When They Beg I Rise (Lemira) novel Chapter 1114

"Lemira?"

Hearing her name, Lemira turned to see a familiar face walking toward her. It was her old class president, Jessica.

Lemira's face broke into a genuinely delighted smile. "Jessica! You're back in town too?"

"Yeah, it's my grandmother's birthday, so I came back for the family banquet."

Jessica was just as surprised to see her. Once high school ended, everyone had drifted into their own separate lives.

But Lemira had skyrocketed into the spotlight during college, becoming a massive public figure.

Most of the class only kept up with Lemira through the relentless media coverage.

Lemira smiled warmly. "It feels like forever since we last saw each other."

"It really does. I was planning to reach out and organize a get-together after finals. I figured you were pretty overwhelmed lately, so I didn't want to intrude."

Jessica phrased it delicately. She had seen the news about the Langston family's brutal legal battle over their parents' murder.

No one could have guessed that Lemira's parents had been assassinated, let alone by the mother of the city's darling socialite, Sophia Sinclair.

For a normal person like Jessica, that kind of drama felt like something out of a movie. But this was Lemira—their classmate, the girl they had all stood by and unfortunately watched endure relentless bullying back in the day.

Lemira easily caught the underlying sympathy in Jessica's tone. She answered with complete transparency, "Yeah, things were chaotic for a while. But the trial is finally over, so I came back to visit my parents' grave."

"Congratulations. You finally get a fresh start. And that awful Evelina finally got the karma she deserved. Honestly, if you weren't so smart, she probably would have ruined your life years ago."

Jessica knew Evelina had died from complications, but she also remembered the absolute hell Lemira used to live through.

So, regardless of the vitriol thrown at Lemira by internet trolls, Jessica had always firmly stayed on her side.

Jessica let out a dry, awkward laugh to clarify. "'Something like that' is a massive understatement. She's a star student at Orvin University. My school doesn't even compare."

As he spoke, Barrett whipped out his phone and shoved it toward Lemira. "Let me get your number."

Jessica panicked and grabbed his arm. "Barrett, stop it! What are you doing? You're being super aggressive."

"Oh, relax, little girl. I'm successful, I've got a great career, and I'm a hell of a catch. I'm not exactly an embarrassment to give a phone number to."

Oozing unwarranted confidence, Barrett stared expectantly at Lemira. "Let's be friends."

Lemira looked at him with absolute deadpan indifference. "I don't really like making new friends."