Page 156 of Bad Prince

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Not anymore.

Not like before.

But then someone laughs.

Soft.

Sharp.

Directed.

And something in me snaps.

I spin.

“Say it louder.”

Silence drops like a weight.

No one expected that.

Good.

“I don’t give a fuck,” I say, voice cutting clean through the room.

A few girls flinch.

Others freeze.

“Okay?”

I step forward.

Not aggressive.

Just… unbothered.

Controlled.

“I’m the one who turned him down.”

That lands.

Hard.

“You can hashtag it if you want,” I add, a sharp smile tugging at my mouth. “#rejectedVale. Go ahead.”

A couple of them look away.

One mutters something under her breath.

I don’t wait for a response— instead I slam the locker shut.

Metal cracks through the room like a warning shot.

And I walk out.

The hallway outside the gym is quieter.

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