Louisa was about to leave when Serena grabbed her in a tight embrace, her voice breaking through tears, "Mom, is that no matter what I say, you won’t believe me? Lindsay was a close friend of mine a
long time ago, but then she went abroad, and we lost touch for years. It was only at tonight’s birthday party that we ran into each other again."
Through her sobs, Serena explained, "The engagement between my brother-in-law and me was called off ages ago, but only our families knew about it. When Lindsay asked, I couldn’t say the marriage was
still on, but I also couldn’t tell her it was over. What was I supposed to say?"
With tears streaming down her face, Serena continued, "All I could do was subtly hint to her that it’s my sister who is with Romeo now, and I dared not reveal anything else. But Lindsay misunderstood,
thinking my sister stole my love and secretly told Madeline."
Serena was utterly distraught, "It’s because they gossiped and twisted the story that it reached my sister. That’s why I turned so upset and came to confront Lindsay. And can you believe it? Lindsay
slapped me right there in front of everyone. You can ask around; I’m not lying to you."
Louisa paused, and her body tensed as she looked at her daughter, who was struggling to speak through her tears. Half skeptical, half sympathetic, she said, "But what I heard was that you were impersonating a student of Queena."
"I was talking about Mr. Quentin, the man who used to teach me the violin. Somehow Lindsay and the others thought I meant Queena, and they blurted it out in front of everyone, which was so embarrassing
for me. In the end, to not ruin the party, I had to apologize."
Serena clung to Louisa, her voice filled with a hurt so raw, "Mom, do you think if I’m not your biological daughter, nothing I say matters? Was all the love you showed me over the past eighteen years just for
show? Sometimes I’m so jealous of my sister. She’s got the Collins family blood. No matter what happens, everyone always takes her side."
Louisa looked at her and felt a pang of compassion.
"Are you really saying you never told your friends that Rose was the one who ruined your engagement to Romeo?" Kenneth, who had been listening in, couldn’t help but interject.
"I swear, I didn’t, I really didn’t.." Serena wept as if her heart was breaking, "Do you think I’m not aware of my position as an adopted daughter? If I slander my sister and do anything against her, you would
throw me out in a heartbeat. Why would I do something so thankless?"
Kenneth found her argument compelling, but still, that friend from the party had indeed claimed that Serena was posing as Queena’s student and had told her friend Lindsay that Rose had destroyed her
engagement with Romeo, which was why she was with Martin now.
"About what I told Lindsay, only she and I know the truth. Everyone else is just spreading hearsay. How credible can that be?"
Perhaps fearing that her parents would confront Lindsay for the truth, Serena added, "Like I said earlier, Lindsay knows I’m not with Romeo, so she’s been sucking up to Grandpa Phillip—that’s something everyone has seen. She’s just trying to become Grandpa Phillip’s granddaughter-in-law, right?"
Serena analyzed further, "If she really considered me a good friend and if I had really said my sister ruined my engagement with Romeo, then as my friend, Lindsay should have been the first to defend me. How could she turn around and try to get close to Romeo? Considering her character, how reliable
can anything coming from her be?"



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