“Don’t say that, Harriet is just a receptionist!”
“I can prove it! Harriet’s three houses and one million dollars all came from demolition compensation!” Stephanie defended Harriet.
Elliana sneered and raised an eyebrow. “You can prove it? Who would believe the words of a mistress?”
“Just birds of a feather!” Other classmates expressed their disgust and shared their thoughts.
“If it’s demolition compensation, why did others get only one house while Harriet got three houses and a million dollars?”
“Exactly! A mistress, a lady of the night, everyone in the class knows. What’s there to defend?”
“You are Harriet’s best friend, of course, you would speak for her. Anyone else can prove it, but not you!”
Harriet was misunderstood by everyone and called names in public. Tears welled up in her eyes as she loudly defended herself:
“I met a benefactor. The demolition company gave me three houses and a million dollars because of his influence!”
The room fell silent.
Elliana burst into laughter, full of disdain. “A benefactor? I bet it’s a man, your sugar daddy!”
“And he’s probably just a low-level manager in the demolition team! Right?”
“Tsk tsk… No wonder you’re best friends with Stephanie. Following in her footsteps after graduation, becoming a mistress!”
Her words stirred up a storm among the classmates, who quickly chimed in.
“Elliana is right. Harriet is just an ordinary girl with dead parents. Besides her looks, she has no skills. What kind of benefactor could she meet?”
“Harriet is following Stephanie’s path, shamelessly!”
“It’s okay to be short on money, but you should take the right path! Having classmates like them is disgraceful!”
“For someone to spend so much on her, Harriet must have used all her tricks, agreeing to anything every night with that man. It’s disgusting just thinking about it!”
The classmates looked at Harriet with contempt and stood on moral high ground to criticize her while secretly feeling jealous.
They also wanted to be kept women and earn three houses just by lying in bed.
But they didn’t have what Harriet had.
Harriet was the beauty among the working-class students and had many suitors during school.
They were insanely jealous.
Now seeing Harriet become a little rich woman made them even more uncomfortable.
So they attacked her verbally to vent their frustration.
“Enough!” Harriet slammed the table and shouted at Elliana: “We were classmates for four years. I have no grudge against you. Why are you slandering me like this?”
“What did I ever do to you?”
Tears shimmered in her eyes as she clenched her fists in anger, glaring at Elliana with extreme grievance.
Julianne, the vice class president, said coldly:
“Elliana, you’ve gone too far.”
“We’ve all been working in different places. It’s rare to gather together today. Must we make things so tense?”
After graduation, everyone went their separate ways. It was rare to come back for the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday; no one wanted things to be so unpleasant.
“What did I do to you?” Elliana’s face darkened as she ignored Julianne and stared directly at Harriet:
“Fine! I’ll tell you what you did!”
She narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth: “You dated Clinton Francis for two years during college, right!”
“Later you dumped him because he had no money. That would have been fine if it ended there, but you went around badmouthing him.”
“You said he cheated you out of money and that I was a mistress who intervened, making both of us depressed.”
“And you still have the nerve to say you didn’t wrong us?”
Hearing this, Harriet was stunned and immediately furious!
What a case of the pot calling the kettle black!
How shameless!
During college, she indeed dated Clinton but was conservative and wanted to save her first time for her wedding night.
Clinton couldn’t stand the loneliness and secretly got involved with Elliana.
At that time, Harriet’s grandfather got injured at a construction site and received $3, 000 in compensation which he sent to Harriet for safekeeping.
The two found out and used Harriet’s naivety by faking a medical report claiming Clinton had gallstones and needed $3, 000 for surgery.
Clinton cried his heart out, promising to repay once he recovered.
Harriet lent him the money in the end.
Unexpectedly, after getting the money, Clinton immediately broke up with Harriet and went partying with Elliana that very night.
In less than a month, they spent all $3, 000. When Harriet found out, she was heartbroken.
She confronted Clinton but without any written proof; he denied everything.
Harriet had no choice but to suffer in silence. She never spread any rumors!
How did it turn into her badmouthing them everywhere according to Elliana?
“Elliana, I never spoke ill about you and Clinton. Clinton is not worthy of being called human!”
“And don’t think you can lie your way out; heaven sees everything. You know better than anyone what really happened!”
Stephanie glared at Elliana with anger flashing in her eyes.
“The truth?” Elliana sneered coldly:
“The truth is-Harriet envied that you were kept by rich men and abandoned sick Clinton to attract old men at bars!”
“The million dollars and three houses she has now are proof!”
Her gaze fell on Stephanie with narrowed eyes full of hatred.
They believed their scam was flawless and thought Harriet wouldn’t dare speak out.
But Stephanie spread rumors causing some classmates to doubt their words.
There were whispers behind their backs ruining their reputation.
Harriet deserved to die!
Stephanie deserved to die too!
“I believe Elliana’s words; bad company corrupts good morals. Being around Stephanie for long must have ruined Harriet’s character too!”
“Poor Clinton! Such a good man wasted by ungrateful Harriet!”
“In fact, Clinton should thank Harriet; if she hadn’t broken up with him how could he have found such a good girlfriend like Elliana?”
“Yes! Now Clinton is working with Frederick as Mr. Powell’s manager earning millions annually!”
Classmates who knew about past events also doubted Elliana and Clinton before but times had changed!
Now they were Frederick’s favorites even though his father died Maximo took over maintaining Frederick’s wealth status quo making Clinton powerful needing connections thus siding with them regardless right or wrong supporting whoever held power mattered most listening praises made Elliana smile eyes narrowed into slits:
“Salaries are nothing; Clinton being close aide means people wanting favors through him understand?”
“He’s upstairs discussing business now promised joining us later drinking together!”
This excited everyone further knowing Eight Extremities School dominated Shipmeda State respected by all black white sides ensuring safety having connection meant strong protection essential networking crucial surviving society without contacts impossible!
Harriet’s face turned pale standing abruptly telling Julianne:
“Vice president we’re leaving enjoy yourselves!”
Dragging Stephanie along realizing truth irrelevant classmates sought humiliation not justice arguing pointless!
Elliana blocked their way smirking coldly:
“Leaving? Admit slandering me & Clinton first or I’ll tear your mouths apart!”