Chapter 47
Alice, slender and composed, stood her ground.
“Fine, fine, fine!” Luke ripped out Chloe’s IV line and scooped her up.“Let’s go. We’re not treating her here.”
of satisfaction in her heart. a hint Chloe silently clung to Laike’s neck, At the door, Luke saw the heavy rain and his small umbrella. He eyed Alice’s large umbrella.“Give me yours. You’ll be fine with the small one.”
Alice found it ridiculous.“Why?”
“Because Chloe’s sick because of you. You should give her the umbrella.” Jack, his face stern, crushed Luke’s small umbrella under his foot. His eyes were cold.“She considered you brothers. That’s when you had the right to make demands. Now that she doesn’t want to, who are you?”
Luke was furious.“Alice, why are you making things so difficult? You’re sneaking around with that guy,
and now you’re fighting with your family?”
Alice remained silent, approaching Luke with her umbrella. She opened it, shielding them from
the rain.
Luke frowned. “If you change your mind now, it’s not too late! That school nurse is no good, he has ulterior motives!”
The next second, Alice slapped him.
Luke was stunned. The stinging pain brought him back to reality. He was holding Chloe and couldn’t dodge. He hadn’t expected Alice to actually hit him!
Chloe cried out, “Alice, why did you hit Luke? Refusing the umbrella is one thing, but hitting him-” Then she received a slap from Alice.
The world fell silent. Alice’s eyes were slightly bloodshot, her voice flat.“I hit him. So what? You can talk about me, but not him!”
Alice stormed towards Jack. ‘Let’s go.
Jack hadn’t expected her to defend him. He took the umbrella from her, and they walked into the
rain.
Luke finally recovered and chased after them, the rain pelting them. Chloe, already feeling unwell, was even worse now. She was annoyed at Luke’s stupidity. She didn’t want to get soaked. She faked a cough.“Luke, I feel dizzy.”
Luke realized Chloe was in his arms. He reluctantly said, “Chloe, I’ll take you home first.” By then, Alice and Jack were far away.
In the car, Alice noticed Jack’s wet shoulder. He’d shielded her from the rain.
Jack started the car.“You were pretty brave back there.”
Alice looked uncomfortable.“I didn’t want them talking about you like that.” That angry, huh?”
Alice hesitated. “You’re my first friend. I don’t want people talking about you like that.” She didn’t. care what Luke thought. But he couldn’t talk about Jack like that.
Jack smiled slightly, his eyes on the road.
Back at the apartment, Alice’s phone rang repeatedly. It was Noah. She silenced it. Noah watched helplessly as the call went unanswered. He looked at Luke. She didn’t answer.” I told you she was influenced, and you still condoned her. She even hit Chloe and me!” Noah said, “You hit her too, right? It’s fair now.”
“That’s different! I’m her brother! And Chloe didn’t provoke her!”
Noah sighed. “I know, but Alice’s not as easy to appease. If you didn’t have an umbrella, you could’ve just had the driver take Chloe. Why did you need Alice’s umbrella? Knowing she resented you, you still demanded she give it up! You asked for it!”
“I was trying to save time. And Alice couldn’t manage that big umbrella alone! She refused and hit us!” Luke was still fuming.“I need to text her.”
[Alice, where are you?]
The message failed:“You are not friends with this user. Please add them to your contacts before sending a message.”
Luke’s face turned livid.“She deleted me! How dare she?!”
Noah sighed.“I told you not to act rashly. You’re still in disciplinary probation; you can’t see her. If she reports you, you’ll be punished.”
I’m afraid of her? I’ll just pretend I don’t have that sister!” Luke slammed his phone. He was humiliated.
‘Don’t be silly. She’s in her rebellious teenage years. She’s been wronged and influenced by that school nurse. She’s still our sister. That will never change.” Noah’s voice was firm. I’ll get her back. Don’t do anything else unless you want to lose her.”
Luke didn’t respond. At dinner, he only took a few bites. “Who made this sweet and sour pork. ribs? It’s terrible. Where’s the old chef?”
The butler hesitated.“Alice made them before. She adjusted the seasoning to your liking. Other chefs can’t replicate it.”
Luke froze, staring at the dish, lost in thought. He hadn’t noticed those details before. After Alice left, his life and the team’s performance had fallen apart! His panic, not anger, overwhelmed him. when he found out he was blocked. He hadn’t realized how much Alice’s absence affected him.
The next day, Alice went to school, but Chloe was absent. Noah watched Alice in class, her posture straight, her expression focused. He was taken aback. She’d changed so much. He hesitated. “How is Alice doing lately?”
The homeroom teacher replied, “Alice has made great progress. Parents should pay more. attention and avoid influencing her. Her poor grades before might have been due to family issues. I think she may have been deliberately underperforming to take the pressure off Chloe. She is intelligent. Chloe is average, and Alice may have done this for three years because Chloe gets easily upset. I shouldn’t have said this; please keep it discreet.”
Noah’s face turned pale. Alice had been underperforming to reduce Chloe’s pressure? He thought about her recent changes and her improved grades. A sharp pain pierced his chest.
14.30
Chapter 47
He almost stumbled. “Teacher, can I talk to Alice for a moment?” He needed to ask her if this was
true.
