Chapter 24 He Must Apologize
As Eleanor spoke, her eyes remained fixed on Lucas. She was trying to catch even the slightest hint of panic or inconsistency in his expression.
However, Lucas didn’t react the way she expected. He just gave
her a puzzled look before nodding in agreement.
“Sure, Eleanor. I know Kenneth left to go abroad, and you must be feeling pretty awful about it. It’s fine if you want to keep the recording as a keepsake. Just try not to listen to what’s said in it
too much…”
As Lucas spoke, he pulled out his phone and sent the recording to
them while they watched.
Eleanor felt a twinge of guilt as she looked at Lucas‘ innocent
expression.
What am I even suspicious about? Lucas has been with us for so long. Don’t I know what kind of person he is by now?
But when she got back to the classroom and checked the
recording on her laptop, confirming it had been edited, Eleanor couldn’t tell if she felt disappointed or angry.
Victoria, who had been so confident before, now seemed
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*) 4 min (an
nervous. She tapped Eleanor’s arm with an awkward look on her
face.
“So does this mean Lucas is deliberately targeting Kenneth? He
wanted us to misunderstand Kenneth? Why would he do that?
We’re all supposed to be friends!”
Victoria’s thoughtless comment made Eleanor laugh despite her anger. She closed her laptop and gently poked Victoria’s
forehead.
“Either way, we need to get to the bottom of this.”
And so, just as Lucas was about to head home, Eleanor caught him at the narrow entrance to the alley. “Come on, let’s grab
dinner together,” she said.
Victoria immediately chimed in from beside her. “We haven’t had dinner together in ages!” she exclaimed.
“Let’s go, let’s go!” She didn’t even give Lucas a chance to respond before grabbing his wrist and dragging him toward their
usual restaurant.
After they sat down and ordered, Eleanor waited until things quieted down before getting straight to the point about the
recording.
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4 min loft
“Lucas, we’ve been friends for so long, and I just need to ask.
Why did you edit that phone call recording? What were you
thinking? Just be honest with me, and we can still be friends.”
Lucas felt a surge of secret satisfaction at Eleanor’s words.
She had come to him about it, just as he’d hoped!
His little performance earlier in the day hadn’t been wasted
after all. He laughed inwardly while keeping his expression
appropriately sheepish.
“Okay, fine. I admit I messed with the recording, but I was only
trying to help you guys!”
Victoria, who had been sipping her drink, quickly slid next to
Lucas and tugged at his arm, playfully punching him to vent her
frustration.
“So there really is more to the recording? You better show us right now! No more games!”
Looking at Victoria’s irritated face, Lucas had to try hard not to
burst out laughing.
He played the second recording he’d prepared in advance.
This version was even more brutal and direct than the first, filled
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with Kenneth’s raw verbal attacks against him.
(*) 4 min left
When the recording ended, both Eleanor and Victoria fell silent.
Their hearts felt like they were being sliced by a sharp knife, the pain cutting deep.
They suddenly realized they had unwittingly become Kenneth’s accomplices, repeatedly inflicting deep wounds on Lucas‘ heart.
“Yes, I lied to you both. I let you down and don’t deserve your friendship,” Lucas said. “I’m not feeling well. I should go. Enjoy your meal.”
He stood up unsteadily, looking like he might collapse from shock
at any moment.
“Lucas, please don’t go! We were wrong!” Victoria jumped up to block his path, grabbing his hand and pleading softly.
Eleanor, who had misjudged him the most, had shame written all
over her face.
She immediately took out a limited–edition watch that Kenneth had once given her and placed it on Lucas‘ wrist as a peace
offering.
The recording featured Kenneth’s authentic voice. No amount of
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Chapter 24 He Must Apologize
editing could erase the vicious words he had spoken.
(1) 4 min let
So both versions of the recording had already done real damage to Lucas!
“Lucas, we’re so sorry. We’ll never doubt you again,” Eleanor said. “We had no idea Kenneth could be so evil!” Victoria added.
“Don’t worry,” Eleanor continued, “even if he’s gone abroad, we’ll find him and make him apologize to you!”
The two women worked together to coax Lucas back into his chair. Then, they pulled out all the stops, doing everything they could to cheer him up over dinner.
Surrounded by the two women with Kenneth nowhere in sight, Lucas felt absolutely triumphant.
Not only would he prevent them from finding Kenneth, but he planned to track Kenneth down himself to vent his anger and clear his name completely.
Lucas happily ate the meat Victoria had served him. His face wore a gentle smile, but his mind was already planning his upcoming trip abroad.
Meanwhile, Kenneth–the man they’d all condemned–was
thriving after receiving specialized treatment overseas. He
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4 min leff
seemed like a completely different person, living a more fulfilling life with each passing day.
Early one morning, just as Kenneth woke up, he received a call from the academy. Two minutes later, not even checking if Marianne was awake, he eagerly knocked gently on her door.
“You better have a good reason for this,” Marianne grumbled as she opened the door with her hair sticking out in all directions and an irritated look on her face.
Before she could say anything else, Kenneth grabbed her in a tight hug and spun her around in a circle.
She was barely awake, and all this commotion made her feel like last night’s dinner might come back up.
“What are you doing up so early?” she asked, her cheeks turning slightly pink as her feet touched the ground again. She glanced down the hallway, which was completely empty except for the soft sounds of their morning conversation.
Kenneth’s face was beaming with joy, his smile stretching from ear
to ear as he asked mysteriously, “Guess who just called me?”
But Marianne had just woken up and was still half–asleep. “If it’s nothing important, I’m going back to bed…” she mumbled.
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(f) 3 min loft
“Wait, don’t go back to sleep!” Just as Marianne was about to close her door, Kenneth quickly stuck his arm in the doorway.
His smile grew even wider as he finally revealed. “The professor from the academy just called. You know that oil painting our group submitted for the competition? We won! First place!”
“What?” Marianne’s half–closed eyes suddenly flew wide open at Kenneth’s words, all traces of sleepiness instantly vanishing.
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