Chapter 598

After saying her piece, Charlotte barely spared Janie another glance before turning around and heading straight for the dorms, not bothering to look back.
Janie stood frozen, her hand pressed to her chest as she watched Charlotte walk away. The shock she’d just experienced slowly twisted into something colder, sharp with jealousy and hate.
Charlotte.
Could she really be the reason Stella was refusing to come home? The Main family had gone bankrupt ages ago. Everyone knew the school let Charlotte attend for free and even gave her a monthly stipend of two thousand.
How could someone barely scraping by have enough money to support Stella?
If it wasn’t Charlotte, then who was paying for Stella’s school? Was Stella secretly seeing someone rich? Or… was she being kept by some wealthy man?
As Stella’s pretty face flashed through her mind, Janie’s fingers curled tightly. After a long pause, she finally pulled out her phone and dialed. “Uncle, I saw Stella at the training grounds.”
If Letty hadn’t been out of the country for an academic exchange, she would’ve gone after Stella the second she saw her.
Letty was Stella’s half-sister. According to Stella’s dad, Mahoney, Letty was the result of a drunken mistake before he married Stella’s mom. He hadn’t even known Letty’s mom was pregnant at the time. Later, he married Stella’s mother and they had Stella three years after.
When Stella was ten, her mother passed away. Less than three months later, Mahoney married Letty’s mother. They said it was some kind of drunken reunion, but only they knew the real story.
Later, when Letty’s mom got pregnant and was about to give birth, she suddenly fell down the stairs. Stella was blamed right away. No matter how much she denied it, she still ended up being sent to a sanatorium.
…
Stella’s dorm room was quiet.
When Charlotte walked in, she saw Stella sitting at her desk, lost in thought.
Seeing Charlotte, Stella’s pale face turned her way. Her voice was hoarse. “Is she gone?”
“She’s gone,” Charlotte replied. She stepped closer, reached into her pocket, then gently brushed Stella’s bangs aside with her fingers she grimed. “Give me a smile.
Stella’s throat tightened and her eyes stung a little, but she managed a small smile. “Does Anthony know how much of a flirt you are?”
“He knows.” Charlotte paused for a second, then broke into a soft laugh. “He’s used to it.” She’d flirted with guys and girls alike.
Stella smiled for real now, meeting Charlotte’s gaze. “I’m fine, Charlotte. Don’t worry. I’m not going to let those people get to me.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” Charlotte leaned against the desk next to her, tapping her foot on the floor and giving her a crooked grin. How are your roommates?”
“They’re all really nice,” Stella said, her lips curving up. She actually sounded happy, and the whole room felt warmer for it.
“That’s good.” Charlotte was honestly relieved. Stella had always been shy and barely talked to anyone. Things would only get better from here.
At 6:50 the next morning, dew still clung to the grass when the whistle blew on the field.
Students in army-green uniforms rushed to line up with their teams.
“Charlotte.” Shirley spotted her and waved with a big smile.
She’d thought they’d end up at different schools and wouldn’t see each other again for a while. Now here they were, thrown together for physical training. Shirley couldn’t have been happier