Charlotte’s POV:
Camilla completely lost it: “Ahhh, You’re dead meat!”
I never considered myself to have violent tendencies, but when Camilla lunged at Lily, my body reacted faster than my brain. In that moment, I discarded all pretense of being a sweet, gentle lady.
Before Camilla’s scream had even faded, I’d already grabbed her arm, kicked her in the stomach, and in one fluid motion pinned her arm against the desk and slammed my fist down.
The classroom instantly fell silent. Everyone stared at me in shock, as if they couldn’t believe that the normally sweet and
charming Charlotte Cole possessed such efficient fighting skills.
Fortunately, the professor arrived just in time to stop the chaos. I released Camilla and calmly returned to my seat, as if I’d just done a little stretching exercise.
“Sitting between you two, I feel completely useless,” Jason said with a smile as he sat between Lily and me. “Aunt Charlotte, if the professor hadn’t come, would you have broken her arm?”
I looked at him and replied in my usual soft voice, calmly: “Yes.” I saw a flash of awe in Jason’s eyes. Sweet exterior, unyielding interior–that was my way of survival.
An hour later, Jason and I left the classroom heading for the athletic field. Lily said she needed to change into her sports clothes and would catch up soon.
“Isn’t that my grandfather?” Jason suddenly pointed toward the middle of the field.
I looked in the direction he was pointing and indeed saw Richard Kingsley standing there, with Morris the butler right behind him. Even just standing there, Richard exuded an unmistakable presence. In his hand, he held his expensive silver walking stick–not really an aid for walking, but rather an accessory to accentuate his status.
“Dad!” I shouted to him, causing all the surrounding students to turn and look. The murmurs around us quickly swelled.
“Look, isn’t that the old man Charlotte was with yesterday?”
“Yes, yes, it’s him. But why is he her dad? Is her dad that old?”
“Why is she calling that old man daddy? Could it be…”
There were even nastier speculations, with some people using terms like “sugar daddy” and “kept woman.” I felt a rage rising from deep within me, like a fierce flame instantly consuming my rationality. Richard’s expression also changed from joy to shock and anger.
Without a word, I walked up to the girl who had made the most offensive comment and delivered a resounding slap. “Today I’ll teach you how to be a decent human being!”
“Charlotte’s lashing out because we hit a nerve!” Camilla appeared out of nowhere, shrieking loudly. “Everyone, quick, save her! Don’t let her hurt our classmate!”
Before I could react, people started surrounding me. But what surprised me even more was Jason’s reaction–he grabbed
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Richard’s walking stick and swung it at Camilla.
“Damn it, tired of living?” Jason roared.
“Jason, my sister is Karen Barrett. If you hit me, aren’t you afraid your uncle will- Before she could finish, Jason punched her directly in the face.
I had never seen Jason so angry. Blood immediately poured from Camilla’s nose, covering her face. The girls who had intended to gang up on me now kept their distance, seeing Jason’s ferocity. The male students stood even further away, none daring to approach.
Several faculty members tried to intervene but were stopped by Richard’s angry shout. Meanwhile, Morris had rushed into the group of girls to protect me.
“Charlotte, protect yourself,” Morris said with concern.
“Morris, get out of my way.” I pushed the butler aside, determined to teach these rumor–mongers a lesson. I grabbed one girl by the hair, my hand clamped on her neck, and threw her directly to the ground.
Facing more than a dozen girls, I was completely dominated by anger, losing all self–control. In my heart, there was only one voice: No one insults my family. No one.
When Lily appeared in her sports clothes, the scene was already in complete chaos.
“Charlotte, is that blood on your hands?” she asked worriedly.
“Not mine,” I answered coolly, my gaze locked on another girl who had spoken disrespectfully.
Seeing me approach, that girl immediately fell to her knees begging: “Help! Help! I was wrong, I was wrong!” But I was beyond showing mercy.
Soon, the school administrators were alerted, including the principal who appeared on the scene. When they saw Richard, the principal bent over fearfully in greeting: “Good day, Mr. Kingsley.”
“Are you aware of what happened to Charlotte on the school forum?* Richard demanded sternly.
The principal apologized repeatedly: “It was my mismanagement. Please punish me, Mr. Kingsley.”
“My daughter–in–law was simply being a good student, taking me out to enjoy some food, and she gets slandered as being kept?” Richard’s voice echoed across the entire field.
Daughter–in–law. These words caused a wave of shocked whispers through the crowd. I saw many faces displaying sudden realization.
The principal bowed repeatedly in apology: “We–we werejust about to report this matter. We didn’t know things would escalate to this point. We will definitely give young Mrs. Kingsley a proper explanation.”
Seeing the blood on my hands and scratches on my arms, Richard berated the principal again: “If anything happens to my daughter–in–law, you leadership lot can all get lost!”
He came forward to examine my injuries: “With so much blood, it must be very painful, right?”
“Dad, this is someone else’s blood,” I told him truthfully.
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Richard paused for a moment: “Then hitting people must have hurt too, right?”
Everyone around was too shocked to speak–by normal logic, one should be concerned about whether the person who was hit was in pain.
Just as Richard was preparing to take me to the hospital for a check–up, the police suddenly appeared, led by none other than Eric Morgan, Lily’s brother.
“Damn, my brother!” Lily exclaimed quietly, quickly slipping away in the crowd.
At eleven o’clock, Jason and I were taken to the police station. Despite Richard’s efforts to negotiate, Eric insisted on following proper procedure. To prevent further conflict, all students involved in the fight were detained separately, with only Jason and I held together.
“Was that sorry state Camilla’s in your doing?” I asked Jason curiously.
“Of course,” Jason said proudly. “I also need to tell you something–Camilla had plastic surgery. Her nose is enhanced, and there’s something stuffed in her chin.”
“Really?” I asked in surprise.
“Really. I focused my efforts on her face, and it visibly deformed before my eyes.”
I gave Jason a thumbs up: “Just for that, from now on at home, your aunt’s got your back.”
Just then, Alexander appeared at the police station. His face revealed no emotion, but for some reason I felt a bit nervous, all my earlier fighting courage gone.
But to my surprise, his first words as he approached me were: “Are you hurt?”
Hearing those words, a warm feeling suddenly surged within me. So, his first concern was for me.
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