2
Paul snickered and leaned in closer to me, grinning.
“Little sister Melody, you’d be better off with me! How could someone like Adam ever like a pretty face with an empty head like you?”
He looked me up and down, his gaze so blatant it was as if he was undressing me with his eyes.
“The one standing next to him will only be someone like Cassy. That talented beauty next to Adam is what you call a perfect match. Standing next to you, it’s like a young master with his servant girl. Do you understand the difference?”
The contempt in Paul’s tone was undisguised, his equally disdainful gaze falling on me.
Paul’s words made my face turn pale.
But it’s possible that I understood this point even more clearly than he did.
I had actually seen Cassy before.
Once, Mom asked me to bring something to Adam at his university, I searched all the way to Adam’s lab and saw him smiling in a way he had never shown me, listening attentively to a girl with a high ponytail opposite him.
The two stood side by side, discussing complex formulas that I couldn’t understand at all.
I watched them through the glass window. The two seemed to be in a world of their own, with no room for anyone else.
They also looked very compatible, like formulas arranged together, always without a place for me.
That day, I handed the things to Adam’s classmate without even thinking of going in.
Come to think of it, I was just an adopted daughter of the Lewis family. I was already incredibly grateful that they had given me a second
chance at life. How could I dare to on slana with Mom and Dad taken
GUNTIE LU RI, i was just an apicu vaugier on the LED my.
chance at life. How could I dare to go along with Mom and Dad’s jokes and think that I was worthy of Adam?
Just as I was lost in thought, Paul suddenly let go of my arm and pulled me into his arms!
“What are you doing!” I cried out, instinctively pushing him away hard.
In the struggle, my elbow hit the drying rack at the edge of the sink. The plates on it fell into the sink with a loud clang.
Paul’s arms were like iron clamps, gripping me so tightly that I couldn’t break free.
“Let go of me!”
I saw a flash of satisfaction cross Paul’s face. In my panic, I heard hurried footsteps coming down the stairs.
Adam and a few other friends appeared at the kitchen door, probably alarmed by the noise.
When Paul saw them, he let go of me as if he had been electrocuted. He quickly stepped back and immediately put on a surprised and angry expression, pointing at me.
“Adam! Look at her!”
His voice was loud, filled with accusation.
“I just saw her standing here in
a daze and came
Over to check on her out of kindness. She suddenly threw herself at me and hugged me!”
He laughed coldly, his sharp gaze sweeping across my face.
“What? Can’t get Adam, so you’re trying to seduce me? Want to be a daughter–in–law of the Phillips family? Melody, you’re really overestimating yourself!”
“That’s not true! He was the one who…” I hurriedly tried to explain, my whole body shaking as I attempted to clarify what had just happened.
But no one gave me a chance.
The few friends who had come down with Adam looked back and forth between Paul and me with suggestive gazes, smiles on their faces as if they were watching a good show. They clearly believed Paul’s twisted version of events.
Adam’s face was terrifyingly dark, his gaze falling on me like knives, filled with undisguised disgust and impatience.
“Enough!” He harshly cut off my unfinished words.
“Melody, look at yourself! Go back to your room and change your clothes! Stop embarrassing yourself here!”
Embarrassing myself?
I lowered my head instinctively.
Only then did I realize that during the struggle, water from the sink had splashed out, soaking a large part of my chest.
The thin summer fabric clung to my body when wet, clearly outlining the curves of my chest. I instinctively covered my chest with my hands, still able to hear a few laughs from around Adam.
Embarrassment and overwhelming grievance instantly broke through my last line of defense.
He didn’t even think about listening to my explanation.
I rushed out of the kitchen, almost fleeing back to my own room.
