Chapter 27

When I got back, Lila was still lying on her bed. My overwhelming frustration seemed obvious. Lila sat up and moved closer to examine me. “What happened to you?!”

“It’s nothing,” I replied. Utterly exhausted, I flopped onto my bed and closed my eyes. All I wanted was some peace.

Lila took two steps closer and yanked me off the bed. “Get up. There’s no way it’s nothing. Just look at how awful your expression is!” Seeing her concern, I finally sat up and told her everything that had happened that day.

I needed an outlet for all the emotions building up inside me, and Lila was a willing listener. After recounting the day’s events, I began to sense something…

Lila looked furious. “What a disgusting pair! Serena, how could you just keep quiet after suffering through all this? If Alex hadn’t helped you behind the scenes, the consequences…”

She started to choke up. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

Seeing how frustrated and concerned Lila was, I let out a soft laugh. I grabbed a tissue and wiped her tears. “It’s alright, Lila. I’m fine, aren’t I?”

But that only seemed to flip a switch inside her. She started crying even louder.

I pulled her into a hug. Having a friend like her somewhat made up for all the bad I had suffered. I felt touched as I looked at her tearful face, and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.

Lila looked up in disbelief when she heard my laughter. When she saw that I was actually laughing at her, she immediately stopped crying. She shoved me and said, “Serena, you’re so heartless. How could you laugh right now?”

Looking at her angry face, I quickly said, “I was just thinking, Lila, that having a friend like you must be the universe’s way of compensating me for all that I suffered through.” Lila froze for a moment before turning to look at me. Her eyes were filled with joy, and a smile tugged at the corner of her lips, but she feigned disdain and said, “Ugh.”

I hugged her and said, “Is it that comfy? Well, I’m only comfy for you.”

After a while, she calmed down. Then, she looked at me and asked, “Serena, are you really going to let those two get away with this? I can’t help but feel unhappy about that.”

I shook my head. “Lila, don’t you think there’s something oddly fishy about this whole thing?”

“What do you mean?” she asked in confusion.

“Just think about it. Kevin is someone who skirts the edges of the law. He lives in the shadows. He’d avoid the police like the plague and wouldn’t easily expose himself to intruders, especially in situations that might lead to trouble. Wouldn’t I have won instantly if I had just called the police?” I mused.

Lila said with a frown, “That’s true. How much money did Elena pay Kevin?”

I held up three fingers.

Thirty thousand dollars. Lila’s frown deepened. “That’s hardly worth it for Kevin to take such a risk. If you had called the police just now, he would definitely have been caught.” Thinking back to how Kevin acted earlier, I grew more concerned. “I can’t shake the feeling that Kevin isn’t as simple as he seems.”