Chapter 134
Nobody likes being threatened-not even the principal, who’s always been used to calling the shots. He had no choice but to give in to Emily, but that didn’t mean he would simply take her threats lying down.
After Emily was out of sight, he immediately dialed Yvonne. Sometimes, coercion and inducement weren’t mutually exclusive.
From the moment they stepped out of the principal’s office, Emily and Tina remained silent. As Emily was about to call a cab, Tina’s voice suddenly came from behind her. “Why didn’t you take the principal’s deal?”
Although she didn’t know what was in the file, she saw the principal’s unease. Had Emily just wanted to, she could not only have returned to school, but might even have shed the “plagiarism” label.
But she didn’t do any of that-her only demand was to clear her mother’s name. ‘Wouldn’t she think this was a raw deal?’
Emily paused in her tracks and turned to face Tina. Her expression conflicted. Emily said, “Louisa got dragged into this because of me. It was my mistake. No one else should pay for it.”
She thought, ‘If only I had faced reality on my eighteenth birthday-if I hadn’t clung to those illusory family bonds-maybe neither Louisa nor I would have gone through all that.’
Tina hadn’t expected her to say that. Deep down, she knew she couldn’t entirely blame Emily for what happened to Louisa.
But after the incident, she tried every means to reach out to Emily, hoping she would step forward and clear things up. But Emily vanished, off living her carefree life overseas, as if Louisa’s suffering meant nothing to her.
She was seething with anger and helplessness, feeling sorry for Louisa. That’s why she harbored such deep resentment toward Emily.
But in that moment, she genuinely sensed Emily’s remorse and her need to make amends. Tina couldn’t hold back anymore. “Why did you just disappear without a word? If you had shown up, my mom wouldn’t have been left so utterly helpless.”
Emily’s heart quivered, and her clenched fists shook uncontrollably. “Sorry.”
Her apology wasn’t what Tina wanted to hear. She pressed, “Why didn’t you show up back then?”
Horrific memories flashed through Emily’s mind, turning her deathly pale. Emily’s voice came out hoarse. “I’m sorry…” She didn’t know what else to say—an apology was all she could manage.
She dared not speak of her time at St. Gabriel Reform Academy. Revealing it would endanger not only anyone who knew, but herself as well.
‘Whether I live or die, it doesn’t matter to me, Emily thought. ‘But they had sacrificed everything to get me out-I have to keep living!
Fury surged through Tina again. She saw that Emily had something she couldn’t say, but all she wanted was just a simple explanation. Tina didn’t understand what on earth could be so hard for her to say.
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Chapter 134
Tina took a deep breath, and her voice laced with fury. “The damage is already done. What good is an apology?” With a scathing tone, she snapped, “If I stabbed you and then just said sorry, would that make it all okay?”
Emily had no words to counter her. She could only remain silent. Tina’s anger flared even hotter. Fearing she might lose control and lash out, Tina shot Emily a final furious glare and then stormed off.
‘After everything mom went through-two years of being slandered, her whole carcer nearly ruined-and she doesn’t even get an explanation. How is that fair?’
Emily knew all Tina wanted was an explanation, but that was the one thing she couldn’t give. Nor could she bring herself to lie to Louisa.
Emily knew she had rendered Louisa’s life miserable, and she could never fully amend. If she ever got the chance, she was determined to make it up to her. But for now, all she could do was clear Louisa’s name.
Just as Emily had anticipated, the principal was indeed forced to comply. He retracted the dismissal notice for Louisa, expunged her disciplinary record from two years prior, and even issued an official statement declaring that the accusations against her had been a malicious fabrication.
When Tina brought the news to the hospital, Louisa’s first reaction was to clutch her daughter’s hand tightly.
Her voice trembling with urgency, she demanded, “What about the evidence I found? Now that the principal has admitted I was framed, has he reopened the investigation into Emily’s plagiarism case?”
