Chapter 76
“Wait.”
For some reason, the conversation irritated Jasper. Sternly, he asked, “Ms. White, don’t you owe Liana an apology?”
Landon sighed helplessly, resisting the urge to stuff his socks into Jasper’s mouth.
A dull pain throbbed in Alyssa’s heart. She turned around to cast him a blank stare.
Her disappointed gaze pierced Jasper’s soul.
“She didn’t do it! Alice didn’t do it!”
Just at that moment, a sweet, gentle voice cut through the air. It arrived unannounced, like lightning on a clear day, foiling the plot that had been carefully planted.
When Alyssa turned her gaze toward the source of the voice, there was a glimmer in her eyes.
“Lauren!”
A girl clad in a simple white dress was hurrying toward them. She was sporting a ridiculous
crown of dense curls, which was Betty’s doing.
Lauren had always been Betty’s imaginary enemy in their family. Betty envied her little sister’s
beauty. She always looked for new ways to bully her.
Whenever they appeared in public, she would try to make her sister look bad. She was afraid that
her sister would steal her limelight.
Lauren, on the other hand, was autistic. As a result, she was relatively introverted and timid. In the presence of strangers, her shoulders were always hunched, and she was always silent.
Little did anyone know, for the three years that Alyssa was part of the Becketts, Lauren was the only one, aside from Mrs. Rosie, who treated Alyssa kindly. The only one who cared for Alyssa was Lauren, whom the rest of the family generally ignored.
After Alyssa left the Becketts, she always worried about Lauren. To her surprise, they met that
day, and it delighted her.
“Silly girl, why are you talking nonsense?” Betty glared fiercely at her sister. “No one was in the bathroom except Liana and her. If it wasn’t her, then who else could it be?”
“N–No, it wasn’t Alice! It wasn’t her!” Lauren pleaded desperately. Her words were an incoherent.
jumble.
“Lauren, this is none of your business. Go play somewhere else!” Sophia was wearing an ugly
+15 BONUS
Lauren clenched her tiny fists and walked up to Jasper. She looked up at his tall, looming figure
nervously.
“Jasper! It wasn’t Alice who did it!“.
“Lauren, why do you say so?” Jasper’s tone was unusually gentle.
“I saw it! 1–I was in the bathroom too! I saw it!”
Everyone was shocked by the revelation.
Liana’s face paled.
Even Alyssa was stunned. She never expected that Lauren was also present when Liana confronted her.
“I saw Ms. Gardner coming into the toilet to argue with Alice. Alice wanted to leave. But Ms. Gardner stopped her. She pulled Alice and snatched her bracelet away. Then… then the bracelet broke, and then… then Ms. Gardner started yelling and ran out. Alice didn’t touch Ms. Gardner! I
saw it!”
While explaining, Lauren gestured with her hands, tears of anxiety swimming in her eyes.
“Lauren…” Alyssa’s heart ached as her eyes watered.
Given Lauren’s timid nature, Alyssa knew Lauren was forcing herself to speak the truth to clear
her name.
