Chapter 398: Revealing Her True Identity

Isabella seethed with anger. Christopher and Rosalie finally understood Cody's motive for wanting to take Janice away: he feared her identity would be exposed, not merely a reluctance to defend his girlfriend. Moments earlier, Cody had thanked Carlos for looking after Janice, deceptively portraying Carlos's intervention as a favor rather than genuine concern. The audacity! How dare he bully a young lady from the Quirk family?

"This is no small matter," Christopher said with a cold smile. "This bracelet is priceless and holds significant meaning. What? The young master of the Simmons family is too generous to seek justice for his girlfriend?" Although Christopher didn't work for the Quirk Group, his celebrity status commanded attention.

Cody's face darkened. "It's just a small issue. Janice won't mind."

"No, it's not a small issue, and I do mind," Janice retorted, breaking her silence. Raising her head, tears in her eyes, she looked directly at Cody. "Are you trying to downplay this again, forcing me to swallow my pride? Why do you always do this when I'm bullied? Aren't you my boyfriend? I don't expect you to avenge me, but why won't you even seek justice for me?"

The long-simmering resentment finally boiled over. Cody, embarrassed and angered by Janice's trembling voice, snapped, "Janice, stop it. If you keep being unreasonable, I won't care about you anymore!"

Isabella and the others stifled laughter. Carlos frowned and demanded, "Are you crazy? Who's being unreasonable?" Cody's face flushed crimson under Carlos's rebuke. The surrounding students whispered amongst themselves:

"Cody probably didn't want his girlfriend's misdeeds exposed, so he acted this way. Janice is being ungrateful."

"Yeah, Janice stole Cecilia's stuff, and Cody's protecting her. I don't think Mr. Carlos knows about this."

"He probably doesn't. Otherwise, as a teacher, he wouldn't protect a thief."

Carlos, hearing the murmurs, was genuinely confused. "What's going on? Who's Cecilia?"

Before he could ask, Cody, seemingly realizing something, interrupted. "Janice, I'm asking you one last time, are you coming or not? My patience has its limits."

Before Isabella and the others could react, Janice seriously asked, "I have a question. You knew this bracelet was a gift from my family, didn't you? Why, when they asked, did you deny it and claim you didn't buy it? Were you trying to make everyone believe my bracelet was stolen?"

Her words silenced the crowd. (Internal monologue/thoughts of onlookers): Great job, Janice. You finally woke up. Yes, exactly! That's what he meant! He wanted to defend Cecilia because he actually likes her!

Christopher and Rosalie, while already suspicious after seeing the couple in the woods, were furious to hear it confirmed. The only comfort was that Janice wasn't completely blinded by love; she finally saw through Cody's deception.

Flustered, Cody responded with feigned anger, as if Janice had insulted him. "Janice, think carefully before you speak," he warned icily, his arrogance undiminished. "Why would I do that? Do you still consider me your boyfriend?"

Janice froze, recoiling instinctively. Cody had been significant to her, a beacon of light in a difficult time. His public declaration of love had given her, drowning in self-doubt, a sense of validation and salvation. The prospect of marrying him, escaping her suffocating family, had brought genuine happiness. She didn't care about her mother and brother's lack of love, as long as she had Cody.