Cindy was retaking her senior year, and York had paid her tuition.

Although he had followed his family’s arrangements and broken his engagement with Cindy.

He had also gotten engaged to another girl as they wished, even promising never to see Cindy again.

But deep down, he still harbored a profound sense of guilt toward her.

So whenever Cindy showed a hint of vulnerability, York couldn’t help but step in.

The only one suffering in this situation was his current fiancée.

She had to deal with the sickening dynamic between York and Cindy.

However, his new fiancée was no pushover.

She didn’t care about the scraps of attention or money Cindy managed to wring out of York.

But every time Cindy pulled a stunt, the fiancée would make York pay for it in other ways.

Cindy was often left stomping her feet in frustration, completely powerless against her.

After all, York had to bow his head to his fiancée, so what chance did Cindy have?

Interestingly, Cindy’s biological father had sought York out after learning his daughter had been dumped.

When Cindy’s mother, Octavia, went to prison, York had been shocked to learn that Cindy wasn’t Latham’s biological daughter.

Now, being confronted by Cindy’s real father left York utterly speechless.

The man who had slept with Octavia behind Latham’s back turned out to be the very doctor who had conducted the paternity test for Claire and The James Family.

Octavia really knew how to play a twisted game.

He still couldn’t fathom why Octavia would want an illegitimate daughter recognized by The James Family.

His parents were well aware of The James Family’s scandalous secrets.

They would occasionally sigh at home, claiming Cindy was bad luck and had dragged the entire James Family down with her.

Look at Claire-after leaving The James Family, she had thrived, even becoming the top scorer in the national college entrance exams.

And Cindy?

Her grades had plummeted, and now she was forced to repeat a year.

Meanwhile, The James Family had gone from the peak of their power to total ruin.

In just half a year, they had gone completely bankrupt.

If Cindy hadn’t returned, perhaps that bankruptcy would never have happened at all.

York didn’t know how to comment on that.

He couldn’t exactly agree with his parents and call Cindy a jinx out loud, could he?

Yet, Cindy really did give off the aura of a walking disaster.

His parents had strictly forbidden him from associating with her.

They insisted she didn’t just ruin her own family, but everyone around her too.

Even though York was a pragmatic

modern guy, he couldn’t withstan

his parents constantly harping on

So he was caught in a cycle of pushing Cindy away, only to be dragged back by his own guilt.

Their relationship was a tangled, hopeless mess.

Claire paid zero attention to any of that drama.

Rumor had it that Lance was currently living in his own apartment, leaving Cindy with nowhere to stay.

York had set her up in a place, treating her like a kept canary.

However, since Cindy was retaking her classes, she rarely stayed at the place York provided.

Most of this gossip came from

Shirley since

college

get

Ving to Cabinda for

what happened back in Apex.

aire cared ven about

The only exceptions were her grandmothers and Edison’s family.

Oh, right-when Claire went back over the national holiday, Edison and Jenny were already planning their wedding.

Edison hadn’t managed to escape Jenny’s grasp after all.

Plus, Jenny was pregnant.

Even if Edison wanted to run, he was trapped for good.

His mother was over the moon with joy.

Claire, on the other hand, didn’t have nearly as much drama in her daily life.

After her conversation with Ethan Monroe, she buried herself back in her studies.

A guy from another class walked over, holding an iced latte.

He stopped right in front of Claire.

“Claire, I finally found you!”

Trying to steal her away right in front of the class president?

The classmates watched the scene unfold, their eyes gleaming with pure gossip.