Chapter 17
The voices weren’t loud, but they were indoors-Emily could hear every single word.
+20)
Lydia stood there looking innocent and helpless. “Emily, I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to show off how good Vincent is to me. I didn’t know you still loved him.
“I-I thought you hadn’t contacted us for the past two years because you’d already moved on. I really didn’t mean to upset you.”
Everyone heard her clearly. And now, the looks aimed at Emily carried even more hostility.
“I always heard Emily was jealous and mean. Guess it’s true. Ms. Bennett kindly told her to pick some clothes, and she just assumed Ms. Bennett was showing off like she would’ve done.”
“She must’ve come back just to take something from Ms. Bennett again. Everyone in Cloudridge knows how much she used to love Mr. Shaw. She’s clearly jealous now that he’s so good to Ms. Bennett.”
“She didn’t speak to her family for two years. She never loved Mr. Shaw-what she loved was Ms. Bennett’s status. Too bad Mr. Shaw and Ms. Bennett are in love. She’s never going to win.”
No one even bothered to lower their voices. They all jumped to the worst conclusions about Emily, like they were eager to say the nastiest things they could think of. It was always like this.
Emily didn’t understand why every time Lydia said something, everyone just believed her. In the end, they pinned all the worst things on Emily.
She had never done anything wrong, but in the end, she was always treated like a villain.
A dull pain spread across the back of her hand. She had clenched it too hard-it was almost numb.
She looked at Lydia, confused and tired. “Ms. Bennett, why do you always assume you know what I’m thinking?”
Her voice was quiet but clear. “I just wanted to spend more time with my grandpa and live my life. I never planned to take anything from you.
“You’re the heiress of the Bennett family. You’re Vincent’s fiancée. I’ve never once said I still loved him. So why do you see me as a threat?”
Her love for Vincent had already cost her too much. She couldn’t-wouldn’t-go back to St. Gabriel Reform Academy.
Maybe it was something in her voice, that faint trace of hopelessness, but the whole store suddenly went quiet.
Lydia seemed stunned. For a moment, she couldn’t meet Emily’s eyes, and her face showed a flash of panic.
She hadn’t expected Emily to say everything so plainly. Before, whenever people accused her, Emily had only stammered, “I didn’t… I didn’t do it,” like someone weakly denying a crime they committed.
It had only been two years, yet Emily felt like a completely different person.
Lydia bit her lip, then suddenly started crying. “I’m sorry, I misunderstood you. I was guessing things that weren’t true. It’s all my fault.
“I-I just saw that you were quiet since you came in, and you didn’t look well. Then you asked if I was showing off about Vincent, so I thought you were still upset over him.”
Her words planted a new idea in everyone’s head. They thought, ‘If Emily really has moved on, she won’t have acted so cold -or asked Lydia if she was showing off
Now they were sure Lydia had hit a nerve, and Emily was just lashing out after getting exposed.
The looks aimed at Emily turned cold again-harsher than before.
And right in the middle of it all, Emma suddenly rushed toward Emily, raising her hand.
