Chapter 28

Aaron had been given a new name when he was adopted after disappearing as a child; otherwise, she could have just looked up 'Aaron Scott'. Northpine had dozens of high schools, and she couldn't exactly go to each one and demand, “Bring me your biggest troublemaker!" They'd think she was crazy.

Besides, “troublemaker” was a vague term. If you'd asked her who the top dog was when she was at Pinecrest, she wouldn't have known. Every class had a few rowdy kids; she had no idea which one would qualify for the title.

They reached the door to Class One just as the bell rang for the end of the period. A stampede of energetic high school boys poured out into the hallway like a herd of wildebeests. Anna instinctively shielded Marguerite to keep her from being knocked

over.

Anna, twenty-five and exuding a cool, professional aura, stood in the hallway with a stunningly beautiful girl who looked to be high school age herself. They naturally drew a lot of attention.

Marguerite, however, felt right at home. For her, high school had only been a month ago. Her clear eyes scanned the students coming out. "Is Joseph here?" she asked loudly. "I'm looking for him."

"Whoa, she's looking for Joseph!"

"Is this another girl from a different school confessing her love to him? She's gorgeous! What did that kid do to deserve this?"

“Joseph! A girl's here for you!” one of the boys shouted back into the classroom.

Joseph didn't even look up from his book. "Tell her to leave. I don't have time." He was swamped with work; he had no time for romance.

The boy who had shouted turned back to Marguerite with an awkward smile. "That's just Joseph. Don't be offended, miss. I'll go drag him out here for you!" It was a crime for Joseph to ignore a beauty like her. She could easily be the most popular girl at Pinecrest.

Marguerite stepped out from behind Anna. "It's okay, I'll go in. Anna, you can wait for me out here."

Anna nodded. Her phone was ringing anyway.

Marguerite had also been in Class One back in the day, though this wasn't the same classroom. The helpful, slightly chubby boy who had shouted for Joseph followed her in. "He's sitting over there," he said, pointing.

Marguerite walked over and sat down in the empty seat in front of Joseph. She tapped her long, slender fingers on his desk. “Hey."

Joseph looked up, annoyed. "What do you want?" The next second, he froze, his eyes widening slightly.

This girl was stunning, her face as

delicate as a porcelain doll, with clear captivating almond shaped

eyes And she looked so familiar, like he'd seen her somewhere before.

Joseph resembled his brother Joshua, with handsome, well-defined features.

Marguerite smiled pleasantly. "I just wanted to ask if you've had any trouble with any... particularly rowdy students lately. From this school or another, doesn't matter." It seemed like the most logical way to ask. For Aaron to have put Joseph in the hospital, there must have been some kind of conflict between them. Aaron wouldn't have just attacked him out of the blue.

Confused as to why this beautiful girl was asking him such a question, Joseph

thought for a moment and shook his head. "No."

Marguerite frowned. "Think harder."

Joseph searched his memory again, and then his eyes lit up. "I know who you look

like! You look just like my brother's high school girlfriend."

Marguerite was speechless. "That's not what I asked you to think about!"

No matter how many times she asked, Joseph insisted he hadn't had any conflicts with anyone recently he got along with everyone Marguerite was getting a headache. Maybe the part of the story with

Joseph and Aaron hadn't happened yet.

“Alright, let's exchange contact information. If you do run into any trouble with anyone, just message me, okay?"

After getting his number, Marguerite left the classroom. Joseph watched her leave, then quickly snapped a photo of her back and sent it to his brother.

[Bro, this girl looks exactly like your high school girlfriend!]