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Chapter 52
After Regina’s classmates offered their comforting words, Mr. Adams, sensing the late hour, gathered the students to leave.
Regina, clutching the bouquet, walked them to the hospital entrance, watching as they boarded their cars.
She waved goodbye.
Two classmates in their car were taken aback by her demeanor.
“I didn’t expect Regina to be so approachable in private. She always seems so aloof,” one remarked.
“Yeah, and she’s so gentle!” the other added.
The other one added, “Who knew someone so capable could also be so friendly?”
“I know, right?” the guy smiled.
Regina waited until the last car disappeared from sight, her smile fading as she turned around.
Since she had come out to see her classmates off, only a few people remained with her: Hugh, Brad, and Clive.
With no one else there, it felt like the right moment to talk.
A cocky grin spread across Regina’s face. “Brad, you still think I need your lame pity after all this?”
Brad remained silent, head down, unsure of what to say.
He felt utterly humiliated.
Hugh scoffed. “Regina, you don’t actually think your classmates genuinely like you, do you? They’re just sucking up to you because you’re a level ten and because your adoptive mother is Scarlett. It’s not real affection!”
Regina sneered. “I know. It’s all fake on my part, too.”
Hugh raised an eyebrow. “Then why did you look so touched, like you were about to cry?”
Regina’s lips curled into a smirk. “I faked it.”
Hugh was bewildered. “What?”
Stephen and Julian Hayes strode into the hospital, nearly bumping into Regina, who had her back to them.
The brothers froze, then discreetly stepped back into a corner to eavesdrop.
Regina, clad in a hospital gown and holding a massive bouquet, spoke with biting sarcasm, “I’m not an emotional person, and I certainly don’t expect others to be genuire with me. I simply react accordingly.
“So what if they want to get on my good side? They put in the effort, they had expectations, and I played along. It satisfied their needs, and it satisfied mine.”
Hugh frowned. “What needs?”
Regina gave a small smile. “Feeling good about myself.”
Hugh looked puzzled.
Regina brought the flowers to her nose, inhaling their scent, and continued calmly, “Let me be frank, Hugh. The only areas where I’ve ever stumbled are family and friendship.
“Everywhere else, I’m popular. People flock to me because I’m the strongest. Those who admire me are like waves crashing at my feet, and those who despise me are left groveling in the dirt.”
Hugh was taken aback, opening his mouth to retort.
Regina, anticipating his objection, cut him off. “Are you going to say their feelings are all fake?”
Hugh, his thoughts exposed, frowned in silence.
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Regins countered. “As long as I remain powerful, their feelings will remain real. So does it really matter if it’s genuine or not? Maintaining my strength and staying ahead is what truly matters, isn’t it?”
Hugh was speechless.
Regina watched with amusement as he struggled to respond.
She had returned to the Mitchell family in her past life with some hope.
She wished her biological parents wouldn’t scold or abuse her, that they’d smile at he.
And they turned out to be anything but.
They’d barely acknowledged her after the first day.
And Melinda never had to confront her; a few tears were all it took for her family to cater to her every whim.
The love of a father, a mother, and two brothers was like a beautiful flower in someone else’s garden – Regina could only admire it from afar.
So, for the latter half of that life, she’d feit empty. With nothing else to do, she’d secretly returned to the underground boxing scene.
At first, it was for tuition money; later, it was an outlet.
