Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Jasmine continued, “Don’t you suspect that Madelyn has known all along? Zach, you’re always cautious. You don’t want Madelyn to find out about us. Or is it that you can’t bring yourself to confront her? Do you want me to help you?”
She curled her red lips, interlaced her fingers propped her chin, and gave him a seductive gaze. “Darling, you know I never go easy on my rivals. If she ties knot with Ethan Arnold… Dealing with the Jent family alone is already challenging for you. With the addition of the Arnold family, do you think you can handle it?”
Zach
put down his silverware, grabbed a piece of tissue, and wiped his mouth. “My affairs. don’t require your meddling… Put on your shoes.”
Jasmine laughed as she moved her foot away from his calf.
Zach stood up, turned around, and left. Soon, his Audi drove out of the garage at the Jent residence.
That night, Madelyn retired to bed before ten o’clock.
Ethan had not responded to her text, but she didn’t dwell on it. She interpreted it as an indication that the teenager she had encountered earlier couldn’t be Ethan. If he were truly the same person, he would not have disregarded her messages.
Rosario had already washed the black coat borrowed from that teenager and hung it outside. Madelyn’s room on the balcony. Rosario had also fixed the buttons on Madelyn’s school uniform and neatly placed it by her bedside.
Madelyn awoke early in the morning. She had a restless night, tormented by nightmare. In her dream, Zach had imprisoned her in a room for his pleasure. She had her legs chained and was fastened to the bed’s head position. With aggressive lust in his eyes, he said, “Madelyn, you’re my wife, how dare you like another man…”
Glancing at the time, she realized it was only six o’clock. She decided to take a shower and indulge in some reading. It wasn’t until seven-thirty that she departed for school.
For the next four or five days, Madelyn’s life remained relatively peaceful. There were no major incidents, and she rarely encountered Zach.
However, she couldn’t help but notice a distinct change in her classmates’ behavior. They noticeably kept their distance from her. When the subject representatives went around to collect assignments, they would purposefully skip over her. During exams, the person seated in front of her would deliberately drop the answer sheets on the floor while passing them, only to feign an apology, saying, “I did give it to you, you just didn’t catch it.”
Such incidents occurred repeatedly, but Madelyn chose not to let them affect her.
Throughout that week, Madelyn consistently performed well in every exam, securing a place in the middle to upper ranks of her class. However, she made sure not to achieve exceptionally high grades to avoid drawing unnecessary attention and speculation.
In the final class of the day, as school came to an end, Madelyn caught sight of Timothy and Adrian hurrying from the outside. She called out to them, curiosity in her voice. “Hey, wait! I’m just wondering, how’s Forrest doing?”
Timothy retorted, his tone sharp, “Mind your own damn business! What’s it to you? You’re not seriously into Forrest, are you? You? Give me a break… Even if he had a crush on a dog, he still wouldn’t be interested in you.”
Adrian patted Timothy on the shoulder. “Let’s go, just ignore her. Otherwise, she’ll keep bothering you.”
Madelyn watched as they grabbed their backpacks and walked away. ‘My concern for Forrest stems solely from guilt. Why did they jump to the conclusion that I have feelings for him?’ she pondered.
Madelyn carefully packed her review materials and class notes into her backpack, ensuring everything was neatly organized. Since it was her turn for cleaning duty that day, she knew she had to stay behind and tidy up. Placing her backpack down quietly, she glanced over at the cluttered corner at the back of the room, letting out a sigh. ‘Our school charges such high fees, yet they still make us clean classrooms like in some other countries.’
Her innate obsession with cleanliness kicked in once more. As she finished cleaning, the daylight was fading, and darkness began to settle outside. She had even meticulously used a ruler to scrape off the gum stuck to the floor, diligently wiping away any residue. With sweat on her brow, she surveyed the now spotless classroom, feeling an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
Madelyn happened to be the last student to leave the school that day. Her chauffeur had been waiting patiently outside for some time. As she got in the car, something caught her eye-an unmistakable slender figure across the street, accompanied by three or four other individuals…
‘Jadie?!’ she exclaimed in her mind, recognizing the familiar silhouette.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.