Chapter 4

Keira grabbed my hand anxiously.

"It's my fault. I didn't know how to respect boundaries. From now on, I won't join you when you're on dates, and I definitely won't meet Zac alone."

She looked deeply wronged. Her eyes welled up with tears.

"We've been friends since we were seven. We're like family. I really don't want to lose you."

At that moment, I felt even more disgusted than I had in the cab.

There was a crudely made silver ring on her finger.

She had posted a photo of herself on Instagram wearing the ring while holding Zac's hand. Their fingers were intertwined.

There was a caption below the photo.

[I asked him what he was thinking about when he had the ring made. He didn't say anything when he looked at me, but I already knew the answer.]

I smiled sarcastically before shaking her hand off.

"Stop pretending."

Her expression turned horrid. Zac frowned too.

"Jocelyn."

Right then, his phone rang.

"Zac, Jocelyn sent me a long post and asked me to put it on the school confession page as soon as possible. I don't think that's a good idea. I sent it to you on Telegram. Take a look."

I froze.

After reading it, Zac angrily shoved his phone screen in front of my face.

"Is your brain filled with nothing but filthy thoughts? First you made up a story about being sexually harassed, and now you're spreading sexual rumors about Keira. Have you lost all sense of decency just because you're jealous?"

The long post was allegedly me accusing Keira of being the other woman who had broken up my relationship. It claimed the two of them had slept together long ago, and Keira had gotten an abortion after the college entrance exam.

There was a photo of her sitting in a hospital hallway below it.

Keira looked shocked and hurt. Her voice was trembling.

"Jocelyn, do you really hate me this much?"

I laughed so hard I doubled over.

"Keira, that's a question I should be asking you. You should become an actress. Otherwise, it would be a waste of your talent."

Zac looked at me as if I were crazy. His eyes were filled with anger, disappointment, and disgust. Finally, he warned in a harsh tone, "Jocelyn, three strikes and you're out. If you still want your mom's business to continue running properly, don't pull these disgusting tricks again."

It felt like someone had grabbed me by the throat.

My dad had fallen ill and died when I was in middle school. My mom Irene had supported our family with a small food truck that was only a few dozen square feet in size. At the same time, she was also paying off the debts from my dad's medical treatment.

Zac's father was powerful and influential.

Once, Irene's food truck had even been confiscated. She had to pay a 500-dollar fine to get it back.

He was using Irene to threaten me. I had no way to fight back.

Perhaps satisfied with my reaction, he reached for Keira's hand and left with her.

"Jocelyn, Zac and I really don't have anything going on–"

Keira turned around to look at me. She kept up the act until the very last second. There was a barely noticeable smile on her face.

At noon, the long post was published on the confession page of our neighboring high school. It was quickly decoded and circulated back to our school.

People in our class started criticizing Keira and sympathizing with me.

The more I read, the more panicked I became. I couldn't sit still. I dug my fingernails into my palm until it started bleeding.

Neither Zac nor Keira answered my calls.

I got changed and went to find Zac. I had to explain everything to him.

It didn't matter if he misunderstood me. I couldn't let him hurt my mom.

On my way there, I received a call. My heart stopped beating for a second.

"Jocelyn, listen to me first. Don't panic–"

It was the woman who ran another food truck next to Irene.

"A woman came looking for trouble. She claimed she found a hair in the food your mom was selling, and that the sausages had gone sour. She even brought a bunch of reporters with her.

"Your mom was pushed and fell. She hit her head on the corner of the steel table–"

I rushed to the hospital as fast as I could.

My heart was beating so fast I could hear it. When I heard the words 'we couldn't save her,' the entire world suddenly fell silent.

"Jocelyn–"

The pain in my chest became unbearable, and everything went black.

In the haze, a familiar but blurry figure walked quickly toward me.

When I finally recognized the person standing in front of me, my heart immediately clenched.