Only One Outfit


    Erin stepped forward just then. “Don’t say that. It’s my fault. I didn’t exin it clearly to her. She thought it was just a regr party, so she didn’t dress up.


    “Even though showing up like this is disrespectful, if I’d told her this party was for her, I’m sure she would’ve dressed up.”


    Seeing her take all the me, Simon was the first to object. “Erin, don’t me yourself. This is clearly on Tracy.”


    He looked at Tracy with contempt. “Everyone in our circle knows-she always dresses up for events. She showed up like this on purpose, just to make things difficult for you.”


    Erin looked confused and hesitant. “She … probably wouldn’t do that, right?”


    “Of course she would!” Simon snapped. “She used to bully you all the time. She just got smarter after being sent away. Now she bullies you in other ways.”


    He suddenly remembered something and gave Tracy a mocking look. “I heard you were sent off to be ‘re- educated.’ Guess you didn’t learn much. Your bullying just got sneakier.”


    Tracy had been listening quietly like an outsider, but her face suddenly went pale.


    She jerked her head toward Simon. “How do you know where I’ve been these past two years?”


    The Jackmans had secretly taken her away-so secret even her grandfather couldn’t find her. How did he know?


    Simon didn’t notice the shift in her tone. “Mr. Liam told us everything. You pushed Erin down the stairs. You deserved to be sent away.”


    Tracy turned to Liam, who hadn’t said a word from the start. She’d told herself to give up on the Jackmans. Still, disappointment crept in.


    He was the one who sent her to that hell. Now he turned around and joked about it, like he’d forgotten he used to be the one most protective of her.


    Back then, if anyone dared insult her, he’d throw the first punch without hesitation. And shout, “Anyone says one more word about Tracy, I’ll tear their mouth apart!”


    Now, every word out of his mouth was cold and full of disdain.


    Maybe the disappointment in her eyes was too obvious, because Liam avoided her gaze.


    He knew she’d been pampered since childhood. He knew life at the Angelic Etiquette Academy must’ve been hell for her.


    He also knew how proud she was-how humiliating it was to let people know where she’d been. But she brought it on herself.


    If she hadn’t pushed Erin, making him feel guilty about sending Tracy away, Liam wouldn’t have


    mentioned the “re-education” just to stop others from thinking Erin kicked her out after returning.


    He had told everyone to keep quiet, to make sure her grandfather didn’t find out. Only their inner circle knew.


    He’d already spared Tracy’s dignity. How dare she look at him like that?!


    All the guilt in Liam’s heart vanished. “I only spoke the truth. What are you looking at me like that for? Simon’s right. You didn’t learn anything in that institute. All you picked up were dirty tricks.”


    He looked at her with scorn. “Mom took you and Erin out to buy clothes. And you still showed up like this? You think we’re all idiots?”


    Tracy looked at him, eyes full of mocking amusement. “If you’d paid the slightest attention, Mr. Liam, you’d know I came back empty-handed that day. And for over half a month now, I’ve only worn this one outfit.”


    She only had one set of clothes. And she worked in a kitchen thick with greasy smoke every day.


    So every time she washed her clothes, she had to hang them outside on the AC unit to dry, then wear them again the next day.


    If the Jackmans had cared even a little-just once-they would’ve seen she didn’t even have a second outfit.


    Liam froze. Now that she mentioned it… Yeah, she had been wearing the same clothes every time he saw her.


    But she used to be the Jackmans’s most beloved princess. She never even repeated an outfit in a month.


    No one expected Tracy to say something like that.


    To these kids raised with money andfort, “only one outfit” was an unimaginable concept.


    And it came from Tracy, the girl they used to revolve around.


    Erin slowly stepped out from behind Liam. “Tracy, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I suddenly got hospitalized that day, and Mom forgot to buy you clothes.


    “Don’t me Liam. He was just too worried about me and forgot you didn’t have anything to wear. It’s all my fault. Why did I have to end up in the hospital right then…


    ??