Chapter 77

Leia was momentarily stunned. Wasn't Eli supposed to be looking for her? Why was he greeting Noelle first! And why did he sound so gentle with her?

"Coming," Noelle happily skipped over to Eli's side, greeting him with a sweet voice. "Hi, Eli!"

Eli gave Noelle a brief glance before casually pulling her over and resting a hand on her shoulder. He then addressed everyone. "Sorry to take up your time, everyone. Recently, I've heard some absurd rumors and came here to clear things up."

Leia almost jumped out of her seat. Her face drained of color in an instant, and her heart started pounding uncontrollably. What is Eli doing? Could it be...? Leia thought to herself.

"Leia, what's wrong?" A girl next to her noticed Leia's pale complexion and asked, concerned.

Some others were puzzled. Why did Eli call Noelle over? And why did he put his hand on her shoulder? They seem so close!

Leia couldn't even say a word. She just stared at Eli, her heart racing like it might leap out of her chest. It can't be. It just can't be what I'm thinking, Leia thought anxiously.

A few of the girls exchanged confused glances, unsure of what was going on with Leia. Meanwhile, everyone's attention shifted to Eli and Noelle, and the whispers began.

"What's going on! What's Eli trying to clarify? Feels like something's going on here."

"Eli put his hand on Noelle's shoulder..."

"I have a bold guess."

"Funny, me too!"

Ignoring the murmurs from the crowd, Eli looked at everyone calmly and continued. "First of all, I want to make one thing clear. Noelle is my sister, my real sister. We share the same father and mother, and there's no truth to the rumors that we're half-siblings."

At his words, the room erupted in shock. "What? Noelle is Eli's full sister? Doesn't the Anderson family only have one daughter! If Noelle is Eli's full sister, then what about Leia? Is this for real? Who spread the rumor that Noelle was an illegitimate child? That's insane!"

Eli scanned the room full of students, all in an uproar, before continuing. "I hope from now on, everyone can think more rationally and not be misled by people with bad intentions. Also, Noelle is an outstanding person, and I hope everyone can treat her kindly in the future and not reject her because of these rumors."

"What's Eli trying to say? Is he implying that we can't think for ourselves?"

"Sounds like it. The rumor that Noelle is an illegitimate child is truly ridiculous."

"Should we blame ourselves? The rumor has been spreading for days. Some people asked Leia about it, and she didn't clear it up."

"So what about Leia! What's her real identity? Is she really the Anderson family's biological daughter?"

All eyes turned to Leia as the conversation shifted to her, full of skepticism and doubt.

"Leia, what's going on?" One of Leia's friends, still in shock, finally spoke up. Leia's friends had always believed that Noelle was an illegitimate child and had been spreading that around. Now, Eli had come to clarify that Noelle was his real sister. That meant they had been the ones spreading lies.

Faced with their accusing stares, Leia couldn't say a word. Everything felt dizzying. It was as though the world was spinning around her.

From a distance, Eli noticed Leia's pale face and her shocked expression, and a pang of guilt struck him. The family had kept Noelle's identity a secret to avoid hurting Leia. But Eli had no choice. The rumors that Noelle was an illegitimate child were everywhere in school. If he didn't step in to clear things up, Noelle wouldn't get along here. It didn't matter whether it was Leia or Noelle; they were both his sisters, and Eli would treat them equally.

The students won't start bullying Leia just because of this, right? he wondered.

Eli addressed the class again. "And also, Leia is my sister. Please don't jump to any unnecessary conclusions. Let's just focus on getting along as classmates here."

But Eli's addition only seemed to raise more questions. The students' imaginations began to run wild.

"Why would Eli go out of his way to add that? Could Leia's identity have another hidden truth?" they wondered.

Leia, hearing Eli's words, became even more anxious. It felt as though Eli was trying to cover something up about Leia. Everyone was now curious about Leia's place in the Anderson family.

Leia couldn't stand the questioning glances from her classmates and friends. She trembled, her eyes reddened, and before she could hold it together any longer, she ran out the back door of the classroom.

"Wait, Leia!" Eli's heart tightened as he called after her.

Just as he was about to chase after her, a member of the student union approached and said, "Eli, what are you doing here? There's a meeting starting soon. You need to go and host it right away."

Eli looked in the direction Leia had gone, torn between his responsibilities and his concern for her.

Noelle spoke up. "Eli, I'll go after her. You go to your meeting."

"Don't make things worse," Eli replied. Leia was clearly shaken, and Noelle's appearance would only make things more complicated for her. Left with no choice, Eli quickly called Damon, asking him to go after Leia.

Once everything was taken care of, Eli headed to the student union to attend the meeting. Meanwhile, Noelle was surrounded by classmates who had stayed behind.

"Noelle, so you're Eli's real sister? Sorry about before. We thought you were an illegitimate child, and we didn't treat you well. Please don't hold it against us."

Noelle was shocked by the sudden change in attitude. These people really know how to switch things up, huh? How ironic, she wondered.

Even though Noelle found their behavior hypocritical, Nick had told her that being nice to people at school would help build her popularity. If she could fit in well, members of the Anderson family would start seeing her in a better light, especially her father, Vincent. Nick had said that Vincent was particularly vain and cared a lot about reputation. Only if Noelle proved herself would her father start liking her.

Noelle smiled warmly, shaking her head. "It's okay. You were just misled. Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, everything's fine."

Her classmates were taken aback by her calm and gracious response.

"Noelle, you're so kind!"

"Yeah, I would've been crying by now if it were me."

Noelle still wore a radiant smile as she replied, "It's okay. I know you all were just misinformed, and deep down, you're good people. So, I don't hold any grudges against you!"

Everyone stared in shock, mesmerized by Noelle's words. She seemed to be surrounded by an almost divine glow, like some kind of angel descended from above. All of them silently thought to themselves, Wow, Noelle really believes the best in people! They couldn't help but feel a little guilty in comparison.

Chapter 77

Leia had barely made it out of the classroom when she received a call from Damon.

"Leia! Are you okay? Where are you? Tell me." The moment the phone connected, Damon's anxious voice came through.

Hearing Damon's voice, Leia couldn't hold back any longer. She burst into tears. "I'm so sad, Damon..."

Damon rushed to the cafe near Leia's school as quickly as he could and found Leia there. "Hi, Leia," Damon's voice called out.

Leia turned around, and the tears immediately started streaming down her face. She stood up from her seat, ran over to Damon, and threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "Damon, I feel so embarrassed!"