"You’re brilliant Ariana. But since you’re this nervous, let me open it for you." Gregory reached out.


    Ariana hesitated, then handed the envelope to him. "Okay. But read it out loud."


    "I promise, Ariana, if you pass this, which I know you will, I’ll give you anything you want," Chris added with a grin.


    "Anything?" Ariana’s eyes lit up.


    "Anything," he repeated confidently.


    Even if seeing Penny all beautifulst night had destroyed him, he would learn to love Ariana, while also making her sister his mistress. At the end of the day, Ariana was his real wife.


    Greg tore the envelope open in one swift motion and pulled out the document inside. His face immediately lit up like a proud father. But then... something shifted.


    His smile faded.


    His brow furrowed.


    "What is it?" Ariana asked, her voice suddenly small.


    "M... Maybe I’m seeing things wrong. Chris, take a look at this." Greg handed over the paper, blinking hard like the letters were ying tricks on him.


    Abby rolled her eyes. "I’ve told you to wear your sses, Greg. How do you n to read bedtime stories to our future grandkids like this?" she scolded sweetly.


    Greg scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry."


    "It’s alright, Father," Ariana said, bouncing slightly with anticipation. "Chris, read it out loud. And get ready to pay up! You brought this on yourself remember so don’t go back on your words."


    But Chris didn’t read anything.


    He just stared.


    "What’s taking you so long?" Abby snapped, yanking the file from his hands. She stared down at the paper. And froze.


    Arianaughed. "He’s probably just shocked at my victory."


    Abby’s voice was cold. "What victory?"


    She looked up, her eyes narrowing. "It says here you failed. Not just that, you’ve been banned from retaking the project because of how poorly it was done."


    The world tilted.


    "What?" Ariana’s voice cracked.


    She grabbed the file from Abby and scanned the paper herself.


    There it was, <strong><i>FAILED, </i></strong> written in bold, unforgiving letters. And below it, a red inked warning: <strong><i>Banned from rewriting. Final decision.</i></strong><fnf034> ?????? ???? find(?)ovel</fnf034>


    Her heart dropped to her stomach.


    This couldn’t be right. Penny had done that project for her. And Penny never failed.


    No. No, this wasn’t happening.


    "There’s got to be a mistake," Ariana gasped. Her hands trembled. "I... I’m Ariana. I can’t fail. This is wrong!"


    She refuses to ept this!


    Her family cannot know she was dumb and had no idea what was going on in school. They cannot know Penny had been the one doing all of her projects.


    "I thought the same," Greg said, still stunned. "That’s why I passed it to Chris. You’re the brightest student in your department. Already selected as the best graduating student, even before graduation. This doesn’t make sense."


    "If someone tampered with your result, they’ll answer to me," Abby said sharply.


    Ariana nodded quickly, desperate. "Yes. Yes, someone must have forged this. I can’t fail. I refuse to fail!" It’s the only lie she cane up with at the moment while she figures out her life.


    Chris finally spoke, his tone gentle. "Don’t worry, Ari. We’ll get to the bottom of this."


    Ariana was shaking now, near tears. "Please do. If this isn’t fixed, I might have to start over... or worse, drop out. And Miss Pen... Miss Pen would never ept a dropout."


    She broke down sobbing, and Chris pulled her into his arms, patting her back softly.


    "Shh... It’ll be okay," he whispered. "We’ll fix this. I promise."


    "And who is even that Pen to reject my daughter-inw. I’m telling you Ari, no one wants to mess with the Adkins. Not even Miss Pen. She cannot reject you." Abby said.


    "Thank you, mother." Ariana wipes her tears. "I have no idea why someone would want to sabotage me like this. They know this project is dear to me, yet they still found ways to sabotage me." She used.


    But behind her sobs, one thought wed through her mind like a sharp knife. Did Penny do this for one purpose?


    Did that stupid fat bitch fail her on purpose?


    Is this the reason she had confidently told her that Miss Pen will never ept her?


    Ariana gritted her teeth. Penny will pay for this. Just because she now has a father does not make her untouchable. She’ll make sure Penny pays for this.


    "It’s alright Ari, everything will be fine. Let me make a few calls and settle this." Greg brought out his cellphone and dialed a few numbers as he stepped out.


    After a few minutes, he was back. "I just called your school Ariana," Greg said.


    "What did they say? Have they resolved it yet?" Aria asked eagerly.


    "They said no mistake was made on their part. But we’ll have to go to school to recheck everything and know the what the problem is." Ariana nodded.


    "That’s good. And I swear whoever did this, will not go scot free." Abby said.