“What are you guys talking about?”
Three heads snapped up to look at me on the second floor.
Derek was the first to recover, forcing a smile. “Flora! We were just chatting.”
Me: “?”
Is your ‘chatting‘ always this… ferocious?
I tilted my head, my gaze skipping past him to Christian. “Christian, what are you doing here?”
Christian casually pushed Derek aside and walked toward me, his voice softening considerably. “I came to take you back to school.”
Derek grabbed his collar. “Take her? Over my dead body!”
They both looked at me. “Flora?”
Me: “…”
My eyes landed on Rhea, who was sipping her tea, completely detached from the drama.
“Rhea, are you a student at S University too?”
She seemed surprised that the topic had shifted to her. She choked on her tea.
After dabbing her mouth with a tissue, she looked up at me, her expression unreadable. “Yeah. Why?”
My eyes lit up. “Then I’ll go back with you.”
44 2 2 4 4 Ed
- 5.
On the way, Rhea barely spoke to me.
To ease the tension, Mr. Evans kept trying to fill me in on her background. That’s how I learned that Rhea used to come over to my house to play all the time when we were little. Even though she was the housekeeper’s daughter, my parents doted on her. She was always quiet and introverted, the opposite of me.
Mr. Evans got carried away and let slip, “Flora, you and Rhea grew up together too. Whatever problems you had, you should just talk them out. You can still be good friends.”
Chapter 2
I frowned slightly. “Rhea and I had problems?”
Two coughs came from beside me. Rhea changed the subject.
She looked down at me, her voice cool and clear. “Your brother said you have dark pub
amnesia. You’re not just acting again, are you?”
Before I could speak, Mr. Evans jumped in. “Of course not! I was the one who handled her hospital admission!”
Rhea fell silent.
I watched her stare out the window, her head propped on her hand, and wondered what she
was thinking.
09:10
I couldn’t help but ask in a small voice,
“Rhea, what kind of person was I before?”
Rhea didn’t turn around, but her words were for me. “Why don’t you ask Derek and Christian?”
I sighed, cupping my face in my hands. “The things they tell me are a mix of truth and lies. They praise
“But you believe me?”
Rhea turned to look at me, casually listing my sins.
“You were selfish, arrogant, willful, and vicious.”
“The slightest thing that didn’t go your way, and you’d throw a tantrum, like you were possessed.”
I was stunned.
Rhea’s tone was calm. “Now that I’ve said that, do you believe it?”
I thought for a moment, then nodded.
This time, it was her turn to be stunned.
“I think you’re right. I was a really bad person before.”
me to the
heavens.
don’t believe them.”
