When Fate Faltered

“I was really eaten up with guilt yesterday. I never expected you to have such a bad temper. I’ve always treated Joel like a brother. Don’t be mad anymore, okay?”

Mandy said, wiping at tears that were not there. “It’s still my fault though…”

“If I’d known my limits, you wouldn’t have left. Mrs. Xanders, even though I was so guilty I almost jumped off the rooftop, please don’t blame…”

“Are you done?” my mother cut her off with a sneer. “Girls these days really don’t learn anything good at such a young age. You just constantly put on an act that you’re a pure and innocent girl among the boys.

“My daughter doesn’t bother arguing with you because she was raised to know boundaries and not casually spew foul language. But what about your parents?

“All you do every day is dive into groups of boys. Do you even know what the boundaries between girls and boys should be? If your parents didn’t teach you, then I’ll teach you.

"Behavior like yours is... What was that phrase on the internet? Oh, yeah. Pick-me girl."

I could not help laughing.

I quickly shoved her away and said, “You’re gross.

“We’re not close. Please stop pretending we are.”

Mandy stiffened.

After fully registering what my mother had said, her eyes instantly reddened. She stood there at a loss, completely flustered.

Leo immediately jumped in to defend her. “Mrs. Xanders, how could you be so rude? Mandy almost jumped off a building because of your daughter!”

I glanced at him.

I remembered one of those insults from yesterday. “So, what if she hears it? Who wants a crippled girl anyway? Only Joel is kind enough to keep her around, right?”

Those words had come from him.

I suddenly felt sick.

“Helen, I…”

Joel instinctively tried to step toward me, reaching out as he always used to, wanting to take my hand.

“Joel…”

Hearing Mandy’s soft call and seeing her swollen, reddened eyes, Joel finally stopped.

He pulled out a tissue to wipe her tears and said, unable to hold back, “Mrs. Xanders, that was too much. Mandy didn’t mean it. This whole thing was Helen throwing a tantrum. It almost even led to Mandy trying to kill herself.”

“Mandy is young. She just graduated from high school. She’s only nineteen…”

“Nineteen?” my mother raised an eyebrow, then smiled. “You say nineteen is young, but my daughter is only eighteen.”

“They’re both in the prime of their youth. My daughter didn’t do anything wrong, so how did she become some unforgivable sinner who almost got someone killed, just like you said?”

“Joel, I still remember how you used to take Helen out to play when you were little, how you swore you’d protect her. But you’ve changed far too much. I am truly disappointed in you.”

Joel was left speechless.

Even as he wiped Mandy’s tears, he was clearly distracted.

The others behind him probably could not find anything to refute either and said no more.

I found it pointless and was about leave with my mother.

However, suddenly, Joel grabbed my wrist.

Lowering his head, he noticed the winter clothes in the shopping bags and said instinctively, “There’s no need to buy such thick clothes for Eidolon City…”

As he spoke, something seemed to occur to him.

His eyes lit up, and the hand gripping my wrist tightened.

“So, that’s why you blocked me and threw a tantrum. It was just you trying to mean something else.”

“Buying winter clothes… you want to go skiing in Artarca with us, don’t you?” He convinced himself as he spoke, the corners of his mouth lifting uncontrollably.

“Alright, stop sulking. I’ll book the tickets later. The flight is 10 o’clock in the morning. We’ll go together.”

“You’re wrong!”

I yanked my hand free and mercilessly shattered his fantasy.

"I'm not going to Artarca with you. I'm heading to the Capital City. Besides, my hearing has been restored for a while now."

The smug smile on Joel’s face faded.