My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 43

The old campus was barely ten minutes’ walk from the main school building.

As soon as Emily Blair stepped onto school grounds, she immediately sensed something was off.

It wasn’t just her classmates—plenty of strangers, too, were casting looks her way, each glance laced with thinly veiled disdain.

The closer she got to the school’s center, the more intense the stares became. A few freshmen even ran up, openly gawking at her.

It wasn’t until a sympathetic classmate pulled her aside that Emily finally learned the truth.

She’d already deleted Amelia Lane’s post from the school forum, but someone had cross-posted it to a much bigger social media platform—and the post was quickly gaining traction.

The reason? It implicated world-renowned pianist Isabella Austin.

Amelia’s original post had at least tried to mask identities, but once it was reposted, it left nothing to the imagination. Names were dropped, and it all but spelled out that Andrew Lane and Isabella Austin were childhood sweethearts, inseparable, and practically engaged.

But then, along came a senior—Emily Blair—who, supposedly unable to stand being left out, had forced herself into their relationship, trying to break them apart.

Isabella Austin had fans across continents, and many of them already knew about her romance with Andrew Lane. They adored him, too—he was the perfect match. So when the post went viral, Isabella’s fans erupted in fury, flooding social media with insults and calling Emily a homewrecker.

But when Emily first saw the post, she didn’t feel angry. If anything, she found it darkly amusing.

A “world-famous pianist”? Really?

Seeing Isabella Austin's name, Emily couldn’t help but recall the way Andrew Lane always looked at Isabella—with that strange intensity.

But the truth was, Isabella Austin didn’t have an ounce of musical talent. Every piece she’d ever “composed” had been bought and paid for, created by others behind the scenes.

She knew the event would feature both Isabella Austin and Andrew Lane as guest performers.

Originally, Isabella hadn’t planned to attend. But when she heard Emily would be performing that day as well, Isabella suddenly agreed—insisting on a duet with Andrew Lane.

Emily remembered it all too well. That day, in her previous life, Isabella had sabotaged the piano Emily had prepared for her own performance. Not only had she lost her chance to play, she’d been publicly blamed by the school.

It was also the day Emily finally saw Isabella Austin’s true face—and the sham behind her so-called genius.

Emily had been given a second chance at life. This time, she intended to return the favor with interest.

As for the whispers and gossip? She hardly gave them a thought.