Chapter 7

Mom studied my face worriedly, trying to gauge whether or not I was faking my smile.

I couldn’t look her in the eyes, so I could only excuse myself to get a glass of water.

Mom knew me better than anyone else, and I was sure she could see right through me.

As expected, Mom let out a deep sigh before she said, “Lulu, study well. In the future, you can find someone better … Well, you’re such a good girl, I know you’ll find the best man in the world. It’s Felix’s loss for not liking you. He will regret it.”

I nodded as I held the cup tightly in my hands. As I drank, I could feel my sadness surging from within.

I had liked him for 18 years, so letting go was easier said than done.

I went to bed early that night. But despite my drowsiness, I could not seem to fall asleep.

By the time I was about to fall asleep, I heard the Whites arguing.

The walls in the building were quite soundproof, so I could only vaguely hear Aunt Mel’s sobs, Uncle Austin’s growls, and Felix’s furious retorts.

I couldn’t hear what exactly they had been arguing about. All I knew was that they argued late into the night until I finally fell asleep.

Mom and Dad could probably also hear them arguing but did nothing.

After all, this was their family matter. None of us had a say in it at all.

I woke up in the middle of the night to use the washroom. That was when I saw that Mom and Dad’s room door was slightly ajar.

Because of that, I could hear Mom sobbing and Dad consoling her gently.

“That little bastard! How dare he scold Lulu in front of so many people? I really regret treating that little traitor so well in the past! How dare he claim he could never love Lulu! He even called her shameless in front of everyone!

“It’s almost as if he thinks Lulu has no other options! My daughter deserves only the best! How could he say those things? Oh, my poor baby! Watching her get humiliated broke my heart! Why does she have to be humiliated by him? What’s so great about him?” Mom sobbed.

“Hush, now. Don’t let Lulu hear you. I think it’s good that Felix’s making things clear now. To be honest, I can tell that Luna likes him a lot. If he had chosen to remain silent, Luna would’ve never gotten over him,” Dad reasoned.

“You’re right. Lulu can finally move on now. When she goes to university, she will meet many different people. By then, even if Felix’s on his knees crying and begging to be with Lulu, we won’t accept him!

“By the way, how could Melinda and Austin not educate their own son well? I’m genuinely upset at them because of this. I will never forgive them!” Mom exclaimed resolutely.

Dad replied softly, “Don’t say that. It’s not their fault. We all know that Felix has always been stubborn, so Mel and Austin couldn’t have possibly done anything. We both know how well Mel treats Lulu, too. We can’t just let something like this affect our relationship with them.”

“But it’s not fair! They had no right to humiliate my daughter! She’s my baby! I’ve never even scolded her! This is all my fault! I should never have agreed to Melinda’s shitty pact back then!”

“Times are different now, so let’s just treat that pact as a joke and never bring it up again. As for what will happen next, I know that Lulu has a plan on how to handle it,” Dad said.

“I don’t think I can do it. I’m also worried that Lulu would be traumatized by today’s event. Dear, why don’t we move out?” Mom suggested.