Chapter 867: Have you not learned your lesson?

Nina should’ve known that something bad would happen today. She should’ve listened to her gut feeling and just spent her time with Finn. Even if he was unconscious, there, she had some peace. Tears coated Nina’s eyes as her heart thudded against her chest, her breathing slowing as Patricia’s voice echoed across the gymnasium.

"That’s right. Nina attempted to kill someone in the past, and when she was caught, she framed me — the only person who had believed in her — so I could take the fall for her!" Patricia huffed, keeping her chin up as she stared at Nina with deep hatred.

For a while, Patricia had forgotten the real reason she was here, as the bitter memory of the past resurfaced in her mind. She hated Nina to the core. Even if she wouldn’t be paid for stirring trouble for Nina, she would do it.

It was Nina who had broken Patricia’s ability to trust people. It was Nina who made Patricia believe that friendship was a lie. That friendship had conditions. That was why Patricia wasn’t surprised when all the people she called friends turned their backs on her after the charity event. It wasn’t as if she had trusted or befriended them just because she liked them.

This was all Nina’s fault.

"I was so ready to fight for you back then." Patricia’s voice was low, but the fire in her eyes grew more intense. "I was even ready to fight anyone who would point their fingers at you, but the first thing that came to me when I stepped into the headmaster’s office was you, pointing your finger at me."

Patricia slowly balled her hands into tight fists, her neck turning taut as she held her breath and anger. "But today, I realized you’ve really never changed, Nina. Don’t you feel sorry for your ex-fiance? He almost died, but here you are, acting like someone isn’t fighting for their life with your new lover. What a shameless bitch."

"Patricia!" Lily screamed at Patricia. "Stop talking — you don’t know what you’re talking about!"

However, Lily flinched when Patricia shifted her fiery gaze to her.

"You!" Patricia pointed at Lily. "Aren’t you ashamed, Lily? You almost died because of her! Weren’t you traumatized? Don’t you always look up, wondering if something will fall on your head and kill you?"

Lily’s breath hitched, unable to answer. She might not have said it, but ever since that incident, she had to undergo therapy just to live normally. However, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t constantly look up, just to make sure nothing above her would fall on her.

"If not for Penny, you would’ve been dead twelve years ago!" Patricia harrumphed, silencing everyone with her words. She then set her eyes back on Nina. "See? If someone here is making people uncomfortable, it’s you, Nina, not me."

"You’re lying," Jonathan blurted out under his breath, but no one answered him. Only Patricia was brave enough to look him in the eye with a raised brow.

"You think I’m lying?" Patricia sneered, scanning the room. "Do you see their reaction?"

Jonathan slowly looked around, only to see everyone looking away. When his eyes fell on Nina, she had already lowered her head. He pressed his lips together, but the corner of his eyes sharpened as if he had briefly smirked.

"I’m... sorry," Nina breathed out, raising her head to look at Patricia. She then turned to Jonathan, holding back her tears. "I did those things... in the past. I’m sorry."

Nina slowly shifted her eyes to Lily, her lips quivering. "I’m sorry, Lily. I didn’t know."

"Nina..." Lily whispered, shaking her head, but Nina had already looked away from her.

"I’m sorry, everyone," she continued quietly, trying not to shed a tear as she lowered her head. "I think Patricia is right. I... was making everyone uncomfortable—"

"I disagree." Just then, a man’s voice rang out. "Miss Reed might’ve done what she did, but unlike others, she reflected on her actions and tried to change. She faced criticism and even worked hard on herself."

Everyone slowly shifted their attention to the people entering. Patricia looked back, only to furrow her brows when her eyes landed on Dean Pierson, strutting in their direction. When Dean stopped, his eyes landed on Nina.

"What happened in the past is undeniable, but it doesn’t and shouldn’t define who we are today," he continued, his gaze locked with Nina’s. "You aren’t who you were before, Miss Reed. Carrying that surname with such pride is proof that you aren’t that vile little girl anymore. You’ve come a long way, and it is why Lily, Miss Cortez, everyone here, and Penelope Bennet are still in your life."

Upon hearing this, the tears Nina was holding back stained her cheeks. She bit her quivering lips, not expecting to hear these words from a person she barely knew. But somehow, what Dean said touched the deepest part of her soul.

"Nina..." Lily reached out to hold Nina’s hand, smiling with teary eyes.

"On the other hand, Miss Miller, who is still in your life?" Dean asked, turning his attention to Patricia. "What friendship or any other relationship have you retained?"

Patricia took a step back, staring at Dean while trying to maintain her poise. She couldn’t say anything anymore because this was Dean Pierson.

"I’m not saying the betrayal you’ve experienced from a friend isn’t valid. You must’ve been very hurt by it. However, how you are in the present and all the decisions you’ve made are all on you," Dean emphasized, showing no trace of pity for this pretentious lady. "Those decisions include claiming to be the matriarch of our Pierson Family, spreading false rumors, acting out of turn, and stirring trouble in this place — a place that should remind us of the good things from our youth."

"You make me very uncomfortable, Miss Miller, not Miss Reed," Dean added. "Leave... before the headmaster throws you out himself."

"Present~!" Ray, who had just entered, raised a hand. His eyes were squinting as he marched toward them, flanked by a few bodyguards. Ray stopped, cracking open his squinted eyes just a little. "Patricia Miller, you should leave now, or I’ll have to get you dragged out of this place just like how my kind cousin got you dragged out during that charity event. Have you not learned your lesson? Do you want me to show you the door?"