"Lies! Don't listen to her words, everyone! My son knows many socialites. He has plenty of options to choose from. "Why would he pick you to be his companion to the party? Quit flattering yourself. Why don't you ask one of the socialites Matthew knows?"Brenda yanked a woman to the front from behind her. "This is Yanice. She desperately wanted to be Matthew's companion. And guess what? Her family is many times more prestigious than yours. If Matthew turned her down, what makes you think he'd say yes to you?"Yanice was originally quite happy to be brought to the limelight. But when Brenda told everyone how desperate she was, her face turned beet red. She hid behind Brenda, glaring at me silently. I felt even angrier. Why glare at me? I wasn't the one who told everyone that she was desperate. She should be glaring at Brenda instead. Why take it out on a nobody like me?Urgh, all these people were beyond reasonable."Well, I feel rather sorry for Yanice now. You called her a desp
Furthermore, many people had seen Matthew coming to talk to me. Brenda's boisterous behavior and lack of substantive evidence also made many distrust her claims."Leave me alone now, Mrs. Loxley. If you hurt me, I'll hold you accountable.""I will shove you and you can't do anything about it!""Mom, what are you doing?" A loud bellow echoed through the air. Brenda froze in her tracks. Her stumpy arms and clawing fingers looked ludicrous mid-air.I turned around, surprised. Why was Matthew here?Leo and Helen slowly guided Matthew to the scene.Then, Helen let Leo handle Matthew. She ran toward her mother and dragged her to where she had come from. On their way back, they were seen engaging in a hushed conversation. Helen's mother followed her daughter obediently. She too was mortified by what Brenda had done just now.Matthew leaned against Leo. His haggard countenance suggested that he was still in pain. He looked at his mother with a mix of emotions—there was sadness, disapp
The Loxleys' white-haired butler came to take Brenda away. Her cussing only stopped when she entered the car.I faltered out of exhaustion, almost falling to the ground.It was mortifying to be the subject of nasty insults in public. My mentality wasn't strong enough to endure the ordeal. Moments ago, all I could think about was to clear my name so that people wouldn't view me as the villain.Now that Brenda was gone, so was the strength in me. Would I resent Matthew for it? Truth be told, I would.Matthew's frail body swayed in the wind. In a hoarse voice, he uttered, "Sorry, Lulu. I promise this is the first and last time you'll hear from my mother."To everyone present, please accept my apology for the scene and inconvenience my mother has caused. Luna has the purest soul I know. She cares not about money or fame. All she wants is a genuine romantic connection."My behavior has caused her a lot of trouble, and I'd like to apologize sincerely to her. I hope all of you will fo
Now that Helen had apologized to me sincerely, how could I be mad at her? Her mother was her mother; she was she. I was mad, but I shouldn't get the two things mixed up."You think I'll forgive you after a simple apology?" I pouted playfully and looked away.Helen sniffled and continued, "What do you want me to do, then? Write an apology letter and post it on the school's forum?"What a bad idea. I didn't need more publicity."You'll buy me breakfast for a week. Otherwise, I won't forgive you."I gave her forearm a nudge. Helen was stunned for a while. Then, she leaped and clung to me like a sloth. "No, I'll buy you breakfast for a month! A week isn't enough to make my guilt disappear. Luna, you're a dummy! You should've used this opportunity to ask for anything. I can buy you a mansion if you want."See? That was the difference between a rich person and an ordinary person.I was off to a bad morning, but Helen brought warmth back to my world like the bright sun.Matthew and I
"What? You're an adult now. You study at the college every day, so you can befriend whoever you want," I said with my mouth full."That's because you don't know my parents. They won't let me stay at the dorm. I can't make any friends during classes. And as soon as I come out of the lecture hall, two scary-looking guards begin tailing me."They said it's to protect me. But by doing that, they're alienating me. Who wants to befriend someone who's perpetually followed by two intimidating men?"I tried imagining meeting someone who had two security guards with them 24/7. I had to say, the idea of it scared me. I would stay as far away from the person. One accidental bump and I might find myself in a lawsuit.After a hearty meal, I felt very content. I lounged on the bed and enjoyed the rest of my day.At 9:30 pm, Colin sent me a voice message, "What are you doing?""I had a bunch of snacks, and I'm going to sleep now. You don't have work to do? I'm surprised you left me a voice messa
Matthew and Helen played a pivotal role in my resounding victory. They were the reason why the debacle concluded that quickly."Are you sure?" Colin squinted his eyes dubiously."Hehe, I might have exaggerated the whole thing a bit. Matthew came, and let's just say that an explanation from him was a hundred times more effective than anything I could say.""I see. Either way, always prioritize your safety. Give me some time. It'll be over soon."I was so caught up in my overconfidence that I didn't hear what Colin said in the end.After we hung up, Helen, who was about to fall asleep, propped her head up on one elbow and stared at me."Shouldn't you go to sleep? It's eerie to stare at me like this when it's so late at night."Helen pursed her lips as if she had just found something amusing. "Lulu, you like Colin, don't you?""Of course, I do. He's my friend. I love him."She shook her head. "I'm not talking about that kind of love. When you were talking to him, your eyes sparkl
When I heard that Felix had intercepted Matthew's love letters for me, I was so mad that I went to his house to argue with him. I gave Felix an earful and refused to talk to him for a very long time.Now I knew I had gotten angry for the wrong reason. He was just trying to protect me.But he could have warned me. If I had known Brenda was this unreasonable, I would have stayed away from Matthew. The whole debacle wouldn't have transpired."I know what you're thinking. But back then, you glared at me as if I was your arch-nemesis. I was sure you wouldn't believe me. You might even think that I was plotting something and resent me further."Felix was right. I knew I might not have believed him even if he had told me. Still, this wasn't a valid excuse to keep everything from me.I knew he wouldn't believe me if I told him about what Lilac had done. But I did it nonetheless. Several times too. Couldn't he do what I did?Regardless, I decided to forgive him since he intercepted the le
I deleted and recomposed my reply many times. In the end, I only sent out one word, "Goodnight."Matthew didn't send me more text messages. I stared at my phone screen until it automatically switched off.While I couldn't return Matthew's feelings, hurting him was not my intention. Yet he was hurt both mentally and physically after what had happened.His birthday fell on Sunday. Helen called and asked if I wanted to attend his birthday party. She told me that his childhood friends would be there to celebrate the occasion. None of his family would be there.For a moment, I was enticed. I wanted to be there to apologize to him. Regardless of what his family had done to me, I couldn't deny that he had given me his heart.But as I thought further, I was sure that Matthew had endured much of the grief in the past month. The answer I had given him that night must have plunged him into the depth of despair. Soon enough, he would begin healing and move on.Attending his birthday party mi