Chapter 78
Just as expected, Josie dropped the niceties when she finally realised Maybelle’s not going to give her what she wanted. Much like in the previous life, she did not hesitate to spread out the words that Maybelle was not really a Harper.
“You sure! Maybelle’s adopted! And an imposter?” Some students exclaimed dramatically.
This was sich a piece of juicy gossip that everyone was immediately intrigued. After all, it’s not like such drama could happen every day
“Of course! Josie stood by her words. “Rhea is the real Harper. She went missing when she was still young. The Harpers are loaded, so they adopted Maybelle instead. She was only a substitute, and seas immediately ditched once they got Rhea hark. Theard they got really mad at Maybelle somehow and forced her to change her name. She was kicked mi“”
Technically, the Lawsons were not really that connected to the Harpers. Most of what Josie just said was heresay, with exaggeration, of course Everyone loves a good gossip, so she’s giving them gossip, with Maybelle and Rhra in it.
some
She simply needed to paint Maybelle as the villain and put Rhea on a pedestal. It’s the only way to get Rhea’s attention and to show her son lovalry.
like money. They were popular enough before, but now with this family-
Maybelle was already the prom queen, and this new kid, Rhea, smelt li drama, they were all Austin School could ever talk about.
“That’s why Rhea was so eagered to sit next to Maybelle earlier! They are sort of sisters.
“Oh, come on, not by blood. What kind of sisters are those?”
“Yeah And I thought it was quite kind of Maybelle to give Rhea the seat. But now if you think about it, she’s probably trying to play hard to get. She knew Rhea was reaching out but still embarrassed her on purpose.”
“You don’t say! I didn’t know she was so mean.”
“Why is she so arrogant, then? She’s only adopted. Who does she think she is? Why is she being so nasty to her foster family’s real daughter? That’s so ungrateful.”
“But that doesn’t make sense. Why do the Harpers hate Maybelle so much that they have to kick her out? Surely they have enough money to raise another daughter”
“Right, and she does seem really nice. I don’t think she would deliberately cause any drama just because Rhea’s back.”
“What do you know! People are complicated. Just because she’s polite in school doesn’t mean she’s nice at home. Besides, she doesn’t talk that mach in school anyway. Maybe it’s all a façade. Maybe she’s one of those people who is friendly in person but will stab you in the back”
“Or, maybe, there’s a darker plot. Maybe Maybelle’s mom used to be the help in the Harper household. She and Mrs. Harper were giving birth around the same time. She switched her baby with theirs so her child could enjoy a comfortable life. The Harpers found out years later. That’s why they were so pissed that they had to kick Maybelle out!”
“Yeah, totally! They say she’s adopted just to save face. But they hate her guts. Otherwise you don’t normally disown someone just because they were adopted. She was in their family for so many years. Anyone who has a heart won’t do such a thing”
“Yeah, I think you might have a point
“I mean, if that’s true, poor Rhea! She did nothing wrong and she doesn’t deserve any of this. And now she’s finally back, she’s still bullied by the same person who stole her life in the first place. All day today, she was trying to talk to Maybelle, but all she got was a cold shoulder”,
“Honestly, Maybelle went too far! She’s the one who caused Rhea misery and she can’t keep treating her like that. Who does the think she is? She can’t just rely on her pretty privilege to get away with everything”
“Exactly. Poor Rea! She seems so gentle and kind. She doesn’t deserve any of this”
“Guys, but it really doesn’t make any sense…”
Just as the students gossiping around, someone cut in with a discordant note.
Apparently, not everyone’s so gullible. Someone immediately spotted the flaw in Josie’s statements. “Hey Josie, didn’t you always say that Maybelle had a bad upbringing?”
“Yeah, and now you’re saying she’s adopted by a weathy family and stole someone che’s life?”
“We’ve known her for more than two years now. She took the bus to school every day, just like the rest of us. If she truly comes from a wealthy family, she should have a chauffeur or something. Besides, she never brags to us. What kind of a golddigging imposter is the if she never brags!”
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1144 AM
Chapter 78
“Did you just make it all up to get back at her? Are you still bitter that she didn’t help you this morning?”
“Oh yeah, are those things even real? Do you have any proof?”
On that note, more students started to question Josie’s statement
Josie panicked. A lie leads a man from a grove e into a jungle. Now she’s taking her own medicine.
But she won’t get down without a fight. “Yeah, I did mention that her upbringing was bad, but I never said she’s actually poor. She takes the bus everyday simply because she’s prudent and wants to save up. They are all true. Don’t put words in my mouth!”
Some of them seemed convinced. Josie had always told them how frugal Maybelle was on a daily basis, but she never said anything about her family being broke.
Maybe they did twist her words.
Seeing that the table had turned, Josie became more confident. “I didn’t know about that until recently. My parents told me that the Harpers treated Maybelle really nice in the beginning because they thought she’s their blood. But, as she grew, they started to notice that she bore no resemblance to neither Mr. nor Mrs. Harper. They did a DNA test and found out she’s not theirs. That’s why they grew apart. And Mr. and Mrs. Harper tried really hard to get their real daughter back.”
Josie almost convinced herself on this made–up story, and so seemed the crowd.
“What else do you know? You’re so close with her that you must have a lot more insider information. Just tell us already”
Someone urged. Everyone enjoyed a good piece of juciy gossip. Josie didn’t want to stop just now. She had to crush Maybelle’s reputation, so she continued.
“I’m not entirely sure if it’s true but I heard Maybelle was a brat to the Harpers just because they wanted to get their daughter back. She picked up bights with them quite frequently, even in public. At first, the Harpers were still going to keep her around and provide for her financially. They even put her in their will! But she’s really greedy and ungrateful. She was so jealous of Rhea that she bullied her for taking away the attention and inheritance. She tried to kick Rhea out by framing her, only getting herself kicked out. Karma, I’ll say. Now she won’t get a dime from the Harpers.
That was quite some drama and a lot to take in. What goes around comes around Everyone loved a good revenge story. Maybelle seemed to get what she deserved.
They were still talking when Maybelle casually dropped the bomb as she passed by.
“Yeah, I won’t get a dime from them. And I won’t inherit their debts either.”
