Chapter 321
Chapter 321
The invitation card not only listed the usual time and place, but also had an extra name written in bold, capital letters: “T.” And at the bottom, there was Amy’s own handwritten signature.
Lydia thought, ‘Wait, Emily is Tato? She was personally invited by Amy?’ Although she was usually such a good actress, she couldn’t keep her composure this time-her face changed instantly.
The people behind her, still clueless, craned their necks to get a better look. One of them muttered, “I wanna see that invitation for myself.”
Before the person could finish, Lydia snapped the invitation shut and instinctively hid it behind her back.
Then she put on a look of fake sincerity and innocence as she said, “The invitation is real. I saw it myself. Looks like we misunderstood you, Emily. Emily, you’re not mad at us, are you?”
Emily wasn’t in the mood for her games. She simply held out her hand and said, “Give me back my invitation.”
Lydia, of course, wasn’t about to hand it over. Her eyes turned red with grievance, brimming with fake tears. She said, “Emily, does this mean you don’t want to forgive us?
“We really didn’t mean to misunderstand you. It was all because of what happened before. If you’re still upset, I’ll apologize for everyone. You can yell at me, hit me, whatever you want-just take it out on me.”
She put on her best “I’m willing to suffer for everyone” act, tears trembling on her lashes, as if she were the most pitiful person in the world.
The crowd, who had been feeling a bit awkward about their earlier misunderstanding, instantly tossed aside any guilt. They aggressively closed ranks around Lydia, glaring at Emily.
One of them snapped, “Lydia already apologized. Why are you still making such a fuss about it?”
Another said, “Lydia already said it was just a misunderstanding. Why can’t you just let it go? Are you picking on Lydia just because she’s kind and easy to bully?”
Someone else said, “It’s Amy’s birthday party today-are you trying to stir up drama on purpose just to get noticed by her?”
Emily watched them lose their tempers, completely unfazed, like she wasn’t even the one they were all ganging up on. She’d seen this kind of scene way too many times since Lydia came back to the Bennett Family-by now, it barely even fazed her.
Sure, the Bennett Family had blood ties to Lydia and had known Emily for years, but these people were total strangers. Emily wondered why they were all so hostile toward her.
Emily thought, ‘It is like, as long as Lydia is around, everyone would just automatically take her side and shield her, no questions asked. This is seriously creepy!’
Emily gave Lydia, who was being shielded by the crowd, a thoughtful once-over.
The look in Emily’s eyes sent a chill down Lydia’s spine-it was as if Emily could see right through her, like all her darkest secrets were about to be dragged into the light.
Soon enough, Emily withdrew her gaze and calmly turned her attention to the group of people blocking her way.
She said, “I just wanted my invitation back, and you all say I’m bullying Lydia. But you accused me of sneaking in without even asking, and now you’re all ganging up on me. Isn’t that bullying, too?”
What the group was doing counted as bullying, but they cared too much about saving face to ever admit it.
1/2
You’re talking nonsense,” one of them stammered.
No one dared to admit they were bullying Emily, but one could hear the guilt in their voices.
Seeing that no one spoke up, Lydia, looking all pitiful as she hid behind the crowd, couldn’t help but grit her teeth. She thought, ‘What a bunch of useless idiots!”
She tightened her grip on the invitation, showing no intention of handing it over.
