Love or Die CEO’s Daily Dose of Swoon

Chapter 8

Latham strode into the classroom, his arrival predating the bell’s chime by mere seconds.

He dropped a stack of thick papers onto the desk at the front, Daniel, would you mind handing these out?”

A hush fell over the room as Cordelia, seated at the back, watched necks crane and bodies lean forward in anticipation. As the papers made their rounds, a cacophony of sighs and gasps peppered the air from every

comer.

Daniel, a slim figure with glasses that seemed too heavy for his face, approached Juliana and handed her the

paper.

Curiosity bubbled up from the desks, “What do you get?”

Juliana glanced at her score with a mix of ease and pride in her voice. “A”

“And you nailed that with these brain–busters? Impressive!”

Juliana feigned modesty. ‘Oh, it’s nothing. I’m still trailing behind Hanley”

“No need to compare with that guy who is been raking in math awards since he was in diapers. But you know, you’re two peas in a pod, academically speaking.

Amidst the surrounding exclamations of admiration, Juliana inevitably drifted her gaze to the back row

With a hint of teasing, she said, “Daniel, would you be a dear and check my cousin’s grade?”

Fumbling through the papers, Daniel didn’t find Cordelia’s but instead pulled out Hanley’s and promptly handed it over…

Before the commotion could settle, Latham announced from the front, “This math test, there’s only one perfect score in the entire grade, and it’s from our class!”

“Wow!”

“Hanley’s got to be the man, right?”

As the class buzzed with astonishment, Hanley quietly exhaled in relief.

a few questions, but it

You’re a genius,” came Juliana’s congratulations.

into a smile at

learned that his family had arranged for him to marry Juliana, a relief in itself. A guy like him deserved nothing but the best, after

Not too

before his eyes as Daniel placed

at the result. His smile froze, ‘A?

a breathless Latham added, “Let’s extend our warmest congratulations to Cordelia! Her grasp of mathematics is remarkable. Despite the difficulty of this exam, her result was unexpected,

whispers and turned

back row.

lift her head, her gaze sharpening on him. Then, with

Hanley’s cheeks as if slapped by

was equally frozen, her mind a loop of denial, “Impossible! How?‘

“Class dismissed!”

up the review just in time for the

sooner had he gone than the room erupted

“Screech!”

“Hey, you’re Cordelia, right? I’m Merry,” she announced, her vibrant pink hair and dramatic makeup reminiscent of a cartoon character. She popped her bubblegumn

her for a moment, replying simply, “Nice to meet

top spot. I gotta say I’ve had it up to here with Hanley and Juliana, prancing around like they own the place just because

with a

“I heard the Foster family thought your grades were embarrassing, so they called

silent, her first impression of Merry being that of an overfriendly blabbermouth.

Juliana, playing her role as a volunteer, collected the papers. The first thing was check Cordelia’s result. Upon seeing the grade, Juliana

approached Cordelia, paper in hand, just in time to catch Merry’s comment. “Hanley is no one–trick pony,” Juliana

she did

handed Cordelia her Literature paper, “B+. Cordelia, with this result, do you think you can take

and tilted her head at Juliana,” I’m not sure whether Cordelia beats Hanley or not, but she’ll definitely better than you. What’s there for you to be so smug

you’re at the bottom, I suppose you have no room for pride.” Merry chuckled, “Oh, I couldn’t be prouder to

off, fuming.

end of the school day, posted on the wall for all to see.

to her. She grabbed her bag and was the