Chapter 26 Tobias, Hold Me
Standing in front of her was Fallon, who, like Amelia, had grown up in the small town of Regal City.
Regal City was a place where most families made their living through farming. Having savings over a hundred thousand dollars was considered quite wealthy.
Amelia, who had been alone with Rupert and without a stable income, was considered poor.
Amelia and Fallon had grown up on the same street.
They played together often as kids and shared the same classes throughout elementary and middle school, making them inseparable. In high school, they attended the same school but were in different classes, which caused their relationship to become distant.
Shortly after starting high school, they had a complete falling out.
The reason was simple: Fallon had a crush on a boy named Will, but Will was interested in the introverted Amelia and frequently visited her class to see her.
Fallon believed that Amelia knew about her feelings for Will and had secretly tried to win him over, leading to a direct confrontation with Amelia. Fallon even rallied their entire grade to isolate and bully Amelia.
Amelia endured six months of relentless bullying until Fallon's father, Gray West, struck it rich in the coal industry, earning seven to eight million dollars. The West family suddenly became wealthy.
They moved from Regal City to River City and bought a house there. Gray also arranged for Fallon to transfer to a prestigious private high school in River City.
From that point on, Amelia never saw Fallon again, and her school life improved somewhat.
"I knew I recognized that back. I can't believe it's really you."
Fallon approached Amelia, arms crossed, looking her up and down with an air of superiority.
"What brings you to River City? You can't be here for a vacation."
Fallon raised an eyebrow and sneered, "I get it. Your family is so poor; you must be here working a summer job."
"Are you applying to be a sales associate at this store? Did you get the job? Should I buy a phone from you to help boost your sales?"
"Excuse me, but..." Clea started to speak, but Amelia's glance stopped her.
Amelia tilted her head and looked at Fallon.
Fallon's sense of superiority was almost tangible.
Images flashed through Amelia's mind—being cornered by girls in the school bathroom and drenched, having her desk covered in insults, her chair smeared with red paint, and the hateful posts on the school's online forum.
Amelia's feelings of endurance and pain vividly resurfaced in her mind.
She lifted her eyelids and coldly said, "Sorry, who are you?"
"You..."
Amelia's words silenced Fallon.
She took a deep breath and forced a smile, "What, Amelia, you don't recognize me now? No need to pretend you don't know me."
"Don't worry; I won't target you anymore. We're not in the same social class now. Since we played together as kids, you can ask me for help if you need anything."
"Is your mom's illness better now? Before I left, I heard she was planning to give up treatment because you couldn't afford it. Since we ran into each other today, I should do something."
With that, Fallon took out her phone and removed the old, dirty case.
"You might not recognize it, but this case is designer, originally costing over eight thousand dollars. Even though it's old now, you could sell it second-hand for about three thousand dollars."
"I'm planning to get the latest ZE phone anyway. Since we were neighbors, I'll give you this case to help out your family."
Before Fallon could finish, someone snatched the phone case from her hand.
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Fallon was startled and turned to see Tobias, looking furious.
"Tobias?" Fallon stammered, "What a coincidence, are you here to buy a phone too?"
Nervously, Fallon introduced herself, "I'm a student at Prestige High School, from class A. I'm friends with Rachel."
Fallon had transferred to Prestige High School.
The Martinez family was a prominent family in River City, and Zander, Tobias, and Rachel Martinez were well-known at Prestige High School.
Zander was famous for his looks and intelligence, always ranking first. Rachel was known for her beauty, kindness, and generosity.
Tobias was notorious for being tall, handsome, rebellious, and wild. Despite his poor academic performance and frequent absences, many girls at Prestige High School secretly admired him.
Fallon was no exception; she had always liked this type of bad boy.
But she was in class A, and Tobias was in class E. She could only steal glances at him when he visited Rachel.
This was her first close encounter with him.
Seeing his handsome face up close made Fallon's heart race. She worried if her makeup was still intact.
"What were you saying to her?" Tobias asked angrily.
Fallon was confused, not understanding why Tobias was so upset.
Gray had made some money, but no true aristocrats took them seriously.
So, even though the Martinez family's recent reunion with Amelia was known in elite circles, Fallon was unaware.
She couldn't fathom that Tobias had any connection to a girl from the countryside like Amelia.
"Tobias, she's an old schoolmate. We were just catching up."
"Catching up? Fuck! Catching up about what?" Tobias's eyes blazed with anger. "Who are you insulting with your filthy phone case?"
With that, Tobias threw the case forcefully to the ground.
Fallon was scared, not understanding why Tobias was so furious.
Clea quickly intervened, "Excuse me, Madam, I was about to tell you that the pink and white ZE phone you wanted was bought by this lady."
What?
Amelia bought the pink and white ZE?
Isn't that phone thirty thousand dollars? How could Amelia, who couldn't even afford tuition, buy such an expensive phone?
Then Fallon remembered Clea mentioning that the buyer's boyfriend had gone to recharge his card.
So, Amelia was dating Tobias?
Amelia, whom Fallon looked down on, was dating the unattainable Tobias. This realization was more painful than anything Fallon had ever felt.
Amelia had been silent, but seeing Fallon's disbelief and fleeting jealousy, she suddenly turned.
So, you like Tobias.
The next moment, Amelia hugged Tobias's waist right in front of Fallon. As Tobias looked surprised, she buried her head in his chest.
Tobias smelled fresh and lemony.
Amelia tightened her hold and said, "Brother, she's bullying me. She used to lead people to isolate and bully me at school."
She rubbed her forehead against Tobias's chest and murmured, "Brother, I'm scared. Hold me."