Chapter 111
Lydia, seemingly oblivious to Emily’s coldness, stepped forward with a smile plastered on her face. “I’m here to apologize. Hope you’re not mad at Lucas anymore, Emily.
“Can you
believe it? Just to get me to do him this favor, Lucas blew his whole month’s allowance on this brand-new designer bag for me. He practically begged and sweet-talked me into coming.”
She gave a smug little flourish of the designer bag on her shoulder. “I told Lucas not to bother. We’re family, after all. As his only sister, of course, I’d help my little brother.
“But he insisted on getting this for me, saying I’m his one and only sister, and this was the only way to show how much he cherishes me.
“Listen, Emily, Lucas sending me here is him giving you a way to save face. Don’t be so damn ungrateful.”
She claimed she was here to apologize, but showed up empty-handed, with her expression dripping with provocation and smug triumph.
Emily knew this side of Lydia all too well. When they were alone, Lydia would always put on that smug look, flaunting Gale and Emma’s doting affection, Andrew’s blind indulgence, and Lucas’s unwavering backing.
The moment any Bennett family member appeared, Lydia would instantly switch to a wronged, put-upon expression and whimper, “It’s all my fault, Emily. Please don’t be mad at me.” She made it look as if Emily had bullied her.
In the past, out of concern for the Bennett family, Emily would frantically deny Lydia’s accusations and lash out at her in anger, only to end up earning even deeper disdain from the Bennetts.
At that moment, Emily simply stared at Lydia with cold indifference, as if she were watching a cheap street act.
Now that Emily was indifferent, Lydia’s flaunting seemed to her nothing more than a pathetic clown act.
Seeing Emily remain unresponsive for a while, Lydia’s smug expression froze.
Lydia thought, ‘What’s going on? Shouldn’t Emily be burning with jealous rage by now? Why is she just standing there silent, and how dare she look at me with that damn stare?’
Just as the standoff between them continued, Austin’s voice suddenly called out from inside, “Emily, who is it?”
Lydia’s contorted expression instantly shifted to shock as she eagerly craned her neck, straining to peer inside. She thought in shock, ‘Emily… She’s actually living with a man?’
The next moment, Austin’s handsome, sun-kissed face appeared behind Emily, immediately meeting Lydia’s eagerness, assessing gaze:
“Wait, isn’t that “Lydia” who was following Lucas just a few days ago? What the hell is she doing here?’ Austin thought, instantly on guard. He frowned, his smile dimming a fraction.
Lydia’s face lit up with a coy smile as she spoke in a deliberately timid voice, “Hello. I’m Lydia Bennett, the heiress of the Bennett Group. Are you Emily’s boyfriend?”
Her wide, innocent eyes sparkled with feigned shyness and open curiosity toward Austin.
Emily’s heart gave a sudden lurch, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on the doorknob.
The first time Lydia met Emily’s friends, she’d look at them with that same faux-shy, wide-eyed curiosity, then, in a sickly sweet, worshipful tone, she’d call their names with calculated intimacy.
And then, Lydia would effortlessly become the center of attention, with everyone fawning over her like moths to a
flame.
Like Xavier said, Lydia had this uncanny ability to enchant people, just a few honeyed words from her, and everyone would be fawning over her, rushing to defend her.
Even just an hour ago, they had sworn up and down to Emily that she was their only true friend, vowing to teach that upstart Bennett heiress, Lydia, a lesson.
‘My parents, my brothers, my lover, my friends… Emily thought, ‘Sooner or later, everyone around me ends up becoming Lydia’s loved ones. Austin, someone I’d only just met, how could he possibly be the exception?’
