Monday morning, Angel rushed into school, excitement radiating from her. She dragged Vicky and Mira to the information board, where she hesitated. "Vicky, can you check it for me? I'm too scared," Angel asked, gripping Mira's hand tightly.
Vicky checked the board and returned with a sympathetic face. "I'm sorry, Angel. You'll have to prepare for the competition." Vicky said before giving a bright smile. "You scored the highest" she screamed. Angel's face lit up as she realized she'd qualified. "I'm in?" she screamed, jumping and running around.
After calming down, Angel visited Mr. Matthew's office to collect competition materials. "Congratulations, Angel," Mr. Matthew said. "I'll be monitoring your progress closely."
At home, Angel's excitement was palpable. However, Christina mentioned that the competition date coincided with their anniversary celebration. "I don't think we can attend," Christina said. Mr. Gabriel decided to postpone the celebration, but Christina felt neglected.
In a fit of anger, Christina stormed into Angel's room. "You're trying to destroy our relationship, aren't you? Your competition is on the same date as our celebration." " You should be grateful he adopted you, you would have died if he didn't" Christina said as she walked out of the room.
Christina's words left Angel feeling unsettled.
That night, Angel couldn't shake off Christina's words, wondering if she was adopted. For the next week, Angel was torn between studying and doubts about her parentage.
One morning, Angel finally gathered the courage to ask her father about it. "Dad, can I ask something?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Okay sweetheart, what is it?" Mr. Gabriel's expression changed, noticing that something was bothering Angel.
"Dad, Am I adopted?"
Mr. Gabriel's eyes widened, and he looked taken aback. "What makes you think that? You look just like me. Did someone say something"
"I'm sorry Dad, it just came to my mind" Angel apologized, feeling relieved as her dad cleared her doubt.
Her dad's answer had eased all her worries, and she knew she was worried for no reason. As she walked alongside her friends, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "I'll be heading to the library now; I really need to study," she said, waving to her friends and walking towards the library.
She was working and thinking when someone called her name. "Hey Angel, or whatever you call yourself. You got me suspended and withdrawn from the math competition, and now I heard you took the spot that was mine," Isabel said, walking towards Angel angrily.
"I didn't get you suspended; you just reaped the consequence of bullying me. And I got this spot in the competition because I worked for it. I didn't even know you were the one who was supposed to participate," Angel responded, looking at Isabel with confidence.
"I've dug deep about you. I told you nothing passes me. You gave me two weeks of free time, enough to put in all efforts to know everything about you," Isabel said. "You live with your dad, who recently got married, and he's a mechanical engineer, right?"
"Don't mess with me again if you know what's good for you, adopted little b****," Isabel said as she walked away. Angel stood still, confused and shocked. What Isabel said echoed in her mind as she walked into an empty class.
With tears in her eyes, she sat on the first seat. "Am I really adopted? They must be lying, right?" she wondered out loud, tears flowing freely from her eyes. "Dad couldn't have lied to me. It must all be a joke. But how could they both be lying?" she cried out loud, her voice shaking as she spoke with tears flowing.
After what felt like a very long time, Angel's tears stopped flowing, and she sat quietly, looking dazed. "I didn't know Angels cried," someone said from the back of the class, and Angel looked back at the dark figure walking towards her. It was Dan.
Dan walked slowly towards Angel, his eyes fixed intently on her face. His dark hair was perfectly styled, and his sharp jawline was accentuated by a hint of stubble. He wore a casual yet stylish outfit, and his confident stride commanded attention.
Dan, who was at the back of the dark class, had seen Angel walk in crying. He had heard all she said and had decided to let her cry it out. His eyes narrowed as he watched her cry. Her fragile form and quiet sobs had tugged at his emotions. When he saw she had stopped crying, he walked closer.