The Heart You Hid Away Stopped Waiting for You Long Ago

He ruffled my hair and pulled me behind him.

"I'm sorry. I got here late."

"Are you hurt?"

When I shook my head, his face went cold as he looked at the two across from us.

"This family doesn't welcome a dog that bites its owner!"

Jerome, eyes rimmed red, reached to grab me, and Kenneth landed a punch on him.

What came next was pure chaos. The two of them grappled all over my tiny room.

Lola watched it all, her hateful glare fixed on me.

The noise gave me a headache, and I shouted:

"Enough!!!"

The two of them finally stopped. I hurried over, anxious, and helped Kenneth up.

"Are you okay?"

"Joanna! I'm hurt worse than he is!"

Jerome stared at me, stunned.

Before all this, seeing him hurt like that would have had tears springing to my eyes.

But now I was busy cleaning Kenneth's cuts, and I brushed him off.

"Got it. Go find a doctor, then."

Lola helped Jerome up. His face was frighteningly dark.

"Fine. Fine. You'd better not regret this!"

After that, Jerome went back to acting like I didn't exist.

He led Lola around introducing her to the neighbors, and everyone said they made a perfect pair.

Lola's feed was full of the designer bags and jewelry Jerome had given her.

Even the class group chat, dead for years, came back to life because of the two of them.

【Oh my God, the ship we all shipped back then is alive again!】

【The class president and the school beauty. My youth is back! Hahaha!】

【Oh please, back then everyone knew Mr. Gilbert only had eyes for Lola. Some people just couldn't take a hint and kept throwing themselves at him……】

【Right, but it all worked out. True love wins in the end~】

【Guys, the person you're talking about is still in here, ahem ahem.】

None of it touched me.

After everything we'd been through, Kenneth and I only grew surer of each other, and things kept warming between us.

When my old deskmate called, I was busy planning the engagement dinner with him.

"Joanna, they're saying they want to hold a reunion!"

"Do you want to come and set the record straight? You explained so many problems to me back then. I can't just stand by and watch them drag your name like this……"

I smiled and turned her down.

"The second I'm off work I get hauled off to look at venues. I'm run ragged. Where would I find the time to bother with that?"

"Don't worry, I'll invite you to the dinner. Don't waste your temper on those people!"

Then I quietly left the group chat.

That only made the ones who couldn't stand me bolder.

They said I had no ground to argue back, and they piled the mud on thicker.

Lola dropped her share of wounded, wronged-sounding posts too, some open, some sly.

It only nailed down the rumor that I'd wedged my way between them.

A few classmates spoke up for me now and then, and got shouted right back down.

Before I knew it the reunion came, and when they saw I hadn't shown, the whole crowd started up with the snide remarks again.

"Some people look like straight-A stars, but who knows how nasty they are underneath?"

"Exactly. All that high-and-mighty act, isn't it just a guilty conscience?"

And then they went back to fawning over Jerome and Lola.

But this time, Jerome cut in with a frown.

Once everyone was full of food and drink, he suddenly called the server over.

"Pack up an order of the crispy skillet potatoes."

Someone beside him teased, "Mr. Gilbert likes little-kid food like that too?"

Jerome let out a soft laugh.

"It's for my girlfriend."

Beside him, Lola went pale.

Someone caught the awkward mood and stepped in with a laugh:

"Hey, look, everyone, Joanna just posted."

My deskmate stood right up:

"That's right. Some people should think before they talk."

"She's busy getting engaged. Of course she didn't come."

The ones who'd been trashing me flushed red.

When Jerome heard that, he froze on the spot.