Louisa was about to leave when Serena grabbed her in a tight embrace, her voice breaking through tears, "Mom, is that no matter what I say, you won’t believe ? Lindsay was a close friend of mine a
long ti ago, but then she went abroad, and we lost touch for years. It was only at tonight’s birthday party that we ran into each other again."
Through her sobs, Serena explained, "The engagent between my brother-in-law and was called off ages ago, but only our families knew about it. When Lindsay asked, I couldn’t say the marriage was
still on, but I also couldn’t tell her it was over. What was I supposed to say?"
With tears streaming down her face, Serena continued, "All I could do was subtly hint to her that it’s my sister who is with Roo now, and I dared not reveal anything else. But Lindsay misunderstood,
thinking my sister stole my love and secretly told Madeline."
Serena was utterly distraught, "It’s because they gossiped and twisted the story that it reached my sister. That’s why I turned so upset and ca to confront Lindsay. And can you believe it? Lindsay
slapped right there in front of everyone. You can ask around; I’m not lying to you."
Louisa paused, and her body tensed as she looked at her daughter, who was struggling to speak through her tears. Half skeptical, half sympathetic, she said, "But what I heard was that you were impersonating a student of Queena."
"I was talking about Mr. Quentin, the man who used to teach the violin. Sohow Lindsay and the others thought I ant Queena, and they blurted it out in front of everyone, which was so embarrassing
for . In the end, to not ruin the party, I had to apologize."
Serena clung to Louisa, her voice filled with a hurt so raw, "Mom, do you think if I’m not your biological daughter, nothing I say matters? Was all the love you showed over the past eighteen years just for
show? Sotis I’m so jealous of my sister. She’s got the Collins family blood. No matter what happens, everyone always takes her side."
Louisa looked at her and felt a pang of compassion.
"Are you really saying you never told your friends that Rose was the one who ruined your engagent to Roo?" Kenneth, who had been listening in, couldn’t help but interject.
"I swear, I didn’t, I really didn’t.." Serena wept as if her heart was breaking, "Do you think I’m not aware of my position as an adopted daughter? If I slander my sister and do anything against her, you would
throw out in a heartbeat. Why would I do sothing so thankless?"
Kenneth found her argunt compelling, but still, that friend from the party had indeed claid that Serena was posing as Queena’s student and had told her friend Lindsay that Rose had destroyed her
engagent with Roo, which was why she was with Martin now.
"About what I told Lindsay, only she and I know the truth. Everyone else is just spreading hearsay. How credible can that be?"
Perhaps fearing that her parents would confront Lindsay for the truth, Serena added, "Like I said earlier, Lindsay knows I’m not with Roo, so she’s been sucking up to Grandpa Phillip—that’s sothing everyone has seen. She’s just trying to beco Grandpa Phillip’s granddaughter-in-law, right?"
Serena analyzed further, "If she really considered a good friend and if I had really said my sister ruined my engagent with Roo, then as my friend, Lindsay should have been the first to defend . How could she turn around and try to get close to Roo? Considering her character, how reliable
can anything coming from her be?"
Kenneth started to see so logic in her words. If Lindsay truly valued her friendship with Serena, she wouldn’t rush to get close to Roo after hearing Serena wasn’t with him.
"You can ask my sister about what happened at the party; I have no objections. But my sister isn’t omniscient. How could she know what I said to Lindsay? She only knows what Lindsay told her, and Lindsay’s intentions are not pure. She wants to drive a wedge between my sister and so she can benefit from the fallout."
At this point, Serena sobbed softly, wiping away the tears from her cheeks, "So, it’s not that I’m being evasive. I’m just trying to lay out the facts for you."
Kenneth noticed that Serena’s eyes were rimd with red from crying, and gently patted her shoulder.
"Hey, why don’t you get so rest, kiddo? We can talk about this tomorrow. If you’re innocent, then it was your mom and I who jumped the gun tonight. You know we owe your sister a lot. We just want to make it up to her. We were worried she’d suffer where we can’t see."
"It’s okay," Serena sniffled, her voice showing a blend of resignation and understanding. "It’s my lot, isn’t it? I’ve been living the life that should’ve been hers. So a little misunderstanding and a little hardship on my part—it’s nothing compared to what she’s been through. I can handle it."
"That’s not what we ant." Kenneth’s guilt deepened. They had indeed rushed over to confront their injured daughter without getting the full picture, just taking soone else’s word for it.
"This isn’t the first ti you’ve questioned like this. It’s fine, really. The truth will get out, right?"
Serena attempted a brave smile, but tears betrayed her. "You could check, you know. It was Martin who carried ho tonight. If I still had any inappropriate feelings for my brother-in-law, I wouldn’t let any other man get close."
Kenneth nodded, "We understand. Let’s give Serena so space to rest."
Letting go of her mother’s embrace, Serena managed a restrained voice, "Goodnight, Mom and Dad."
"Goodnight," Kenneth said, reaching the doorway and pausing. A pang of remorse held him back. "Are your injuries okay?"
The question opened the floodgates of Serena, who fought back a fresh wave of tears.
"I’m fine." she choked out, with a bittersweet tone. "At least soone cares about my injuries. A nurse said it’s just superficial, nothing broken."
Kenneth, a kind-hearted man, felt even worse hearing this.
He couldn’t help but ask, "Who did this to you? That friend of yours, Lindsay? Or soone else?"
"Martin said he’d take care of it. You and mom don’t have to trouble yourselves with this," Serena offered a lonely smile. "You should get so sleep too."
Her words seed to denote that in the whole wide world, Martin was now her sole pillar of support.
Her parents felt a million miles away.
Filled with regret, Kenneth replied softly, "Alright."
He closed her door with a heavy heart and went back to his room before saying to her wife, "Honey, did we wrong her tonight?"
"You heard her, besides her and Lindsay, no one really knows what they talked about," Louisa mused, sitting at her vanity for a long mont before pulling out her phone and dialing. "Hey, Alice, I’ve got a
question about Lindsay. Was she trying to cozy up to Phillip tonight? Okay, okay, got it."
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