NovelEnglishLouisa was about to leave when Serena grabbed her in a tight embrace, her voice breaking through tears, "Mom, is that no matter
what | say, you won't believe me? Lindsay was a close friend of mine a long tago, but then she went abroad, and we lost touch
for years. It was only at tonight's birthday party that we ran into each other again."
Through her sobs, Serena explained, "The engagement between my brother-in-law andwas called off ages ago, but only our
families knew about it. When Lindsay asked, | couldn't say the marriage was still on, but | also couldn't tell her it was over. What
was | supposed to say?"
With tears streaming down her face, Serena continued, "All | could do was subtly hint to her that it's my sister who is with Romeo
now, and | dared not reveal anything else. But Lindsay misunderstood, thinking my sister stole my love and secretly told Madeline."
Serena was utterly distraught, "It's because they gossiped and twisted the story that it reached my sister. That's why | turned so
upset and cto confront Lindsay. And can you believe it? Lindsay slappedright there in front of everyone. You can ask
around; I'm not lying to you."
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Louisa paused, and her body tensed as she looked at her daughter, who was struggling to speak through her tears. Half skeptical,
half sympathetic, she said, "But what | heard was that you were impersonating a student of Queena."
"I was talking about Mr. Quentin, the man who used to teachthe violin. Somehow Lindsay and the others thought | meant
Queena, and they blurted it out in front of everyone, which was so embarrassing for me. In the end, to not ruin the party, | had to
apologize."
Serena clung to Louisa, her voice filled with a hurt so raw, "Mom, do you think if I'm not your biological daughter, nothing | say
matters? Was all the love you showedover the past eighteen years just for show? Sometimes I'm so jealous of my sister. She's
got the Collins family blood. No matter what happens, everyone always takes her side."
Louisa looked at her and felt a pang of compassion.
"Are you really saying you never told your friends that Bella was the one who ruined your engagement to Romeo?" Kenneth, who
had been listening in, couldn't help but interject.
"I swear, | didn't, | really didn't.." Serena wept as if her heart was breaking, "Do you think I'm not aware of my position as an
adopted daughter? If | slander my sister and do anything against her, you would throwout in a heartbeat. Why would | do
something so thankless?"
Kenneth found her argument compelling, but still, that friend from the party had indeed claimed that Serena was posing as
Queena's student and had told her friend Lindsay that Bella had destroyed her engagement with Romeo, which was why she was
with Martin now.
"About what | told Lindsay, only she and | know the truth. Everyone else is just spreading hearsay. How credible can that be?"
Perhaps fearing that her parents would confront Lindsay for the truth, Serena added, "Like | said earlier, Lindsay knows I'm not with
Romeo, so she's been sucking up to Grandpa Phillip—that's something everyone has seen. She's just trying to becGrandpa
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmPhillip's granddaughter-in-law, right?"
Serena analyzed further, "If she really considereda good friend and if | had really said my sister ruined my engagement with
Romeo, then as my friend, Lindsay should have been the first to defend me. How could she turn around and try to get close to
Romeo? Considering her character, how reliable can anything coming from her be?"
Kenneth started to see slogic in her words. If Lindsay truly valued her friendship with Serena, she wouldn't rush to get close to
Romeo after hearing Serena wasn't with him.
"You can ask my sister about what happened at the party; | have no objections. But my sister isn't omniscient. How could she know
what | said to Lindsay? She only knows what Lindsay told her, and Lindsay's intentions are not pure. She wants to drive a wedge
between my sister andso she can benefit from the fallout."
At this point, Serena sobbed softly, wiping away the tears from her cheeks, "So, it's not that I'm being evasive. I'm just trying to lay
out the facts for you."
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