Chapter 18
Giselle halted her footsteps. Instead, she stood in place and listened.
After Leon, Zane, and Steve confessed their love for Cheryl simultaneously, they observed her reaction keenly.
However, Cheryl didn’t let any emotions show. She leisurely poured herself a cup of tea.
Leon pleaded, “Cheryl, I know I’ve come to realize my true feelings too late. In the past, I was stuck under Giselle’s spell. I thought you were spoiled and proud. It’s all my fault. We grew up together, but I was deluded by her pitiful demeanor and misunderstood you.”
He then pulled out a pearl figurine and offered it to Cheryl, saying, “Cheryl, I know I hurt you in the past. Look, this is the pearl figurine you threw away in a fit of anger. I had a new one made for you. Stop holding a grudge, alright? Come back with me. We can start all over again.”
“I’ve realized my mistake now,” Zane immediately added. He took out a crystal tiara and continued, “Look, I got you a prettier crystal tiara than the one you threw away. You’ll always be my little princess, so come home with me.”
Steve produced a framed photo of them when they were 18. Then, he promised, “Cheryl, I reprinted this photo of us. Take a look at it. We’ve barely been apart for the past two decades. No one knows you better than us. Come home with me, and I’ll spoil you as I used to before.”
They held each offering out and waited for Cheryl’s response with bated breath.
Chuckling, Cheryl met Leon’s eyes and shot back, “So you do know we grew up together, Leon? And here I thought Giselle was the one who grew up with you. You trusted her word over mine and got the wrong idea of me. Isn’t that ridiculous?”
Cheryl took the pearl figurine from Leon and let it slip between her fingers. The strings holding the figure together snapped, and pearls scattered all over the floor.
“Zane, aren’t you embarrassed by your words? When the four of us went camping, you drove the other two home in the dead of the night and left me stranded at the campsite. You took the car away, not giving a damn about whether I’d be scared or not. Is that the sort of ‘princess‘ treatment you were referring to?”
Grabbing the crystal tiara, she smashed it onto the floor, causing it to fracture into pieces. The pieces went flying toward Leon, Zane, and Steve. Even through their blazer pants, the sharp pieces pierced their skin.
“And you, Steve. Do you remember how you pushed me because of Giselle and got me injured? I genuinely believe that knowing you for 20 years has brought me nothing but misfortune.”
Cheryl took the picture out of its frame and tore it up. Scanning their dejected faces, she stated icily, “Leon, Zeon, and Steve, the best apology you guys could give me would be to never appear before me ever again.
“You’re bringers of bad luck. Everything you guys have done has caused me nothing but pain, just like how you ruined my birthday banquet and embarrassed me in
front of all the socialites in Southstead.
“Never appear before me ever again. If you guys continue harassing me, I won’t go easy just because we grew up together. you guys are only thrown off by the fact that I no longer follow you like a lost puppy. I’m done.”
She left the restaurant without a backward glance.
When she crossed the threshold, she saw Giselle standing there and sneered disdainfully.
Giselle lost he
composure at Cheryl’s snobbish expression.
Back then, when the Jennings had first transferred Giselle into the prestigious Poole Institution, the existing students looked down on her. Although Cheryl treated her relatively nicely, Giselle wanted to be respected and looked up to like Cheryl was.
She didn’t want to be made fun of as a poor bitch who did nothing but pollute the air at the institution.
As a result, she began exhausting every method she could think of to rob Cheryl of everything she had. Slowly, Giselle’s relationship with Leon, Zane, and Steve improved, and her classmates began to revere her. However, Cheryl remained stuck–up and snobbish, looking down at her as though Giselle was nothing more than
a clown.
Cheryl’s existence was a constant reminder that everything Giselle worked for was something Cheryl had been born with. Giselle loathed Cheryl with every fiber of her being.
