<h4>Chapter 171: Affected Manners</h4>


    Eric might not be easily swayed, but Rachel was confident that with time and the right tactics, she could gradually make him grow tired of E. Eventually, she believed, his attention would be focused solely on her.


    Amelia walked over to E. "What happened? How did you get hurt all of a sudden?"


    E shrugged, clearly exasperated. "I don’t know either. I was just peeling an apple, and she came over to talk to me. Somehow, she managed to bump into my knife."


    E stated the facts inly, and Amelia shot a cold nce at Rachel. "Rachel, are you blind or something? She’s over here peeling an apple, and you just walk right into her knife?"


    Rachel lifted her tear-streaked face, stealing a nce at Eric, who was staring at her intently. She quickly averted her eyes in feigned embarrassment.


    "Amelia... it wasn’t that I walked into the knife. It was an ident—E identally nicked me!"


    Rachel was sticking to her story, but Richard, who had been watching the exchange, interjected. "Alright, let’s not me her. She wouldn’t deliberately hurt herself."


    Amelia, noting Richard’s defense of Rachel, smirked sarcastically. "Oh, so your little cousin is tugging at your heartstrings? Because I find it hard to believe that E would hurt anyone. It seems more like your cousin here is trying to smear E’s name."


    Amelia had a keen sense of character and tended to trust those who resonated with her on an instinctual level. Over the years, her female friends had all turned out to be women of strong moral integrity.


    "Enough, Amelia. Let’s drop it. She’s injured," Richard said, standing up after finishing Rachel’s bandage.


    E smiled faintly, turning to Eric. "Mr. Nelson, it seems your old friend’s judgment might be a bit off."


    Richard froze for a moment, ncing between E and Eric, his brow furrowing as doubt crept in. He hadn’t thought much about it earlier, being focused on treating Rachel’s wound.


    "I... I really didn’t walk into it on purpose. It was an ident, and I believe E didn’t mean to hurt me!" Rachel stammered nervously, looking at her bandaged hand with a pained and pitiful expression.


    E couldn’t help butugh. "So, you’re saying you believe me, but it’s okay if they don’t?"


    "No, that’s not what I meant..."


    E sighed softly, setting down the apple and the bloodied knife. She picked up her phone, which had been resting nearby, and revealed the screen, showing that it had been recording.


    Amelia raised an eyebrow, covering her mouth as she chuckled. "You clever girl, so you were prepared from the start? No wonder you were so calm despite being used!"


    Rachel’s tearful face quickly snapped up in shock as she stared at E.


    E calmly stopped the recording and reyed it.


    The video clearly showed E peeling the apple. A few momentster, Rachel approached, and E paused, looking up at her. Then, Rachel reached out and deliberately moved her hand into the path of the knife.


    The video captured Rachel quickly pulling back, clutching her hand, and letting out a scream.


    Amelia couldn’t help but burst intoughter as she grabbed E’s phone to rey the video. Rachel’s face turned deathly pale as she sat there, frozen in embarrassment, unsure of what to say or do.


    The evidence was undeniable, and Rachel’s n hadpletely backfired.


    Richard’s expression darkened, and he let out a cold snort. "I must be blind!"


    With that, he stormed off into the cabin, his displeasure evident. Rachel’s face paled further as she realized that E had recorded the entire scene without her noticing. Her little scheme had been ruthlessly exposed, leaving Richard deeply disappointed in her. This was a blow she hadn’t anticipated.


    She quickly stood up, attempting to salvage the situation. "I’m sorry, I... I must have been mistaken. E, I apologize for misunderstanding you. I’m really sorry!"


    Richard, who had just stopped short of entering the cabin, nearly gagged at his cousin’s audacity. He couldn’t believe how thick-skinned she was. His initial instinct about Rachel had been spot on—he’d always found her fake and off-putting, but his sympathy earlier was purely a reaction to seeing her bleeding hand.


    E pressed her lips together, her smileced with sarcasm. "Rachel, there’s no need to apologize to me. If it was a misunderstanding, then it’s just that—a misunderstanding."


    Eric couldn’t help but chuckle. "It seems I’m surrounded by schemers."


    At home, it was Grace; here, it was Rachel. Such women disgusted him to the core.


    Amelia chimed in with a smirk. "Well, it’s your own fault for having such a face that attracts trouble! Poor E has to constantly deal with these dangers. If she hadn’t recorded that video and you were being petty, you might have ended up misunderstanding her just like Richard!"


    She grabbed E’s hand and gave her a triumphant wink, which made Eugh despite herself, even after the unpleasant encounter with Rachel.


    "Yeah, who told you to be so good-looking?" E added yfully.


    Eric touched his handsome face with a teasing grin. "What can I say? I’m just too irresistible—even E’s fallen for me."


    Amelia burst intoughter, and E’s face turned a deep shade of red. She shot Eric an annoyed look. "Eric, can’t you speak normally?"


    "I am speaking normally—everything I said is true. Besides, Amelia’s your new bestie now. Why are you getting so shy?"


    Eric’s eyes gleamed with mischievous affection, and E couldn’t help but smile shyly as she yfully kicked him.


    Rachel, meanwhile, sat quietly, her face pale and her demeanor somber. Yet, she refused to leave, even as Eric and E carried on as if she wasn’t there,ughing and enjoying themselves. Amelia, too, made no effort to hide her disdain, ncing at Rachel with obvious dislike.


    Feeling stifled, E eventually suggested to Eric that they go up to the deck for some fresh air. As they made their way out, Rachel quickly stood up and called out to E.


    "E, I really... didn’t mean to. I thought it was your knife that came at me, I’m sorry!"


    Rachel spoke in a small, timid voice, her head bowed and her lips trembling slightly.


    E looked at Rachel, who was apologizing yet again, and felt a pang of pity mixed with frustration. How pathetic, she thought, that Rachel would go to such lengths, humiliating herself and ying the victim just for the sake of a man. Even though everyone around her might scorn or despise her, Rachel stubbornly held her ground, refusing to back down.


    Such a person was indeed rare—a thick skin and an unwavering resolve that made her a formidable opponent. Rachel was like a cockroach, always reappearing to disgust and entangle you, bringing a stench of misfortune into even the most perfect of days.