrying such dangerously boring material. McKenna laughed and knocked another book to the floor. CeCe asked them to leave her alone.

“Or what?” Gail replied. She suggested CeCe might bore them to death by singing the periodic table song. McKenna joined in with an exaggerated imitation, drawing laughs from students passing nearby. CeCe bent to retrieve her book, hoping submission would end the encounter.

Hailey reached them before Gail could kick the notebook away. “Hey,” she said, the single word carrying enough anger to stop both girls. She stepped beside CeCe and told them to pick on someone their own size. Gail looked Hailey over and asked whether she meant herself.

The challenge was intentional. Gail grabbed Hailey’s arm, trying to prove the dodgeball victory had changed nothing. Hailey twisted free and ordered her not to touch her. Physical training made the movement effortless, but she kept it controlled enough to avoid exposing more than necessary.

McKenna seized CeCe from behind while Gail shoved Hailey toward a row of hooks used for athletic displays. The girls threatened to hang both of them from the football field’s flagpole next time. Their laughter concealed how much they feared losing Candice’s approval after the phone disaster.

Hailey caught Gail’s wrist before another shove landed. She applied just enough pressure to make the bully release her, then moved between both aggressors and CeCe. “Perfect,” Gail muttered, pretending the retreat had been her choice. “Next time, you’ll both be hanging where everyone can see.”

A teacher’s voice ordered them to stop. Gail and McKenna released CeCe immediately and claimed they had been joking. The teacher saw scattered books, red marks on CeCe’s arm, and Hailey standing defensively in front of her, yet impatience outweighed investigation. Everyone was told to get to class.

As the bullies walked away, McKenna glanced back with a promise of future retaliation. Hailey knelt to help CeCe gather her belongings. CeCe’s hands trembled, though she insisted she was used to being pushed around. The admission hurt more than the fresh bruises.

Hailey told her she should never have needed to become used to it. CeCe gave a small smile and said Hailey could not fight the entire school alone. Hailey looked toward the retreating bullies and replied that she no longer appeared to be alone. Their friendship had begun as a team assignment, but it now felt like an alliance neither money nor fear had purchased.

One of the containers that had fallen from CeCe’s bag rolled across the floor. Hailey caught it before it struck the wall and examined the label. It belonged to the materials their science class would use for the afternoon experiment. CeCe had collected the supplies at the teacher’s request.

Another student stopped and asked where CeCe had obtained the equipment, saying their group needed the same items. The ordinary question helped redirect attention from the confrontation. CeCe explained that Mr. Dalton had prepared sets in the laboratory. The warning bell sounded before she could say more.

Hailey helped carry the materials toward class. She remained alert for Gail and McKenna, but her thoughts kept returning to Candice. The fake heiress had allowed others to fight her battles while preparing to occupy the Kaplan home. Each arena gave her a different way to exercise stolen power.

CeCe asked whether Hailey intended to attend the party despite not appearing on the guest list. Hailey said she had every reason to see what happened inside the castle. When CeCe pointed out that security would turn them away, Hailey almost revealed the truth. She stopped and promised only that entry would not be a problem.

The certainty made CeCe curious, but she did not press. Unlike Candice’s followers, she respected a boundary even when it concealed something important. Hailey noticed the difference and wondered how CeCe would react once the Kaplan name became undeniable. A fragile hope took root that this friendship might survive the revelation.

They entered the science laboratory moments before class began. Glassware, protective goggles, and measured chemicals waited at each station. Mr. Dalton instructed students to leave the materials untouched until partners were assigned. Hailey placed CeCe’s supplies on the preparation table.

Across the room, Candice arrived with Gail, boasting about the castle’s ballroom and pretending she had personally approved every decoration. She saw Hailey and CeCe together and rolled her eyes. The party lay only hours away, yet she still could not resist another confrontation.

Mr. Dalton lifted the partner list and called for attention. Hailey hoped to work with CeCe, someone she trusted to treat the experiment seriously. Instead, the teacher read the pairing that made both sides of the room react: Hailey would sit with Candice. As the false heiress approached their station, Hailey saw the volatile chemicals between them and sensed that the next explosion might not be merely figurative.