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.

night had been a toss–up on a few questions, but it seemed they were

You’re a genius,”

lips into a smile at her words.

just learned that his family had arranged for him to marry Juliana, a relief in itself. A

Not too shabby.

his eyes as Daniel placed

smile froze, ‘A?

added, “Let’s extend our warmest congratulations to Cordelia! Her grasp of mathematics is remarkable. Despite the difficulty

erupted into whispers and turned

back row.

his eyes in disbelief, turning to see Cordelia slowly lift her head, her gaze sharpening on him. Then, with

rushed to Hanley’s cheeks as if slapped by an invisible hand.

him, Juliana was equally frozen, her mind a loop of

“Class dismissed!”

up the review just in time for

had he gone than the room

“Screech!”

across the floor as Merry, Cordelia’s front–row neighbor, swung around in her seat. With the laxity of a ragdoll, she leaned on Cordelia’s desk. “Hey, you’re Cordelia, right? I’m Merry,” she announced, her vibrant pink

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

his top spot. I gotta

a noncommittal, “Oh.”

her chatter, “I heard the Foster family thought your grades were embarrassing, so they called off the engagement?

silent, her first impression of Merry being that of

papers. The first thing was check Cordelia’s result.

time to catch Merry’s comment. “Hanley is no one–trick pony,” Juliana interjected. “He

she did

“B+. Cordelia, with this result, do you

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

retort, Juliana sneered, “Considering you’re at the bottom, I suppose you have no room for pride.” Merry chuckled, “Oh,

stormed off, fuming.

of the school day, posted on the wall

to her. She grabbed her bag