Chapter 1877

Fiona glanced up at Tyler, surprised by how sharp his sense of smell was.

Her own nose was pretty good, and she hadn't picked up any heavy perfume in the study, but the truth was clear-someone had been hiding there.

"You noticed it too?" Fiona grinned, her voice light. She pulled a small spray bottle from her bag, gave it a quick spritz inside the car, and turned to Tyler. "Can you tell what's in this?"

Tyler kept his eyes on the road, but he inhaled thoughtfully. After a moment, he said, “Osmanthus, jasmine, blue rose... and there's another flower I can't quite figure out."

"Hyacinth," Fiona offered.

"That's it. Hyacinth."

Fiona's eyes lit up like she'd struck gold. Finally-someone who could actually appreciate her newest perfume experiment.

She was still feeling pleased with herself when Tyler shot her a quick sideways look. "What's on your mind?"

"There's something I need your help with, actually."

"Sure. What is it?"

"I'll tell you in a few days. I'll have to take some time off from school, and I'll explain then."

"No problem."

While they talked, Tyler steered the car into the school parking lot. As soon as they got out, Fiona noticed a bunch of classmates whispering and pointing their way. Even students from other departments were giving them odd looks.

She and Tyler exchanged a wary glance-something was definitely up, and they were out of the loop.

The closer they got to their classroom, the more intense the stares became. When they finally walked in, Fiona was stunned: the room was packed, every seat taken. The usual noise and chatter died instantly as she and Tyler entered.

Neither of them had a clue what was happening. Fiona took her seat, but the girls who used to beg her for self-defense lessons now stared at her like she was trouble.

"Come on, that's enough! Weren't you all just begging Fiona to teach you self- defense? Now you're all blaming her because of some rumors online? Seriously?"

The voice belonged to Alice-Fiona recognized her right away. Just a few days ago, Alice had gotten caught cheating at the design competition and ended up in the nurse's office.

Fiona couldn't help but wonder. If anything, Alice should hate her. Why was she suddenly defending her? What had changed while she'd been away from campus?

How did someone who used to hate her end up being the only one willing to stick up for her? Sometimes, life really was bizarre.

"Alice, I can't believe you're actually taking Fiona's side," someone scoffed.

"Yeah, weren't you the one who got hurt after Fiona called you out for vote rigging? Why are you standing up for her now?"

Alice didn't bother with them. She

went straight for the heart of the matter. “Just tell everyone the truth Fiona. You're not the head of International Glam, and you had nothing to do with what happened with the Kidds or the Bryants, right?"

Fiona froze. How did they even know about that?

Her face went pale. She hadn't

expected this secret to get out-not even the Stonnell family knew. Only Jane knew about the Kidds, but Jane hadn't told her dad. As for the Bryants, only Jasmine's parents and Shelly were in on it, and they had their own reasons to keep quiet. The Woods family had signed NDAs; there was no way they'd talk.