Rhett had just looked neat, but now he was lying on the ground, his face covered in bruises from the beating, blood coming out of the corner of his mouth, and he couldn’t even open his eyes. No need to think much, Alarieka could guess what happened. Alarieka took a deep breath, barely staying calm, “I didn’t–” Rhett suddenly opened his eyes and stared at her with wide eyes. The next second, Rhett crawled over, holding himself up, grabbed her ankle and said, “Alarieka, save me, save me, you said you’d protect me, you said as long as I did it, you wouldn’t leave me alone.” Bzz–

Alarieka’s brain felt like it got hit hard with a hammer, a sharp pain. In that moment, she remembered that night at the club, and why Rhett just happened to be at the corner near the rental place. At that moment, she wondered how the Argent family would hire a high school student to be a waitress. And why did Rhett deliberately come over to talk to her? Clarissa shouted, “Alarieka, you still thought what happened at the club that day was Rose’s doing? All those people online trashing Rose, that was you too, and how you even dared to bully Rose like this!” “Are you even human?!” And why hadn’t the negative comments about Roschelle on social media been deleted yet? The messy thoughts in her head came together into a line that got clearer and clearer. One thing led to another. This was a trap that Roschelle carefully set up for her.

Alarieka stood frozen under everyone’s accusing stares, her whole body stiff. She opened her mouth, her voice a little hoarse: “It wasn’t me.” Clarissa looked at Rhett with hatred and pointed at him, saying, “I remember this guy, he was your classmate, right? He just talked to you, who else but you would do something like this?” “You just saw that Kieran was going to get engaged to Rose, so you got jealous and wanted to ruin Rose!” Rhett suddenly got up, knelt on the ground, looking really sad: “Alarieka, you can’t just leave me because I didn’t make it. You said you’d help me get out of this.” Alarieka clenched her fists, her black-and-white eyes staring hard at Rhett: “When did I ever say that, and who told you to do this?” She kicked Rhett away.

Clear black-and-white, calm eyes looked at everyone present: “Then call the police and let them investigate.” “I was innocent, I didn’t do anything, I wasn’t afraid of being investigated.” Wallace looked serious and said, “You have no shame, but we still do. We’ll handle this in private. Everyone here, watch what you say. You should all know what you can and can’t talk about.” “And you,” Wallace’s cloudy eyes looked her over coldly, “are left for Kier to deal with.” Wallace was still going strong. When he spoke, he had real presence and authority. Everyone heard him and fell silent. Kieran suddenly picked Roschelle up in his arms. His handsome, cool face looked serious, and he had this strong, hard-to-read vibe about him. He strode right past Alarieka. Didn’t even give Alarieka a single look. Only one sentence was left: “Take Alarieka and Rhett with you.” Alarieka was grabbed by the shoulders by the servants of the Argent’s villa and taken to the car. She and Rhett were put in two different cars, and the car she was in followed Kieran and Roschelle’s car to the hospital.

Hospital hallway, cold white lights spilled on the floor tiles, the air was full of alcohol and a chilly smell. When Alarieka’s knee hit the hard, cold floor tiles, there was only one thought left in her mind. Was this floor tile always this hard? In front of her was Kieran’s shadow and Kieran’s cold, sharp voice. “Since you wouldn’t admit you were wrong, then just kneel until Rose woke up.” That sound was just like a loud slap landing on Alarieka’s face, bringing a sharp sting. Alarieka struggled to get up from the ground, but was quickly forced back to her knees by the servants coming out of the Argent’s villa. Alarieka felt like every part of her was stabbed all over by the looks from people passing by. She spoke with a hoarse voice, stubbornly lifted her head, and stared into Kieran’s eyes. “Did you check?” “What was there to check?” Marlene and Rolando showed up late, and as soon as they arrived, Marlene gently said, “Rhett already explained what happened, things were clear, you didn’t need to struggle anymore.” Marlene walked over to her son, took Kieran’s arm, and smiled, cool and gentle.