Chapter 16 rumours about me

Chapter 16 rumours about me
Madelyn’s P.O.V.

I felt irritated by those sneaking glances that I was getting from everyone present in the class.
It had been six days since the incident and my first day after my leave. There was nothing on the school forum about that incident, nor did Stella find any rumors about me or that incident in any other chat groups.
Still, I felt that everyone in the school knew about what happened to me.
I was trying to answer a question in the economics assignment, but they were making me uncomfortable.
“Hey, Maddie.” I looked up when I heard someone greeting me in a low and cautious voice.
Bethany Harper, a blonde with a small heart-shaped face, was now standing beside my desk. She was just a classmate; she was neither hostile towards me nor a friend.
I raised my brows questioningly.
“I didn’t mean to ask this, but there is a rumor going on in the school about you.” She spoke in a hushed tone and sounded cautious.
My heart sank. My hunch was right.
"Rumor? What rumor?" Stella asked her angrily, but I held her hand on the table without looking at her.
My gaze was still locked on Bethany.
“Someone saw you and Easton going in the same apartment building. The rumor is that you and Easton are in a secret relationship. Is that true?”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Are these people really that dumb?
“For God’s sake, are you people really that dumb? Seriously?” Stella exclaimed angrily, her voice pitched higher.
“Just because they went in the same building, they have a secret affair?” She roared aloud, making Bethany cower in fear, but my mind was completely blown up.
“I also went in the same building. In fact, I spent most of my time with Maddie in her apartment. It means that she is having a secret affair with me too?” Stella’s question was absurd, but given the situation, she didn’t sound wrong.
“Grow up, guys. There are more than 70 units in the building. The way you all speculated, the next thing you guys are going to say that Madelyn has a secret affair with all the people living in that building, huh?”
“Stella.” I called her in a low voice, but she yanked her hand away from my grip.
“No, Maddie. I really want to understand how they came up with this absurd idea, and …. And how are they going to take over their family businesses in the future when they can’t even think in a right direction.” Her voice trembled a little in a fit of rage.
“Who pissed you off, kiddo?” I looked at Galvin with a blank gaze when he asked Stella in a teasing tone while coming inside with his gang.
I stiffened when my gaze met Oscar's. My hands curled up in a fist on their own, and I felt a slight pain in my throat.
“Do you know, Easton, that you have a secret affair with Madelyn?” Stella asked angrily, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
“What? When did this happen? How the fk spread this rumour?” Easton growled, kicking a desk nearby in a fit of rage in the end.
“Someone saw you entering the same building where Madelyn lives.”
“And they all assumed that I….. I have an affair with her? For God’s sake, where are your brains?” Easton roared aloud, hitting the top of the same desk with his fist.
“Who said that?” Fred asked angrily.
The whole class went silent. None of them spoke. I looked at Bethany and sighed in my heart.
Her whole body was now trembling hard in fear like a dry leaf in the storm.
“I didn’t know that I needed to inform everyone about my whereabouts." Easton was also trembling hard in a fit of rage.
“Bunch of idiots.” He growled aloud and stormed out of the room.
All the time, I could feel Oscar’s piercing cold gaze on me, but I didn’t look at him at all.
The bell rang at the same time, indicating that the class is about to over. Our economics teacher had some work to finish. So, she gave us an assignment and went away in the beginning of the class.
Oscar and his gang left right after the teacher.
I didn’t know why they came back and had no desire to know about their whereabouts.
I also closed my notebook and gathered my stuff.
Bethany went back to her seat, and Oscar also walked out of the room with Galvin and Fred.
Stella continued grumbling angrily, but I didn’t pay attention to her either.
What’s in there to discuss and explain to the people whose concern it isn't?
After putting everything in my bag, I threw my bag on my back, held the strap on my chest, and stood up.
“Are you going to the math class now?” Stella asked me in a stiff voice.
“Yeah.” I replied to her absentmindedly.
I stopped at the door of the classroom and looked behind me.
“For your information, I also have three more properties in different locations in the city. So, if the next time, you see me and someone else from the school entering the same apartment or an avenue, think with a clear brain, not from the gutter.” My voice was cold and precise.
No one in the class spoke a word.
I resumed walking out of the class with an expressionless face.
“Fk it, Maddie. What was that?” Stella asked me excitedly in a hushed tone.
“Truth.” I replied to her indifferently.
“You really have this many properties?” She asked me more excitedly, still keeping her tone hushed; her eyes dramatically widened.
I looked at her in amusement, though.
“Why are you so excited?” I asked her in amusement.
“Damn you, girl. That apartment of yours alone is worth more than 7 million, and now you are telling me that you also have three more properties. Yet you are asking me why I am so excited?” She grumbled dramatically, and I just knitted my brows dismissively.
"I told you that my grandma taught me about investments from a very young age, and investment in real estate never fails if you are cautious enough before buying a property." I still explained to her in the same manner.
We were about to take a turn at the corner of the corridor when Oscar and Galvin suddenly popped in front of us out of nowhere.
"What the fk, Oscar?" Stella yelled aloud in fear and anger.
I also screamed in fear and held the strap tightly while looking at Oscar fearfully.
"They need to talk, kiddo. Let's go." Galvin spoke to Stella in a stiff voice and grabbed her arm.
My heart sank when I realized that Galvin wanted me to be with Oscar alone.
"Fk with him, Galvin. What is he going to talk about, huh? How is he going to strangle her to death next time?" Stella retorted in a loud voice, but I didn't register her words.
Instead, my mind started replaying the same scene again.
I was now completely drenched in sweat and felt difficulty in breathing.