Chapter 141: The greatest sacrifice

Sometimes, the person you’d take a bullet for ends up being the one behind the gun.

On the way to the headmaster’s office, Patricia kept a raised chin with her face in battle mode. She was ready to bite those girls for framing Nina for something she would never do. Patricia might be a lot of things, but she was also huge on loyalty.

She believed in Nina. She believed in her best friend. What Nina was being accused of was ridiculous! But alas, when they reached the headmaster’s office, this was what they heard as soon as Miss Sandford opened the door.

"My friend Patricia borrowed it from me! She and Penny hadn’t been on good terms. You can ask our classmates if you like! They would know that there was a situation that involved the two of them!"

The fierce look on Patricia’s face stiffened as her steps slowed down.

Huh?

Nina’s sniffles and hiccups mixed along with her remarks. "I’m not saying Patricia might’ve done it, but it’s not me! Please, believe me."

"Hah!" one of the wrongly accused students scoffed in dismay. "Headmaster, she’s lying! Even though Patricia Miller doesn’t have a good reputation, I don’t think she would do this!"

"Nina, are you stabbing your friend in the back just to save yourself?"

"Wow! You’re really something, huh?"

"Girls, calm down." the headmaster frowned as he cast the wrongly accused fan members a glance. "Nina, are you certain about this?"

Nina hiccuped and pursed her lip, lowering her gaze. "Headmaster, it’s not me. Patricia is my friend, and even if it’s true that she has a bad reputation, I don’t think this is something she would do."

The trance of uncertainty in her voice still gave off a different meaning.

For a moment, everyone could only watch how Nina tear up helplessly. She was pitiful, but at the same time, she showed a bit of certainty in defending herself.

Since the person she mentioned was Patricia, others started to feel a little swayed.

Patricia and Nina were good friends. Although not all of them knew them well, it was no secret they’d always been together. And compared to Nina, who hadn’t had any bad records, Patricia’s track records weren’t that clean. It took a lot of scolding from her parents for her to stop harassing even the teachers.

In other words, if there was someone who could do something so wicked, it wouldn’t be surprising if it was Patricia.

"Liar," Patricia blurted out as she barely recovered from the shock she stepped into.

The moment her voice was heard, everyone turned toward the door. Nina’s eyes dilated for a second as her breath hitched. Nina didn’t mean to say all of this for Patricia to hear. Why did they call Patricia this soon?

Patricia balled her hands into a tight fist, eyes fixated on Nina. "Liar!" she bellowed. "Nina, what are you insinuating? Are you stabbing me in the back to save yourself now?!"

"Patricia..."

"Take it back!" Patricia’s voice pitched, almost deafening everyone. "Tell them that’s not true! Penny and I aren’t on good terms, but I didn’t do that! How can you say that I did it?!"

Of all the people who could do this, Nina was the least Patricia expected. All along, Patricia thought Nina was too kind for her own good. It was why Patricia often stepped in with Nina’s matters, so no one would take advantage of Nina’s kindness.

Even moments ago, Patricia was ready to fight tooth and nail for her.

So why was Nina saying all of this?

Patricia would normally take notice of other people’s reactions towards her. But at this very second, all she could think about was this bitterness in her heart. Nina might’ve not said it directly, but no one was a fool in here not to grasp what she was insinuating. Patricia wasn’t even that angry. If anything, she was... hurt until her eyes stung.

"I didn’t do it!" Patricia harrumphed. "Tell them it’s not me."

Nina’s face crumpled in bitterness, pressing her lips into a thin line. She didn’t want Patricia to hear this, but since it came to this, Nina couldn’t stop anymore. This was her future. Patricia wouldn’t be kicked out of their house, but Nina was already banned from the Bennet mansion. If this was pinned on Nina, she was afraid even old Mrs. Roswald wouldn’t have her back.

"Headmaster." Nina slowly raised her head and smiled. "It’s not Patricia. It was me."

Her lips curled up subtly as a tear suddenly rolled down her cheeks. Her words and the sudden peacefulness on her face contradicted each other. It only made this confession sound like she was making a big sacrifice for her friend.

Now, everyone didn’t know who was lying and telling the truth: was it the one who had been a good student? Or the notorious brat of the Millers?

"You!" Patricia’s heart thudded as she ground her teeth. "Why are you acting as if you’re taking a bullet for me?! Nina, what is wrong with you!? Did you really try to kill someone?! And now, you’re blaming it on me!? Why!?"

"Patricia." Miss Sandford placed a hand on Patricia’s back to calm her down. "Headmaster."

Her eyes flickered with conflict because even Miss Sandford didn’t know what to believe. Nina was pitiful, but on the other hand, Patricia seemed pitiful as well. Although Patricia was a lot more aggressive.

Ray, who was standing behind a few steps from the headmaster, darted his eyes between the girls. It wouldn’t be impossible if the keychain was borrowed. But when his eyes fell on Nina, he couldn’t help but frown.

’This Bennet girl...’he thought, arching a brow. ’Didn’t Hugo call Penny a Bennet? That’s weird. Are they cousins? But she used Reed as her family name.’

There was only one Penelope Ray was involved with. Hence, he immediately knew Hugo was referring to Penny. However, he didn’t think much about it because he had a lot of things on his mind. But now that he was watching this unfold before him, he frowned.

’The brother is aggressive like that. And the little sister... is manipulative. What a family.’Ray mentally shook his head. ’I feel sorry for Penny if they were their relative... or did he call Penny a Bennet because he married her in his mind? What a sick guy!’

While Ray was getting more and more distracted by the ridiculous thoughts in his head, a few figures also appeared at the door.

"Nina!"

Everyone turned to the owner of the voice, only to see the delicate and noble Allison rush inside.