8 Rumors

"That's her." Sophie heard one of the girls say when she passed by them.

It has always been like this. Ever since she was introduced as the new heiress of the Anderson Clan, people started talking about her.

She was called the hidden princess or the cursed daughter by some. Her mother wanted her to wear a contact lens with one color only to cover her eye defect.

But Percy said she didn't have to hide them because it suited her. He wanted to see her eyes, telling her it always keeps him calm.

"Let them be." Percy whispered while walking beside her.

She smiled at him when he took her and planted a small kiss.

"Her twin was the real fiance of Percy, but she was in a coma for five years now. Right after her twin got into an accident, she became her family's heiress and got engaged with Percy."

"Rumor said that she was responsible for her sister's accident. Some say she tried to kill her so she could become the heiress. She also had a long-time crush on Percy, so when her sister was chosen to be his fiance, she did everything to get him."

"Yes. I heard she used her body to seduce him. If her twin was conscious and well, I don't think Percy would even look at her."

"They said she never even visited her sister. She's the evil twin sister. The cursed daughter, that's the reason her family hid her for twelve years. No one knew she existed until they introduced her as the eldest child of the Anderson Clan."

"Did you see her eyes? My mom was friends with her mom, and she would always rant about her daughter being imperfect. Her mother despised her. Telling everyone how she stole Selene's man."

"Pretty dirty right? Look at her. She looked like a doll, but inside she was rotten. How disgusting."

Sophie was already used to hearing those rumors. It didn't bother her anymore. She knew the truth. Percy and their friends knew what happened. So she didn't care what others said about her.

"Sorry, we're late. Luke had a meeting with the board last night and was invited to drink. He went home at three in the morning." It was Alora.

They were in the parking lot of Golden Oak High School, waiting for their friends.

From being homeschooled, she was transferred to Golden Oak School for the Elites to attend regular classes.

In that school, the classes were divided into four.

The Platinum Class is where the wealthiest kids all over the world are. The Golden Class consists of celebrities and famous personalities. The Silver Class is where the kid's parents work under the Platinum and Golden Class. And the Bronze Class, for kids who were accepted through sponsorship or scholarship.

Sophie belonged to the Platinum Class, and so did her friends. She's in the same class as Percy, Luke, and Jayden. While the girls were in the other class.

"That's Luke Wilson, Percy's best friend. And the girl with silver hair is Luke's fiance, Alora Smith. She's Sophie's best friend. Luke is the wealthiest kid here, followed by his fiance. And that girl with blue eyes? That's Margaret Miller, a real princess of another country. Beside her is Jayden Richards; they said his family was one of the Mafia clans."

"Who's that girl with black hair?"

"That's Emily Nitori. Her fiance is the crown prince of Flousia, Margaret Miller's half-brother. And that couple who just arrived, Andrew Cross and Katharina Sommers."

"Wow, so Sophie was surrounded by rich and powerful people. No wonder why her family suddenly treated her nicely."

The girls talking about them were just a few steps behind them. They could actually hear their comments and feel their gazes towards them.

"They should learn how to shut their mouth and stop talking about us. It's always like this in the morning. When will we have our peace?" Emily ranted.

Alora glared at the girls to give them a warning. She was called the ice princess because of her cold and distant personality.

She has dissociative identity disorder and switches personalities every time her feelings change. Her most popular personality is Camila, a girl with anger issues. Everyone knew about Alora's mental disorder, so they feared her.

"Sophie, don't mind them." Nina said, smiling.

She sighed and nodded at her friends.

"Rumors like that don't affect me anymore. Don't worry." She answered.

"Let's go to class. We're going to be late!" Luke shouted.

On the way to their classroom, Percy suddenly pulled her into an empty room.

"Hey. You're not okay. You can't lie to me; you know that." Percy whispered.

They were in the music room. Percy carried her so she could sit by the window while he stood in front of her.

She pouted. Percy always knew if she was bothered by something. Even though she told their friends that the rumors didn't bother her, Percy knew that she would always cry alone because of it.

"As long as you're with me, I'll be fine." She said in a gentle voice.

He didn't say a word and was just staring at her. She blushed and averted his eyes.

"Sophie, can I kiss you?" He suddenly asked.

She was surprised by his question and didn't respond for a moment.

The first time he kissed her was when they were twelve, but after that, Percy didn't take advantage of her. They held hands and hugged each other, then Percy would sometimes kiss her hand, but that was all. They didn't do anything more than that.

"W-Why do you have to ask permission? It feels more awkward if you ask me that." She exclaimed with a flushed face.

Percy chuckled. He asked because he didn't want to scare her. He wanted to kiss her for a long time, but he understood that they were still young and had limitations.

He touched her cheeks, tilting her face to level his. She stared into his eyes and bit her lips. He slowly leaned forward, kissing her forehead first, then gave her small kisses on the cheeks.

Her heart was pounding loudly as he got closer. She could feel his warm breath brushing through her face, with a smell of peppermint.

She closed her eyes when he was just a few inches away. Then she felt his lips gently pressed into hers.