Chapter 58
Chapter 58
The group
closed in, their eyes blazing with hostility. But Emily couldn’t even remember some of their names. Ever since Lydia appeared, everyone seemed to have it out for Emily-even those who’d never even met her before.
Only Yvonne had been against Emily from the start. That was because Yvonne liked Vincent, and back then, Vincent only had eyes for Emily.
But now, Vincent was totally into Lydia. Weird thing was, Yvonne still hated Emily, while she was best buddies with Lydia. It was like Lydia had some kind of weird spell that made everyone fall in line.
Emily knew the group tricked her here to hurt her. But she didn’t have the energy to fight. She looked at Lydia hiding behind the group and said, “It’s your big night. You wanna start more trouble, like at the Hiltin Hotel?”
Lydia’s face looked worried, but she hadn’t said a word to stop the group. When Emily called her out, she just stammered, “I…”
“Why you gotta pick on Lydia again?” Yvonne stepped in front of Lydia, scowling.
Emily couldn’t make sense of it. She was the one being cornered, yet now they were accusing her of bullying Lydia.
Lydia tugged at Yvonne’s hand, her voice tight with restraint. “It’s okay, Yvonne.”
“How is this okay?” Yvonne snapped. “Back then, when she got caught stealing your work, she was so embarrassed she ran off to another country to dodge the fallout, and that was bad enough. But she’s still holding a grudge against you.
“You were generous enough to forgive her and let it go. Yet she sucked up to Prof. Perez secretly and got you kicked out for no reason. That basically destroyed your reputation and nearly wrecked your entire graduation.”
Emily froze. ‘Lydia got expelled? Prof. Perez never said a word about that earlier.’
Before she was sent to St. Gabriel Reform Academy, she’d gone to Louisa, crying her eyes out, swearing she hadn’t plagiarized.
Back then, Louisa had said she believed her, and yet Emily thought she was just trying to calm her down. Now, Emily finally realized she’d meant it. Instantly, a warmth pricked at the corners of Emily’s eyes.
Yvonne kept going, her voice thick with disgust. “Emily, stealing Lydia’s work isn’t enough? You have to mess with her too? Pathetic.”
Emily tuned out the insults. Her voice stayed steady, firm. “I didn’t plagiarize.”
Everyone looked at her like she was garbage. “Lydia has already produced the complete work, and all the teachers praised her for it. You still won’t own up to what you did?”
Emily didn’t care what they thought. She locked eyes with Lydia and said, “Ms. Bennett, you say that peacock painting came from your inspiration. Then tell us-what inspired it? How did you feel when you painted it?”
No one understood the painting’s inspiration and emotional depth better than Emily. Lydia might have stolen the artwork, but she could never copy the real story behind it.
Lydia’s eyes suddenly filled with tears. “Emily,” she choked out, “I never meant to compete with you. Please don’t hate me. I’ll tell everyone you didn’t plagiarize. I’ll give the peacock painting back. I don’t want it. It’s totally yours, I swear.”
Tears streamed down her face, like she was the one being bullied. The others crowded around her, trying to comfort her, and their glares at Emily turned even more venomous.
1/2
Chapter 58
Emily wanted to laugh. She’d just asked about inspiration and feelings-how’d that turn into her picking a fight?
Seeing Emily show no sign of remorse, Yvonne instantly signaled the others.