Chapter 29 Slander
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“Then get out. Both of you!” Kenneth’s voice exploded across the
room.
His expression had darkened to something almost
unrecognizable. The warmth that usually lit his gaze was gone, replaced by a fire so intense it looked as though it might consume everything in its path.
Startled, Marianne instinctively reached out to calm him, but before her hand could touch his arm, Kenneth grabbed hers instead.
He locked eyes with the two standing in front of him. His words came slow, sharp, and deliberate, each one cutting deeper than the last. “I used to call you friends. But after today, I can’t even look at you without feeling sick!
“I don’t want to see your arrogant, self–righteous faces ever again. As of now, we’re done.
“Don’t ever show yourselves in front of me again.”
His tone left no room for doubt, and the revulsion written across
his face was unfiltered and absolute.
Eleanor and Victoria stood frozen, utterly blindsided. Neither had expected things to unravel so swiftly, so viciously.
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Kenneth squeezed her hand, and for a brief moment, his gaze softened as it met hers, so full of concern it broke straight through his fury.
“I’m fine,” he said, his voice much gentler now. “Let’s go.”
The shift in his tone, so stark and intimate, left no room for doubt as to where Marianne stood in his life.
The two women watching could hardly bear the sight. The rage that had momentarily been eclipsed now surged back with renewed ferocity.
Victoria’s eyes burned with fury as she watched them walk away. Then, all at once, she snapped, “So that’s why you were in such a hurry to leave the country?” she shrieked. “You already found someone else abroad!
“Kenneth, you’re a lying, cheating bastard! Stringing us along while you cozy up with your new girl. How typical!”
Her voice pierced the air like a siren, drawing gasps from every corner of the crowd. Those who had been secretly watching now stared wide–eyed, stunned.
No one had imagined that the perfect campus idol might be hiding such a sordid past.
Kenneth came to a halt. The veins along his temples bulged
yişibly.
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He turned, eyes burning, and stared down Victoria. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“What, did I say something that wasn’t true?” The moment the
words left her mouth, regret hit her like a slap. She knew she’d
gone too far.
After all, despite their closeness, Kenneth had never once crossed
the line with either of them.
But now, with everyone watching, there was no going back. She couldn’t afford to admit she was wrong, not when pride was all
she had left to cling to.
And truth be told, Victoria had always harbored a quiet conviction
that Kenneth had once, even if only briefly, seen her differently.
Why else would he have been so attentive?
“Eleanor,” Kenneth said, turning to the other woman, his voice
laced with irony. “Is that what you think too? Why don’t you go
ahead and tell everyone what really happened?”
He was waiting, hoping, even now, for a shred of honesty.
Kenneth had always believed he’d conducted himself with integrity. Not once had he crossed a boundary, never given them
cause to misread his intentions.
Even if Victoria wanted to drag his name through the mud, surely 3/8
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Chapter 29 Slander
Eleanor stood off to the side, her expression unreadable, her
silence stretching just a little too long.
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“Say something, Eleanor,” Victoria urged, tugging at her wrist. “He
was always so good to us. Of course he liked us. But now he’s
off with that woman, pretending we never meant anything. He’s clearly moved on!”
Her voice grew shrill with every word, feeding off her own
indignation as if the lie, repeated often enough, might just
become truth. “All those times he cared about us? What, was that
all an act? He turns on us the second someone new shows up? Typical. He got bored, that’s all.”
“Kenneth,” Eleanor finally spoke, “don’t you think you owe us an
explanation?”
And that was all she said.
Kenneth stood rooted in place. The heat of his rage, so fierce just moments ago, now dissipated as though doused in ice water.
Then, unexpectedly, he laughed, a hollow, bitter sound.
So this was what he’d been surrounded by all along, people who
could twist the truth without batting an eye.
It was never really about Lucas. He had merely lit the match.
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The truth was, with people who couldn’t tell right from wrong, this 4/8 kind of fracture had only ever been a matter of time.
Chapter 29 Slander
Kenneth still hadn’t responded.
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Yet rather than feeling flustered, Victoria and Eleanor seemed to
think they’d cornered him. “See? You’ve gone silent. That says it
all, doesn’t it?”
“I’ve never had feelings for either of you beyond what one would have for a friend,” Kenneth said firmly, each word sharp and
precise.
“I know with absolute certainty that I’ve never behaved
inappropriately toward either of you.
“If you still believe I’ve crossed a line somehow, then produce your
evidence. Let’s settle it right here.”
Victoria’s face froze because she had none.
Eleanor, quicker to adjust, changed her tone in an instant. “Weren’t you the one who deleted us first?”
She knew dragging the argument out wouldn’t end well, so she pivoted. “Kenneth, come on. Let’s not turn this into a spectacle.
“I get it. You’re jealous of Lucas, but that doesn’t justify lashing
out at him.
“And really, don’t let your frustration with us push you into doing
something reckless.”
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She deliberately stressed the last word, shooting a meaningful
Chapter 29 Slander
at Marianne.
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But Kenneth had had enough. “Instead of trying to discipline me, maybe you should worry about Lucas.
“Because if anyone fits the image of playing both sides, it’s the three of you.”
With that, he took Marianne’s hand and walked off without a single glance back.
There was something so final in his departure that both girls momentarily panicked.
This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.
They had come in full of righteous indignation, convinced they’d regain the upper hand. Now, they found themselves speechless, completely outmaneuvered.
Victoria’s eyes trailed after Kenneth, fixated on the way he
instinctively shielded Marianne. A flash of resentment crossed her
face.
What does that pauper have that I don’t?
There’s no way she’s better than me!
678ugh
“He’s still mad at us,” Victoria muttered again, as though saying it enough times might make it true.
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She deliberately ignored the look of disdain he’d given them and added, more to herself than to anyone else, “Well, he definitely got our attention now.”
Beside her, Eleanor clenched her fists.
The look on Kenneth’s face when she failed to speak up for him still lingered in her mind. The disappointment in his voice had cut deeper than she’d expected.
A faint unease crept into her heart, something uncomfortably close to guilt.
Perhaps she had crossed a line.
But Kenneth had spent so long being the one to yield, the one to apologize, that she had grown used to it.
The momentary urge to say sorry vanished just as quickly as it
came.
Lifting her chin, she cleared her throat and said coolly,. “Fine. Since he’s so worked up, maybe we should just let him cool off and apologize later.”
Victoria scoffed, still clinging to her pride. “No wonder he made such a big deal out of it. He knew we’d let it slide.”
Their conversation drifted into self–justification as they followed him all the way to the school gates.
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driver slammed on the brakes.
“Are you okay?” Marianne asked, startled, turning to check on
him.
“I’m fine.” Kenneth steadied his breath. “What happened?”
“Someone jumped in front of the car,” the driver growled, clearly
agitated.
He rolled down the window and snapped, “Are you out of your mind? Didn’t you see the damn car?”
“Kenneth.” Lucas stood directly in front of the vehicle, his face full of forced vulnerability.
What kind of cursed day is this?
Why do they keep showing up one after another?
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They Chose Him, I Left
Chapter 30 We’ll Let Today Slide
