Flora’s Guide to a Second Chance at Love and Life

Sophie rubbed her wrist and quickly retreated about three feet away from Flora. Flora was wild, always quick to throw a punch at the slightest disagreement, and Sophie was genuinely intimidated by her. But she was a sophomore, a year ahead of Flora, and an officer in the student council. Being humiliated by Flora in front of so many people was a bitter pill to swallow.

She redirected all her anger towards Kaylee. "Wendy, it was Kaylee who stepped on and ruined the flowers meant for Rafael. The party is about to start, and it's too late to find replacements. In desperation, I just said a few words to Kaylee, and she had someone hit me. How can someone like that stay in the student council?"

"Enough," Wendy said, irritation clear in her voice. "First, think of a way to fix this. I remember we had some artificial starflowers left over from the last party. Go get them and make do."

"But those are fake flowers. Giving them to Rafael would be so disrespectful," Sophie protested reluctantly.

"He's a big star; he won't mind such a small thing," Wendy replied, though she knew giving artificial flowers wasn't ideal. But it was too late to buy new ones now.

Seeing that Wendy wasn't going to blame Kaylee, Sophie felt even worse. "Teacher!" she called out, spotting the event coordinator approaching.

The teacher strode over briskly. "What's the matter?"

"The flowers meant for Rafael were stepped on. We're figuring out how to fix it," Sophie explained.

The teacher's face darkened instantly when she saw the ruined flowers in Kaylee's arms. "Who did this? Didn't I say to be careful?"

"Teacher, I'm sorry, it was my fault," Kaylee said, her voice small and filled with remorse.

The teacher, who knew Kaylee as one of the more talented students in the fashion design department, was both angry and at a loss for words.

"It's just a bunch of flowers; let it go," a male voice said from the doorway.

A man in a black shirt and trousers walked in, his single earring glinting under the light. Everyone backstage gasped. It was Rafael!

The moment Rafael spoke, Kaylee turned around. Her heart pounded so hard it felt like it might leap out of her chest. Instinctively, she hid the ruined flowers behind her back.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

"Mr. Zhai, what brings you backstage?" the teacher asked, regaining her composure and nearly biting her tongue as she looked at Rafael's devilishly handsome face. She felt a wave of panic, fearing Rafael would think the University of Maple Grove didn't respect him.

"Let me see," Rafael said, standing in front of her and reaching out his hand. His sharp jawline softened a bit as he looked down. His voice was lazy, with a hint of wildness.

Kaylee, her knees weak, instinctively handed him the flowers.

"These are fine," Rafael said, weighing the flowers in his hand and smiling at the teacher. "Since the flowers were meant for me and I think they're fine, let's not blame the students anymore, okay?" Sophie bit her lip in jealousy, nearly drawing blood.