ana had finally learned her lesson and stoppeding around to stir up trouble. Instead, it was Lucy who shot Alessia a nce.
Ignoring the two of them, Alessia quickly finished her lunch.
“I’m running to the store. You can head back without me,” she said.
“Okay, grab me a bottle of water, will you?”
Ste shed her an okay sign and left, while Alessia gathered her things and headed to the changing room. Once everything was in order, she stepped out–only to find someone blocking her path.
Alessia wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Lucy standing there.
“The partnership fell through. That was you, wasn’t it?” Lucy’s words sounded like a question, but her tone left no doubt. She didn’t believe in coincidences.
“Why don’t you take a guess?” Alessia tilted her head and offered a small, innocent smile.
“I apologized to you. What happened that day was my fault…”
“It absolutely was your fault,” Alessia replied, calm and direct. Her bluntness threw Lucy off for a moment.
Lucy pressed her lips together and took a deep breath. Things at home were tense–her parents were constantly fighting, and with the failed partnership, the arguments had only worsened. If this kept up, her father would have every excuse to bring his mistress home, and then she and her mother would be left with
nothing.
Pushing down her frustration, Lucy tried again.
“I’ll do anything. Is there any way to fix the deal…?”
“No,” Alessia cut her off without hesitation, making Lucy’s face pale.
“Alessia, do you really have to go this far?” Lucy’s voice trembled with desperation. She reached out, grabbing Alessia’s arm–right where she was still injured.
Alessia was used to hiding pain, but the sudden sting made her jerk her arm away. She held her bandaged hand up for Lucy to see, exasperated.
“I…I didn’t mean to…”
<b>14:41 </b>
“The decision’s already been made. Instead of asking me to change <b>it</b>, maybe your family should focus on raising the quality of your products. Business isn’t about petty arguments–nobody’s foolish enough to lose money over a personal slight. We were just catalysts. The real reason the deal fell through is simple: one side didn’t meet the other’s expectations. That’s all.”
“There’s really nothing else I can do?” Lucy pleaded, her voice tinged with desperation.
Alessia frowned. “Lucy, don’t pin your hopes on someone who isn’t worth your trust. If you want something, fight for it yourself. If you want respect, you have to work for it. And if you want to be acknowledged, then when something goes wrong, your first thought should be how to fix it–not lowering yourself to beg for forgiveness. Do you understand?”
Lucy stood rooted to the spot, speechless. Alessia had no patience for further discussion; she turned on her heel to leave.
Lucy watched her walk away, back straight and unyielding. Her hands clenched into fists.
“What would you know!” she shouted, her voice raw with anger and pain. “You have Cole, you have Ste–people who stand up for you, people who praise you, people who protect you! Even if you weren’t the Tate family’s heiress, you’d still have someone in your corner. But what about me? If I leave the Summers family, what do I have left? Nothing! And that damned mistress will waltz right in as if she owns the ce. Why should I just ept that?”
Her words echoed down the empty hallway, all her resentment and frustration spilling out.
Alessia paused and turned back, her eyes as deep and unfathomable as a midnight Hake–calm, but hiding dangerous depths.
“Who said you have to leave the Summers family?”
“What?”
“You’ve always put profit above everything else, haven’t you? If there’s something to gain, you’re better than anyone at enduring humiliation. Isn’t that a strength?”
After Alessia walked away, Lucy lingered in the hallway for a long, long time. She didn’t show up to ss until the bell had already rung. The entire afternoon, she and Alessia avoided even a nce at each other. By the time school ended, Lucy and Ileana seemed to have be fast friends.