Chapter 3

The next day, I got up late. When I groggily went downstairs, Fiona and mom had already finished breakfast. The maid was about to throw away the leftovers, and I rushed to stop her. "Sorry, leave it for me. I'll wash the dishes after." The maid gave me a complicated look that made my face burn with shame, but I had to force a smile. She left the dishes for me, saying before she left, "There's a boiled egg in the pot that no one ate, you can have it." I was grateful for this bit of kindness and ate the boiled egg clean. After breakfast, there was still work to do. Mom might forget to give me living expenses next week, so I needed to earn some money myself and pay back my classmates. Yesterday, on my way back, I saw an old lady collecting drink bottles, saying they were fetching a nice price lately. I planned to try collecting some too. I found a plastic bag and went out. Just after rummaging through half a garbage can, it started to rain. The rain stung the wounds on my back, and I had to find shelter under an eave. The door of the villa behind opened, and someone came out. I was about to apologize and find another place to shelter when I recognized a familiar face. "Class president?" Ezra frowned, "Adeline, why are you here?" "I, I live here." Ezra's tone was doubtful, "Your house is here?" I kept my head down, unsure how to answer. Technically, I wasn't part of Fiona's family, just benefiting from my mom. He saw I didn't respond and didn't ask further, placing the trash he was holding at the door. Then he looked up, and his expression changed. "Adeline, what's wrong with your back?" I hurriedly reached to touch it, finding faint red on my hand, likely from the wound reopening. "It's nothing, I'm fine..." I said, trying to leave, but I felt dizzy and fell. When I woke up, I was lying in my bedroom, Fiona sitting by my bed. "You have a fever. Ezra brought you back. Adeline, how are you so lucky?" I shivered, in trouble. How could I forget that Fiona liked Ezra? Before, a girl from another class gave Ezra a love letter. Even though he rejected it, Fiona had someone corner the girl in the bathroom to teach her a lesson. Now that Ezra personally brought me back, what would Fiona do? Fiona crossed her arms, expressionless. "Ezra also asked about your back. I said maybe you accidentally hurt it. I don't know if he believed me—Adeline, are you pretending to be pitiful in front of him, or do you want to expose me to him?" "I didn't mean that, definitely not." I tried to explain, to prove my innocence, but Fiona sneered and walked away. She didn't immediately trouble me, making me even more anxious. Yet I couldn't worry about that now. I was dizzy from the fever, and there was no fever medicine in the kit. I could only add an extra blanket and sweat it out, also realizing the bag of bottles I collected was gone, making today's efforts futile, feeling desperate.