A faint metallic clang echoed in the room as silver handcuffs were placed around Peyton's delicate wrists, making her appear even more fragile.
Peyton was genuinely frightened this time, her voice trembling as she called out Graeme's name, "Cousin, please save me! I don't want to go to jail, please!"
She was only twenty-one years old, at the prime of her youth. She couldn't bear the thought of spending it behind bars, sobbing her heart out.
This pitiful cry resonated outside the room, and though others might have felt sympathy, Cheyenne was unsympathetic. She approached the young woman with an alluring, confident stride.
She gently tapped Peyton's shoulder with her cool hand. Her thick, long eyelashes fluttered like butterflies taking flight in the early morning, captivating anyone who gazed upon her.
"From the moment you decided to harm Kate, you should have thought about your outcome, shouldn't you? Why cry now? The victim is still standing here. What are you?" Cheyenne's tone and smile gave Peyton a chilling sense of impending doom.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Kate. I know I was wrong. I'm begging you, I won't go to jail, please let me go," Peyton said, dropping to her knees in front of Kate, her eyes gushing tears uncontrollably. Graeme couldn't help but feel uneasy at her extreme display.
Peyton's actions were excessive, but Kate had suffered nothing.
Getting expelled from the school was already a significant punishment. Why go further by involving the police?
Graeme, with a cold, reproachful look, spoke as if commanding Kate, "Enough, Kate. Show some mercy. She's been expelled from the school already. Why are you going to the police? This is too much!"
Ignoring his reprimand, Kate gave him a mocking smile. "Graeme, Graeme, I must have been blind to fall for a pseudo-gentleman like you with such distorted values. It seems you value your cousin's worth more than mine. Am I just a weed in your eyes?"
As she finished her words, Eddie approached, his strides confident. His deep, enchanting eyes held a glint of determination.
His voice was magnetic and compelling as he retorted, "Who said my sister is a weed? Someone who grows in the crevices and tries to fit into a garden is the real weed and clown."
"After our parents passed away, and despite how hard I worked, I ensured you never went hungry or cold. You are the little princess of the Zamora family, not someone easily compared to. Have some self-confidence."
He didn't explicitly point at Peyton, but when he mentioned "growing in the crevices," the sarcasm was evident. The barren rock crevice represented Peyton's original family background.
Trying to fit into the garden referred to Peyton's ambition of climbing the social ladders.
Cheyenne witnessed Eddie speaking out against someone for the first time, and she noticed that Graeme's fair and handsome face turned crimson, clearly provoked.
"According to your logic, does it mean that Kate has to be in real trouble before you admit that your cousin did something wrong? You're such a hypocrite. With your kind of attitude, your eyes are better off gouged out," she retorted.
Graeme, the school heartthrob and the Mathews family's heir, had rarely been admonished by a woman. He cast an icy glare at Cheyenne, saying, "Where did you pop up from, you clown? This matter concerns Kate and me. What's it to you?"
But before he could continue, Mr. Owen's cold and authoritative voice suddenly cut through the air, shocking everyone, including Graeme, who turned even redder and his breathing intensified.
"Where did she pop up from? My junior will soon be a surgeon at Hopedale Hospital and a candidate for the future director. Who do you think is the clown here?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: She Became Rich After Divorce (Cheyenne and Kelvin)
Nice story...