Chapter 26
hapter 26
Just as the atmosphere turned tense, Simone walked in. Julianne looked up and gave her a look.
Simone understood what she wanted immediately. Loudly, she said, “Don’t be afraid, Lianne! I’ve called the police! They’ll be here to arrest this vile woman who tried to kill you!”
Irvin frowned; his face darkening. “What are you talking about, Simone? Who told you to call the police? Besides, I don’t want to hear you insulting Emilia again!”
Irvin was weird. Most of the time, he treated me poorly, but there were times when he displayed surprising concern toward me.
“She almost killed Lianne. Why are you still defending her?” Simone demanded, pointing at me. “I saw her push Lianne into the pond with my own eyes. She said Lianne should die! An evil woman like her needs to face justice!”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Irvin snapped.
At the same time, Julianne looked at me smugly. She was threatening to send me to prison for real if I didn’t give her any shares.
Even if Irvin defended me , she was sure that she would be able to get me into prison if she really wanted to. In fact, everyone in this room would help her. With her “witness” present, I was done for.
I didn’t doubt that at all.
Unfortunately, even if she could make it happen, she wouldn’t succeed.
I smiled and waved my phone at her. I knew that she was smart enough to know what I meant.
Sure enough, her expression changed immediately. She looked at me in disbelief , as if just realizing something.
She probably hadn’t expected me to turn the tables on her–especially since she’d pushed me into the pond herself. Even if I had my phone with me , it would’ve been ruined after being submerged for so long.
Her reaction was understandable. In the past , I’d been too stupid. Whenever she framed me for something I didn’t do, I would just be upset quietly, internalizing all the hurt about my parents and Irvin’s distrust.
All I had done was exhaust myself emotionally, wondering if I wasn’t good enough. I’d never considered fighting back. I didn’t know what was wrong with me back then.
In the end, it turned out that getting hurt this time had done me a lot of good. At the
very
1/2
26
least, it shocked the stupid out of me.
+25 BONOS
Julianne was undoubtedly clever. Even though she knew something was wrong, she didn’t immediately change her tune. “Mom, Dad, maybe Millie feels embarrassed to apologize in front of everyone.
“Can you let me speak to her alone? Maybe we can work through the misunderstanding between us. She’s my sister and your biological daughter. No matter what, I don’t actually want her to be imprisoned.
“The thing is, we’re both fine now, but if this misunderstanding between us remains, we might not be as lucky next time…
Her sudden desire to speak to me privately was obviously suspicious, but my stupid family easily believed that she genuinely just wanted to talk to me. In fact, they were all worried for her because they didn’t want to leave her alone with me in such a delicate state.
It was only when Julianne said Simone could stay that they finally felt reassured enough to leave. They didn’t worry at all that the two of them might gang up on me.
Before he left, Irvin gave me a complicated look. He ruffled my hair and said, “Talk to Lianne.”
I didn’t care to decode his complicated expression. All I could think of was how dirty my hair was after he had touched me. Disgusted, I pulled out a pack of alcohol wipes and cleaned the spot where he