Chapter 15
The next time Sean met Angeline, he was 17 years old, and she was 12.
Angeline had been stabbed twice because she wanted to save Ned. She lay on the hospital bed and refused the Lawsons‘ help once again.
She was a scrawny kid back then. She told them calmly and seriously, “Outcasts should stay out of other people’s lives. We should just do whatever is necessary so that we won’t harbor expectations of anyone else. So, please don’t interfere with my life. This is for the Lawsons.. and you.”
Sean had felt that it was unfair to her back then, but Angeline’s calm reply made him come back to his senses.
That was when he went behind the Lawsons‘ backs and told the Fletchers that if they brought Angeline up in the guise of repaying her for the favor, the Lawsons would continue supporting them.
This was the only time that Sean had ever interfered in Angeline’s business.
It was also then that Sean started paying a little more attention to this girl who was focused on just “doing whatever was necessary” to live.
He watched as the previously weak and dirty little girl he first saw continued to shine brightly. When she was in middle school, she was selected to join the Math Polympiad team and became a record–holder for scoring full marks. 1
She bagged a gold the first time she represented the country at the International Math Polympiad. It was then that she became famously known as the genius from Oceanford.
Sean was aware of every improvement she made, every record she broke, and every award she received. He had been watching her as she shone like the brightest star in the sky.
Sean then looked down at the glowing cigarette stick between his fingers and puffed out a cloud of smoke, trying to hide his emotions.
He had been paying attention to her, so he also knew about her and Ned’s undying love for each other.
Angeline brought the water back to the room and took a sip. Her phone then started vibrating on the bed.
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She capped the bottle of water and fetched her phone. It was a call from Zachary.
Angeline hadn’t had time to change her number yet. Just as she was debating on whether to accept the call or not, the screen dimmed down again and showed that she had four missed
calls.
A short while later, her phone lit up again.
She answered the call this time and put the phone to her ear. “Hello-
“Angie! Something bad has happened. Anne pushed Ingrid and Ned down from the stairs at the airport! Ned doesn’t remember Anne and is planning to sue her for attempted murder. She’s at the Newland Street police station right now.
Angeline’s head was all a blur. What was Anne doing in Oceanford?
Even if Anne was in Oceanford, she was a scared and timid little thing. How would she dare to push Ingrid over? 1
“W–What’s happened to Ingrid now?”
“I don’t know yet, but she asked my sister to go over and have a look at her. They’re still doing the necessary check–ups. Wait at home. I’ll come and get you.”
Angeline felt her heart thumping loudly against her chest. She forced away the shakiness in her voice and said calmly, “You don’t have to come and get me. I’ll go to the police station now to see Anne.”
Zachary disagreed with her. “I’ll bring you to the hospital to see Ingrid first. Angie, take my advice as your friend. Ned still doesn’t remember anything. You’d better not let him learn about your relationship with Anne. Otherwise, if he misunderstands you, he won’t go easy on her. The reason I’m calling is to tell you to please stay out of—”
Before Zachary could finish, Angeline had already hung up on him. She quickly changed out of her pajamas and hurried out of the door. 1
No matter what, Angeline had to see Anne first and find out what was going on. It was only then that she’d be able to offer any explanation to other people.
At the same time, the news of an anti–fan pushing Ingrid down the stairs went viral on social media.
Angeline looked at the videos and articles circulating online in the cab.
In the shaky video footage, she could see Ingrid’s fans and anti–fans getting into physical
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fights with each other. Ingrid’s bodyguards tried dissuading them and breaking up their fights under Ingrid’s orders, and Ned had a mask and sunglasses on his face as he shielded Ingrid behind her, backing away from the commotion.
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