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Cordelia never had a keen sense for romance, so she completely missed the hint when the big shot in the group flirted with her through the dear stuff
Cordelia would show her respect since she referred to him as her teacher. She couldnât explain why but just found him reliable
After sending the message, Cordelia printed the downloaded materials and carried them from the study to her bedroom
On her way, she bumped into Rachel heading downstairs Rachel looked surprised. âLia, whereâs Juliana? Didnât she come home with you?â
Cordelia responded with an indifferent âNoâ
Rachel frowned. âWhy didnât you wait for Juliana? You were like this in the morning, too. Youâre too coldâhearted.â
Watching a sitcom in the living room, Laurinda cut in without taking her eyes off the screen âWell, thatâs what happens when you donât grow up in the family. Thank goodness. Julianaâs a good girl.â
Cordelia couldnât care less about their comments and continued to her room, closing the door behind her. She placed the papers on her and picked up her phone.
Mr. AllâRound texted. [Learning to drive a sports car is fine, but donât speed in the city. Itâs against the law. I teach you when I get the chance.]
Cordelia smiled softly and texted back. [Okay, Iâll start studying now.]
Mr. AllâRound texted again. [Good. If you have any questions, ask me.]
She knew she had to master the new information before tackling Batraâs Conjecture. She had just started diving into the material when there was a knock on the door, and Lorna called her down for dinner.
Reluctantly, Cordelia put the papers down, sighed softly, and went downstairs.
The house was bustling today. Except for Kermit, everyone around.
Steward and Laurinda sat at opposite ends of the long dining table, with Sanderson, Lorna, and Cordelia on one side and Rachel with Juliana on the other.
While they were eating, Rachelâs cell phone rang. She hastily answered, attentive. âHello, Mrs.
⦠No trouble at all. Please go ahead. Oh?â
Whatever the caller said changed Rachelâs expression. She first glared at Juliana, then replied with a forced smile. âOf course, no problem at all!â
After hanging up, she slapped Juliana on the back. âWhat were you thinking, child?â
Stunned and annoyed, Juliana retorted, âMom, why did you do that?â
Rachel was livid. âDid you blab about the private tutorial with Mr. Stanton I set up for you? Didnât I tell you to keep it a secret? Iâve pulled so many strings to get you this opportunity, and now, look, the news has spread, and Mrs. Collins is insisting her daughter join the interview, too! I canât afford to offend the Collins family!â
Julianaâs eyes flickered guiltily. She shot Cordelia a malicious look.
Cordelia had been the talk of the school, and Juliana couldnât help but share the news with her best friend, never imagining it would leak.
But no, she had told her friend to keep it to herself. So, it must be Cordelia leaking the news.
Juliana stood up abruptly, pointing at Cordelia. âWas it you?!â
Cordelia, who had been quietly eating, looked up in confusion.
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âYou never talk to anyone else! Did you tell Merry? With her gossiping ways, I bet she has spread the ! Youâre just jealous since I play the piano and will take lessons from Mr. Stanton, so you sabotaged me on to make me lose the spot!â
Rachel also cast a suspicious eye on Cordelia
Before Lorna could intervene, Laurinda slammed her hand on the table âCordelia! How can you be so envious? You doesnât care about Juliana at all, and now youâre deliberately causing trouble, huh?â
Sanderson set down his fork with a clatter. âMom, shouldnât we look into what happened before we sta accusing Lia?â
Laurinda shouted, her chest heaving with anger. Who else could it be? Only the family knew, and Juliana certainly wouldnât line up competitors for herselfâ
Sanderson looked at Cordelia, asking for clarification. âLin, are you involved in this?â
He was subtly giving his daughter a chance to speak
The room fell silent as Cordelia slowly spoke up. âInvolved in what?â
Sanderson tried to suppress a smile at his daughterâs cute expression. âThe matter of inviting Mr. Stanton to our house this weekendâ he explained,
Cordelia replied, âOh, no, I didnât say anything
She had been too busy at school proving her theorem to gossip about Juliana or anything else, for that matter. After clarifying, she continued eating, but Juliana didnât buy it. âIt must be you!â she shouted, âDid you tell Merry? After hearing it from her, everyone knows now!â
Juliana insisted it should be Cordeliaâs fault. Otherwise, sheâd be the one in trouble..
Her anger flared. âYou pretend to be so calm, but youâre always trying to outdo me, right? Cordelia, youâre so despicable!â
âEnough!â Lornaâs voice cut through the tension. âDo you have any proof? Juliana, youâre family, not enemies. Lia has never done anything against you since she entered this house.â
âHow can you deny that?â Rachel backed Juliana, encouraging her. âHanleyâs in the math club, and so Lia joins math. Iâm in physics, and so Lia is in physics. Why doesnât she compete in chemistry? Sheâs holding a grudge because I took her fiancé!â
Cordelia paused a while before asking, âIs there a chemistry competition, too?â
Everyone was shocked by her genuinely perplexed reaction.
She pondered, considering chemistry competitions may be a valuable learning opportunity.
The family stared at her in disbelief, her innocent inquiry hanging in the air.
Finally, with a voice that cut through the air like a thunderclap, Laurinda bellowed. âLook at her! What kind of attitude is this? Arrogance? Sheâs a good student, and so what? There are plenty of fish in the sea. There are people far more capable than her! And what good is academic excellence to a high society like ours? Look at her manners. Can she play the piano? Does she know how to waltz? Can she a bouquet? Sheâs just a wildflower plucked from some backwater orphanage, and she dares to defy me!â
Lorna trembled with rage, about to retort.
Bang! A forceful slap struck the table.
A sudden hush fell over the dinner party as all eyes turned to the source of the outburst, Sanderson. His face was a picture of brewing storm clouds. He took a deep breath and said, âMom, since I married Lorna, youâve made it clear you didnât like her. And now youâve extended that to Lia. Iâve been wondering if you canât
Chapter 47
stand them or me!
Laurinda was stunned. 1.
Sanderson closed his eyes as if reaching a painful conclusion. âIf the three of us are such a burden to you, maybe itâs best we just go our separate ways.â
Chapter