Chapter 36

“Serena, I shouldn’t have come back to the country. Please give Juana a chance,” I sighed. Even if she might be a complete lunatic, I was willing to be patient and reason with her. After all, I considered myself a good person.

“Listen, the issues between Julian and me have nothing to do with you. The conflict between him and me stems from his lies that made a fool of me for years. It has nothing to do with your return. And, of course, my conflict with you has nothing to do with Julian either.”

“What conflict?” Elena asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. “I thought you came here today to apologize for the incident with Kevin?”

Elena realized she had exposed herself. She quickly reverted to her innocent demeanor, saying, “Serena, I really am here to apologize.”

“That’s enough. I’m not going to play along with this charade. I’m too tired,” I said, unwilling to continue.

“You just want me to reconcile with Julian to calm him down. Then, you’ll slowly undermine my position in Julian’s heart, and the role of Julian’s girlfriend will naturally be yours. You’ve devised quite a thorough plan,” I stated.

Elena waved her hands around in a panic. “It’s not like that, Serena! You can’t frame me for something so awful.”

I replied, “You know best whether I’m framing you or not.”

Elena suddenly snapped and threw her bag at me. “It’s not true, Serena! Do you think you can just do whatever you want because Julian has feelings for you? Don’t assume you have the right to trample over others just because you’re the Hastings heiress.”

Her bag hit me before I could dodge it, and my anger flared. “Trample over others? Isn’t it Julian who’s been toying with people? You were the one who bribed Kevin to frame me! If anyone’s been trampling over others, it’s you and Julian!”

I took a step closer and shoved the bag back into her hands. “Elena, just because others won’t play along with your innocent damsel act doesn’t mean you get to take out your anger on them. The world doesn’t revolve around you,” I added coldly.

But Elena didn’t seem to understand reason. “Serena, I’m clearly Julian’s first love. You’re the one who came between us.”

By now, a crowd had gathered. The moment Elena said that, several students raised their phones and began recording.

I scanned the crowd coldly, feeling incredibly irritated. “When I was with Julian, he never even mentioned your name. But the moment you return to the country, you manage to have him at your beck and call. Yet you’re blaming things on me now that he’s no longer listening to you?”

I looked at Elena with a puzzled expression. “I really don’t understand your logic or your actions.”

Discussions erupted among the surrounding students.

“I didn’t think there’d be more to Serena’s story.”

“So, this is the supposed beauty who made Julian give up on Serena? She doesn’t seem all that special.”

“Right? She’s not even as pretty as Serena.”

“Serena isn’t just gorgeous, she’s also the Hastings heiress. I’d say the other woman doesn’t stand a chance.”

“You should leave,” I said. I didn’t want to make the campus headlines tomorrow; I just wanted to end this. Besides, I was about to be late for my shift at the coding shop.