Chapter 53 When People Make Mistakes, They Should Apologize
The air hung still for a few seconds.
Ryan, who had never met Amelia—the daughter of Robert and Rupert, who hailed from the countryside—was trending number one on social media?
Ryan instinctively raised an eyebrow, yawning as he got up and walked toward the bathroom, shirtless. "Give me five minutes. I'll shower, and then we can talk."
Five minutes later, Ryan emerged from the bathroom with a white towel wrapped around his waist, looking completely at ease.
At just twenty-one, he had the perfect blend of youthful charm and masculine allure. His physique was tall and lean, with smooth, well-defined muscles.
His wet hair was still dripping, and his finely chiseled features looked like they were sculpted by the gods. His expressive eyes were both deep and captivating.
No wonder he became an instant sensation upon debuting; some people are just born for the entertainment industry.
Hugo glanced at him and thought that if Ryan’s fans saw this scene, they’d probably faint from excitement.
"Hand me the phone, let me take a look," Ryan said, taking the phone from Hugo. "By the way, I’m craving some spaghetti Bolognese for lunch. Can you handle that, Hugo?"
For the next half hour, Ryan sat on the couch, watching the trending livestream using Hugo's account and reading through numerous comments.
The more he read, the more amused he became.
When Hugo came out of the kitchen with two bowls, wearing an apron, he saw Ryan still fixated on the phone and asked, "Finished watching?"
"Yeah," Ryan placed the phone on the table and looked up. "I thought Amelia was just some pitiful girl, but she’s really surprised me."
Ryan leaned back in his chair, as if he had found something entertaining. His playful eyes gleamed with a hint of anticipation.
However, his tone remained casual as he said to Hugo, "The filming for the crew is done for now. Help me arrange a few days off; I need to go back to The Martinez Mansion."
Just then, Ryan’s phone on the table rang. He glanced at the caller ID and picked up. "Hello, Mom?"
"Ryan, did you see the news today? Do you know about Rachel?"
Jenny’s anxious voice came through the line, and there was faint sobbing in the background, likely Rachel’s.
"I know." Ryan paused, the smile fading from his face.
"If you know, how can you be so calm? Rachel is being torn apart online!"
Jenny's urgency was palpable. "Don’t you have a great team? Why aren’t you helping her figure this out and resolve the issue?"
"Mom," Ryan's tone turned cold and serious, a stark contrast to his usual laid-back demeanor.
"This can’t be fixed. Rachel should have anticipated these consequences when she decided to impersonate someone."
"She was exposed in public, and she deceived Mrs. Church. Even the best team can’t reverse this."
Ryan was right, but Jenny didn’t care about that.
"Even if it’s impossible, you have to find a way! If this continues, the Martinez family's reputation will be ruined!"
"Ryan, don’t forget, Rachel is the sister you grew up with. But that Amelia is the daughter of that wretched Rupert and Robert’s illegitimate child!"
"Are you going to let an illegitimate child step all over Rachel?"
Jenny’s emotions were escalating. "And Rachel has a heart condition. Any stress could be dangerous for her. She’s already having suicidal thoughts from the online abuse. Are you really going to ignore her?"
Ryan rubbed his temples, the noise from Jenny’s voice giving him a headache. He took a deep breath, his tone devoid of emotion.
"Mom, the only solution now is for Rachel to apologize to the public."
"Everyone makes mistakes, and when you do, you should apologize."
"If Rachel truly understands her mistake and apologizes sincerely, I’ll have Hugo arrange for someone to handle it."
"If she refuses to apologize, there’s nothing I can do."
With that, Ryan hung up.
From Ryan’s perspective, as both a brother and a son, showing unconditional favoritism without principles or boundaries was harmful.
People must take responsibility for their actions. Even though Rachel was his sister, he couldn’t just have his team issue statements to whitewash her mistakes.
---
Meanwhile, a few hours earlier at Prestige High School.
Amelia didn’t remember Chris or Orval.
When she fainted yesterday afternoon, she was already disoriented and her vision was blurry. She hadn’t seen Chris’s face clearly at all.
She only vaguely remembered that he was very handsome and had a faint scent of disinfectant.
The smell wasn’t pungent, but it felt cold and distant. Michael’s comforting incense-like scent was what reassured her.
So from her perspective, Chris and Orval were strangers. Amelia didn’t even spare them a glance. After the livestream ended, she just talked to Rex.
"Madam, Madam, with this band-aid, it won’t hurt."
Rex finally had the chance to give Amelia the band-aid he had been holding onto for so long.
Amelia wasn’t wearing a school uniform shirt, just a plain white T-shirt.
Rex carefully took her hand and, seeing the scrape on her elbow, his eyes instantly reddened.
"You, protect Rex, get hurt, Rex, hurt."
Amelia could tell that Rex seemed to have a slight developmental delay and had trouble expressing himself.
But communication isn’t just about words. Seeing the concern and worry in Rex’s clear eyes, Amelia felt a warmth in her heart.
"It looks worse than it is. It doesn’t hurt at all." Amelia took the band-aid and asked, "Rex, can you put it on for me? It’ll heal quickly once it’s on."
After a night, the scrape on Amelia’s arm was already scabbing over, so the band-aid was unnecessary.
But she leaned against the wall and let Rex put it on, knowing it would ease his worry.
"Okay!"
Sure enough, Rex nodded enthusiastically.
He carefully peeled off the band-aid’s backing, gently blew on Amelia’s arm, and solemnly placed the band-aid over her scrape.
Even though there were many people around, Amelia didn’t care. She patted Rex’s head.
Sunlight poured into the hallway, illuminating Amelia’s beautiful profile, her lips curved in a gentle smile. Rex’s innocent focus on applying the band-aid made the scene heartwarming.
Someone quickly captured this moment and posted it on Instagram, and it went viral.
Years later, when the global top ten most beautiful girls were selected, this photo was always included.
But that’s a story for another time.
Right now, just as the band-aid was applied, the school bell rang.
The students who had been watching had to return to class, and Lila had to tell Amelia, "Madam, you have class too. You should head back to your classroom."
"Okay," Amelia thought Lila and the others were leaving, so she said, "Yesterday was just a small act. You don’t need to worry about it."
Amelia had risked her life to save Rex, yet she brushed it off as a small favor. The more Amelia downplayed it, the more Lila admired her.
Brave, kind, and beautiful—Lila couldn’t help but like her more.
And Rex liked Amelia too.
Rex was usually very shy, always hiding in Lila’s arms when faced with strangers. But he trusted and was close to Amelia.
If only Amelia could marry Orval.
Lila wondered if someone as wonderful as Amelia could ever be interested in Orval.
Watching Amelia enter the classroom, Lila shot Orval a disdainful look, leaving him bewildered.
He hadn’t said a word, so why was Lila glaring at him?