As they turned the corner into the hallway where the administration office was, Lena—who was actually Dylan—saw a silver-haired woman. She looked to be in her late 40s but appeared closer to her 30s because she was still pretty, slender, wrinkle-free, and clearly had a lot of plastic surgery in several parts of her body. The woman, nad Viola, turned, lifted her sunglasses, and turned back around. Her face imdiately showed a montary look of emotion when she saw Lena walking closer.
Then Viola stepped forward, trying to hug Lena, but Lena avoided her, and Viola’s face imdiately looked disappointed, sad, and hurt for a mont, as tears started to fall, saring her mascara.
"Lena... I’m so happy to see you. Thank God you’re doing well. Mommy has really missed you and wanted to see you," Viola said.
"Stop with the nonsense, Mom. What do you want?" Lena replied curtly.
"What are you saying, Lena? I truly miss you and want to talk to you," Viola replied, giving a thin, sad smile.
"You’re here because you want sothing from , aren’t you? Oh, right. Dad already said he wants to set up with his friend’s kid as a business deal and debt collateral. You guys want to use the money for your lavish lifestyle, your luxury spending, and your Botox treatnts, right? So don’t tell you’re here saying you miss . You’re here because you need sothing from , considering this is the first ti you’ve co here since I ran away," Lena replied.
Viola glanced at Dylan, who was standing motionless beside Lena without saying a word, only having his arm wrapped around Lena’s shoulder.
"Who are you?" Viola asked.
"He’s Dylan, my future husband. We’re getting married right after graduation, and of course, I don’t need to ask for permission or approval from Dad or Mom," Lena answered, wrapping her arm around Dylan.
"W-what? You’re going to get married without your parents’ blessing? Your father and I are still your parents; we’re family," Viola retorted.
"No, you’re not family. Grandma is my family. Grandpa was my family. Dylan is my family. Dad and Mom are just people who happen to share DNA with because you gave birth to —that’s it," Lena stated firmly.
"W-what are you saying? Your father and I raised you all this ti, fed you, gave you a ho, and even sent you to school. You owe us," Viola countered, her tears suddenly stopping and her face flushing with anger.
"Yup, the bare minimum required of parents by state law... and it didn’t even last until I was eighteen, which is when I should technically still be with you. Since I was fifteen, Grandma has been paying for , and I’ve been working at her shop. So don’t tell I owe you just because you did the bare minimum that’s mandatory for a child," Lena replied casually, hugging Dylan closer.
Viola stared at Lena with an annoyed face. Her eyes studied Lena’s unwavering expression. She looked like she no longer knew her own child. Then her face suddenly beca sad again.
"B-but I love you... I truly love you. I really miss you... you’re my child," Viola said slowly.
"Thank you, Mom, but I’m sorry, I won’t be going with you... especially not with Dad," Lena replied.
"This is all because of Elenor, isn’t it? She’s poisoned you, so you’re staying away from ," Viola said, growing irritated again.
"Don’t bla Grandma. This is my own choice not to co ho, and it has nothing to do with Grandma," Lena replied, annoyed.
"You have to co ho with ," Viola said, reaching out her hand to grab Lena.
But suddenly, "tap," Dylan moved and caught Viola’s arm. Of course, Viola imdiately pulled her hand back and glared at Dylan.
"You stay out of this. This is a family matter," Viola replied, yelling and pointing at Dylan.
"He is family. You are not. So please leave my school, Mom," Lena yelled, yelling back.
Several security guards arrived because they were called by the administration staff who heard the commotion in the front hallway. Viola looked shocked to hear Lena yell. Then she turned to see the security guards who were standing, waiting without saying a word, but clearly enjoying the drama unfolding in front of them.
Tears started to stream down Viola’s face again, but this ti she seed to be genuinely crying, not faking it like before. Her face showed deep pain and hurt. She opened her trembling mouth but then closed it. Finally, she quickly walked away, past Lena and Dylan, toward the security guards who escorted her out.
Dylan, disguised as Lena, watched Viola as she turned and walked past him. Then he thought,
"Hmm... at the end there, she really seed genuinely distraught by what I said, but that’s all a consequence of her own actions. She wasn’t brave enough to leave her husband for Lena, even though she knew Lena was truly her daughter and clearly not her husband’s child," Dylan thought to himself.
[That’s right, sir. She also wasn’t brave enough to give up her luxurious lifestyle, and that’s what makes her suffer.]
"You sent all the recordings to Lena just now, right?" Dylan asked.
[Yes, sir, everything has been sent.]
"Okay, let’s head back to class," Dylan, disguised as Lena, replied.
An administrative staff mber ca out of the room and asked Lena, worriedly, seeing her just standing there, silently clinging to Dylan’s arm. Then Lena told the staff mber that she was fine and turned to walk back to class with Dylan. Once they were in the empty corridor, "pooof," the Dylan clone disappeared, and Lena wiped her face, then changed back into Dylan.
As soon as he entered the classroom, Dylan imdiately told the teacher that Lena had gotten permission to go ho, picked up by her mother due to a family matter. After that, he casually sat back down in his seat and imdiately felt several people staring at him.
Dylan turned to see Ellie, Maya, and Amy looking at him intensely. The three of them imdiately typed sothing on their smartphones, after which the family chat group beca active.
"Hey babe, did Lena really go ho?" Maya asked, demanding an explanation.
"Lena left with her mom? Why did you let her?" Ellie asked, demanding an explanation.
"Tell quickly, I’m really worried," Amy added.
"Huh... what are you guys talking about? I’m at ho. Here’s the proof," Lena replied.
"Dling," Lena sent a selfie photo that showed her enjoying a burger and a salad at the dining table. She had clearly ordered it because the receipt was visible in the bag near her food. "Hah," Maya, Ellie, and Amy imdiately typed that they were shocked, adding various emoticons.
Then they imdiately turned to look at Dylan, their eyes silently demanding an explanation. Dylan calmly explained by typing:
"I told you yesterday there’d be a magic trick, right? Well... the show’s over," Dylan said.
"Hah," Maya, Ellie, and Amy replied, confused.
Later after school, when they got ho, Lena imdiately jumped and hugged Dylan. She leaned in close and whispered in Dylan’s ear,
"Thank you. I already saw the video. Thanks for taking my place to say all that," Lena whispered.
"You’re welco. Now you don’t have to worry about your mom coming back, but you still need to be careful, as they’re still in the city," Dylan replied.
"Of course, babe, I understand... perfectly," Lena replied, kissing Dylan.
"Heeeeey!" Ellie, Maya, and Amy yelled in unison, trying to pull Lena away from Dylan.
"What is it?" Lena asked.
"You haven’t showered all day, have you? Let’s go!" Ellie yelled.
"Yeah, you’ve been eating and watching TV all day... co on, shower," Maya replied.
"Agreed... co with ," Amy replied.
"Hey... what are you doing... help , babe... help!" Lena yelled as her three friends dragged her away.
The three of them imdiately pulled Lena into the room and shut the door tight. Then they ca out again, herding Lena out and into the bathroom together.
"Um... she didn’t sll bad, though," Dylan said belatedly, holding his lips and realizing the girls’ true intention was to grill Lena for an explanation, with a shower as their excuse.
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