Chapter 62

When Lizzie suddenly turned the blame on her, Daphne's expression grew complicated. 'What's Lizzie trying to do by bringing me into this now?' Daphne wondered.

Especially after overhearing the conversation between Elara and Asher, Daphine began to suspect she might have misunderstood the situation. At that moment, she wished she could disappear. But it was too late.

Asher had already fixed his gaze on her, leaving no chance for an escape. Asher walked over to Daphne, looking her directly in the eye. "Did you tell Lizzie that I was the one who spread the rumor about Elara being a sugar baby?") Asher knew with absolute certainty that he had never said such thing. Daphne had never seen him this serious before. Even when they fought, he was never this furious

"Well, say something. Asher urged impatiently. Tm asking you. Did I ever tell you that?"

What Elara thought wasn't his primary concern. But if Barrett ever found out about this, it would be finished. Asher had no intention of taking the fall. After all, he was still counting on Barrett's financial support for college, With everyone watching her, Daphne finally spoke, looking up at Asher. I didn't say that."

Asher's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Daphne clarified. "I never told Lizzie that you were the one who said it

Lizzie, taken aback by Daphne's words, froze for a second. "That's not true. You clearly..."

Every time they discussed this, it had always been Daphne who pushed the idea that Elara was being kept by some older

man.

When Barrett had first picked Elara up from school, it was Daphne who initially questioned their relationship, sparking all the wild speculation.

"When did I ever tell you that Asher was the one who said Elara was a sugar baby?" Daphne asked, feigning innocence.

"L... Lizzie stammered, glancing at Daphne and then at Asher. If i hadn't been for her unwavering trust in Daphne, Lizzie wouldn't have been so sure of herself.

After all, Asher was close to Elara. If anyone knew whether or not Elara was being taken care of by an older man, it would've been him. Daphne surely would've known too.

As Lizzie faltered, Daphne pressed on. "Besides, weren't you the one who kept insisting that Elara was being supported by an older man? If you hadn't gone on about it, I wouldn't have believed it.

"You're the one who posted about it online, aren't you? You took those pictures of Elara and that man, saying you were going to post them on the Oakridge High School forum so Lysander would see. Did I get anything wrong?" Although Daphne had known Lizzie for a long time, she had no intention of going down with her. All the dirty deeds were Lizzie's doing. None of it had anything to do with her.

"No, that's not true." Lizzie protested, glaring at Daphne. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have done any of that"

Lizzie had always considered Daphne her best friend. That was why, no matter what happened, she always took Daphne's side.

Even when Lizzie had accused Elara of cheating, it had been because Daphne had first pointed out how unnaturally fast Elara's grades had improved, If Daphne hadn't said anything. Lizzie wouldn't have given it a second thought.

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Chapter 62

But now, Daphne was denying everything, throwing the entire chess onto Lizzie's shoulders,

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"Because of me?" Daphne let out a bitter laugh as if she had suffered some great injustice. "It's your own lack of character that made you enjoy talking behind her back.

"Now that things have blown up, do you want to drag me down with you? Lizzie, how did I only just now realize, after all these years of friendship, that this is the kind of person you really are?"

Lizzie was stunned by how brazenly Daphne was lying. "No, Daphne, that's not..."

"Oh, stop it already." One of the students nearby interrupted, fed up with Lizzie's denials. "Daphne has been nothing but good to you. Remember when you almost got expelled?

"She was the one who begged for leniency on your behalf. And now you want to drag her into this and make her take the blame? How could you be such a backstabber?"

Another student chimed in, echoing the sentiment. "Exactly, you're ungrateful! Poor Daphne. She's been nothing but kind, and this is the kind of friend she gets? Lizzie almost got Daphne into serious trouble with Asher. Their relationship is so strong, but if they'd fought over something like this, it would've been such an injustice"

Yeah, that fat cow is just disgusting. I've hated her for a long time. If it weren't for Daphne being friends with her, who would even bother talking to her?" someone else said.

Lizzie was plain-looking, and as a teenager, she was on the heavier side. Overweight girls were often easy targets for discrimination. Because of her friendship with Daphine, people had been kinder to her.

But now that Daphne had distanced herself, Lizzie instantly became isolated and defenseless. As everyone piled on, hurling insults at Lizzie while conveniently excusing Daphne, Elara couldn't help but glance over at Daphne. Even now, Daphne maintained her innocent facade, something she was quite skilled at Every time trouble brewed, Daphne was always the one who seemed the most blameless.

Unable to bear the verbal abuse, Lizzie ran off in tears. Asher turned to Elara. "You saw what happened, right? It wasn't me who said anything. Does this answer satisfy you?"

Elara looked at him, unimpressed. "Do you really think I'd be satisfied?"

Asher, clearly annoyed, replied, "What's your problem? You wanted the truth, and now you've got it. Lizzie posted those things online, not me.

"I didn't do anything, and I won't let you or anyone else pin it on me. Even if it comes down to explaining it to your dad, I'll make sure he knows the truth."

At that moment, Daphne stepped forward, addressing Elara. "Elara, this whole thing is my fault, and I owe you an apology: Hearing her say she wanted to apologize, Elara raised an eyebrow, curiosity piqued. "Oh really?" 'Does Daphne even know what apologizing means? Lizzie did all of this for her, and yet she's so quick to sell her out, Impressive, Elara thought to herself.

Daphne continued, "It's all on me. When Lizzie started talking like that, I didn't stop her. I only found out about the online posts a couple of days ago.

"I tried to convince her to take them down, but she's just so stubborn. If you hate me for it, I'll accept that

"So, you're saying this has nothing to do with you?" Elara questioned, seeing right through Daphne's attempt to absolve herself.

Chapter 62

Daphne sighed, distancing herself from any responsibility. "Although I didn't have anything to do with it, Lizzie is still my friend. I'm apologizing on her behalf. Could you give her another chance?" "Daphne," Elara said, fixing her with a sharp look, "I don't believe for a second that this has nothing to do with you."

Daphne lowered her head, showing no sign of guilt or shame. "I get it if you don't believe me. If I were in your shoes, I'd be angry too. But as long as you don't misunderstand Asher, that's all that matters to me." Daphne glanced at Asher as if she'd done everything for his sake!

Seeing Daphne look at him, Asher couldn't help but recall how, when people first started spreading rumors about Elara being a sugar baby, he hadn't stepped in to stop them,

And now, even after all that's happened, Daphne was still protecting him. It touched him in a way he hadn't expected.

Turning back to Elara, Asher said, "We've gotten to the bottom of this. If you have a problem with Lizzie, I won't argue. But Daphne had nothing to do with it. You're not going to lump her in with the rest of it, are you?" It was clear that Asher was intent on defending Daphne.

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