Chapter 4

That one sentence was all it took to change everyone's perception of Harvey.

Harvey knew exactly what Jacob was trying to do, but with a clear conscience, he saw no reason to defend himself. Without another word, he turned to leave. However, Taylor suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the wrist.

He looked up and met Taylor's icy gaze.

"Harvey." Her voice was cold. "Are you really that desperate? You would actually settle for any woman?"

Harvey froze, staring at Taylor in disbelief.

He'd expected others to doubt him, but he'd never imagined she would be one of them. After all, for over a year, she had been his angel, the only girl in his heart and the only one he'd ever had eyes for.

He had thought that even if his affection couldn't melt her icy exterior, she would at least recognize how sincere his feelings were.

Yet after more than a year of devotion and pursuit, all he got in return was one question: " You would actually settle for any woman?"

Suddenly, he remembered how Taylor had defended Jacob in the group chat that morning. His hands instinctively curled into fists.

When others accused Jacob of something, she hadn't even bothered to ask what had happened before rushing to his defense.

But when someone accused Harvey, all she had to say was, "Are you really that desperate?"

Harvey felt something deep inside him crack open once more. The heart he had thought was long numb split open again, beyond his control.

Still, it was only a tiny crack.

He quickly regained his composure and looked at the girl he had once loved so passionately. His voice remained calm as he replied, "If that's what you think, then so be it."

Taylor's face suddenly turned pale.

"Harvey." Her voice trembled almost imperceptibly. "Don't you have anything you want to explain?"

He simply gazed at her in silence. "If I explain, will you believe me?"

Taylor was stunned.

Just then, the door of the car behind them swung open, and a middle-aged woman hurried out.

Completely unaware of the tension in the air, she carried a bag filled with food containers and began speaking cheerfully.

"Mr. Nord, Renee told me how much you love the choux pastries our housekeeper makes, so we prepared a fresh batch for you. I forgot to give them to you earlier."

Everyone froze.

"Mr. Nord?"

Only then did the woman look up and notice their stunned expressions.

"Yes. My husband hired Harvey as our daughter's private tutor. Is there a problem?"

Silence fell over the crowd. Taylor's grip on Harvey's wrist suddenly loosened.

Embarrassment flickered across Jacob's face. He waited until the woman had left before lowering his voice and sneering, "Harvey, with grades like yours, how can you possibly work as a private tutor? Aren't you worried about holding someone else's child back?"

The others quickly recovered and joined in, eager to pile on.

"Exactly! You only barely made it into our top high school because you did exceptionally well on the entrance exam. Now you're using the school's reputation to deceive people?"

Another student chimed in, "That's right! Does that parent even know you're at the bottom of our class? You shouldn't be misleading someone else's child!"

Harvey ignored their attempts to mock him. Without another word, he turned and walked away.

But just then, a large truck came roaring toward them in the distance.

"Watch out!"

In the split second that followed, Harvey heard Taylor scream. Before he could even react, someone grabbed his wrist, sending him crashing hard to the ground.

As the world spun around him, the last thing he saw was Taylor's panicked face, inches from his own.

Then everything went black, and he lost consciousness.