Chapter 82
Liliana had trained in taekwondo, but two fists can't fight four hands. Besides, those girls looked like trouble - how could she possibly beat them?
The blonde girl standing at the front reached out and shoved Liliana's shoulder, cursing as she did.
"You think you're so great, huh? Daring to steal the guy I like, and talking back to me?"
"You dress all proper, but turns out you're just a slut!"
"If I don't teach you a lesson today, you won't know your place!"
Liliana's hair was a mess, with a red mark at the corner of her mouth. All her previous arrogance was gone. She clutched her clothes, body trembling slightly, forcing herself to stand firm and bite back through gritted teeth.
"What's wrong with your brain? I just accidentally bumped into him and said sorry."
"And in your eyes, that means I like him, that I want to steal your man? How much do you love him? He's so ugly, yet you still want him and protect him like he's some treasure."
"You bitch, how dare you talk badly about him! I'll tear your mouth apart!"
The blonde grabbed Liliana's mouth and pulled hard.
Liliana bit her, and she loosened her grip in pain.
Liliana shouted at them: "This is near the school. If you don't let me go, I'll call for help!"
"Go ahead, call!" One of the girls raised her hand to slap her face. "Let's see who dares to interfere!"
I stood at the alley entrance, feet planted.
If this were any other girl being bullied, I would have rushed in to help already.
But the one being bullied was Liliana - Liliana who had always bullied me.
Honestly, I didn't want to get involved at all.
I remembered everything - how she'd targeted me these past few days, how she'd tried every way to disgust me.
She was Amelia's person, came here to make trouble for me. Someone was dealing with her - I should be happy.
I looked away and lifted my foot to leave, but behind me came Liliana's struggling voice mixed with crying, and the dull thuds of fists landing on her body.
Those girls weren't holding back. If this continued, who knows what would happen to Liliana?
I took two steps forward, but finally stopped.
I'd gone soft.
No matter how much I disliked Liliana, she shouldn't be beaten to death.
I took a deep breath, turned back, stood at the alley entrance, and said coldly: "Stop."
The girls froze instantly, turning to look at me in unison, their eyes full of hostility and impatience: "Who are you? Mind your own business!"
I walked forward two steps, scanning them with no fear in my eyes: "I called the police. They'll be here soon. If you don't want to get arrested..."
The girl in the lead changed her expression and looked me up and down a few times.
The blonde stared at me coldly: "Called the police? You dare call the police? Then I'll beat you up too!"
She gave a signal, and her followers walked toward me.
I tapped my phone behind my back - a police siren sounded, and those girls panicked instantly.
"We should go. If the police catch us again, we'll get expelled."
The blonde pointed at Liliana and me threateningly: "You two had better watch out. Next time I get the chance, I'll kill you both!"
With that, they cursed and ran off.
The alley went quiet, leaving just Liliana and me.
Liliana leaned against the wall. She slowly straightened up, raised her hand to fix her messy hair, fingers brushing the red mark at her mouth corner, movements stiff.
She didn't look at me, just kept her head down, shoulders slightly shaking - I couldn't tell if she was crying.
I had no intention of talking to her. I turned to leave.
"Sophia."
She suddenly called out to me, voice hoarse with a barely noticeable tremor.
I stopped but didn't turn around.
"Why did you help me?" she asked, her tone full of confusion and a bit of grievance. "I targeted you so much before, constantly went against you. You should want me beaten to death."
I turned around, looked at her, and said honestly, "I just can't stand seeing many against one. Besides, you don't deserve to die."
She sniffled and looked up, eyes red, tears still hanging on her lashes. Gone was her previous arrogance - she looked disheveled and vulnerable.
"You're actually pretty nice, not like what she said."
She?
Amelia?
I laughed coldly: "If Amelia said anything good about me, that would be really strange."
She took a step forward, clutching her clothes, as if making a big decision, speaking quickly: "I apologize for my childish behavior before."
"I targeting you was wrong, but you were wrong too."
I raised an eyebrow: "Me? What did I do wrong? Let's hear it."
"Amelia said you used James and Grandma's support to bully her, suppress her, and almost got her daughter kidnapped."
"I was angry, so I wanted to teach you a lesson for her."
Not one true sentence in ten - that's definitely something Amelia would say.
"But you helped me today, so I'm starting to doubt whether you're really as bad as she said."
I looked at her, saying each word clearly: "I never did any of those things she said."
"I own up to what I do. If I did it, I did it. If I didn't, even with a knife at my throat, I won't admit to it."
The ice in Liliana's eyes melted, her tone firm: "I believe you."
"You believe me just like that? Don't want to know more about what happened between her and me?"
"Can I?"
I nodded.
We found a coffee shop and sat down to talk.
I told her everything Amelia had done to me.
When she heard how Amelia caused me to lose my child, and how even James didn't help me, she bit her lip, eyes turning red.
"Sophia, you've been through so much."
I took a sip of coffee: "It's all in the past."
"I shouldn't have believed her and targeted you." Liliana looked up, meeting my eyes with a very serious expression. "Sophia, I'm sorry. I was such a jerk before. I apologize to you."
Her apology came so suddenly that I was a bit stunned.
I thought she would continue helping Amelia, would stubbornly refuse to admit fault. I didn't expect her to admit her mistake so readily.
"I know you might not forgive me." She bit her lip and took another half step forward, voice softer but incredibly firm. "But I'm sincere. Sophia, I want to be friends with you. Is that okay?"
I looked at Liliana before me. Her face still bore injuries, stubbornness, and uncertainty intertwined in her eyes.
She had completely lost her previous flamboyance.
I was silent for a few seconds, then slowly spoke: "I don't like holding grudges, but I don't make friends easily either."
Her eyes lit up instantly: "So that means I have a chance to become your friend."
"Don't worry, I'll definitely show you my sincerity."
I looked at her, tone calm: "Think it through. Being friends with me means standing on my side, which means breaking with Amelia. Have you thought this through?"
Liliana barely hesitated, nodding firmly, a flash of determination in her eyes: "I've thought it through."
"I think you're someone worth getting close to. I've always had good judgment about people - I'm never wrong."