Chapter 32 I Believe in You
Marianne’s voice was soft, almost weightless. “How could y possibly blame yourself for any of this?”
She had picked up on the quiet defeat in his eyes and now g patted his back, calm and unhurried, like a steady tide smoot jagged rocks.
“Lucas was nothing more than a catalyst.” Her words were dir each one landing with quiet precision.
“A catalyst?” Kenneth looked up slightly, a fog of confusion still
clouding his gaze.
Marianne’s heart tightened at the sight. She reached out and rar her fingers through his hair with a light, comforting touch. “Let’s say I sponsored a struggling student someday. Would you give her something you’d picked out for me?”
“No way.” He shook his head without hesitation. His answer was instinctive, absolute.
“What if she schemed and manipulated until she managed to take it from you?” she asked again, her tone patient but persistent.
Kenneth furrowed his brows, seriously considering it for a moment. “Even then, no. If I chose something for you, I wouldn’t
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give it to anyone else no matter what.”
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Marianne couldn’t help but laugh, a quiet smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Exactly. That’s all there is to it.”
Realization slowly dawned on him.
At first, he’d directed his anger toward Lucas for sowing discord.
But in truth, he had never fully believed that Victoria and Eleanor had simply been tricked.
Noticing the shift in his expression, Marianne pressed gently on. “Besides, they knew you weren’t well. Even if they were upset, that doesn’t excuse the way they confronted you in pub”
“If they’d truly cared for you back then, how could they miss the change in your face, the way you were holding yourself?
“They were lashing out because they could feel you slipping beyond their control.”
There was a long silence.
Then Kenneth exhaled, slow and weary, as regret crept quietly into his expression.
“It’s alright,” Marianne whispered, lifting his face in her hands with
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the care of someone holding something fragile. “This won’t happen again.”
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Kenneth saw the ache in her eyes, raw and unmistakable. And
something in him finally let go.
His gaze softened. The anger and disappointment faded like a storm passing out to sea.
“I believe in you,” she said, firm and unwavering. “What others say doesn’t matter to me. It doesn’t shape how I see you.
“You’re still you.
“And I judge you by what you do, not what others v….sper about
you.”
Kenneth held her gaze, as if trying to etch every word into the walls of his heart.
The heat of it caught Marianne off guard. Her cheeks flushed, and she instinctively tried to lean away, suddenly self–conscious under the intensity of his stare.
But before she could move, Kenneth leaned in and kissed her.
The atmosphere changed in an instant, thick with a quiet, electric pull.
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Marianne froze. Her mind went blank, her body stiffening in the surprise of it all.
Kenneth’s heart raced wildly. He shut his eyes and drew her into his arms, gently but with certainty.
When she didn’t pull away, didn’t resist, the kiss deepened. His lips grew firmer, more insistent.
They lost themselves in the moment, both moving toward each other without a thought, caught in the gravity of something
neither had named.
Somewhere in the silence, a heartbeat echoed, loud and fast.
It was a long while before Kenneth finally let her go.
He looked at her, a little breathless and more than a little shy. Her face was completely flushed now, the color spreading all the way to the tips of her ears.
And just like that, the turmoil from earlier faded into irrelevance. All that mattered now was the girl standing before him.
Marianne fidgeted, eyes darting away, clearly flustered.
Then she glanced at the clock and let out a gasp. “Is it really that
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Chapter 32 I Believe in You
late already?!”
“What is it?” Kenneth asked, puzzled.
“I’m late for my shift!” She smacked her forehead. “How did I forget that?!”
She dashed toward the door in a hurry, throwing her shoes on in a flurry. Kenneth followed close behind.
“I’ve gotta run. Stay home and rest, alright?” she said as she fumbled with her laces.
“I’ll take you.” He was already reaching for his keys. “You’re almost late, right? I’ll get you there faster.”
She hesitated for a beat, then gave in. “Okay. Thanks.”
They arrived at the store not long after.
Marianne changed into her work uniform and waved him off with
an easy smile. “Go on now. I’ll be back on time, promise.”
Kenneth didn’t argue. He gave her a wave and turned to leave, heading in the opposite direction.
He had a surprise in mind for her.
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With that thought, his pace grew lighter, each step filled with anticipation.
But while joy lit up his path, gloom had settled over the other three, Victoria, Eleanor, and Lucas.
Lucas had accompanied the girls back to their hotel, only to find
himself surprised by the setting.
He’d assumed they were staying somewhere upscale.
But this was just a regular, mid–range hotel.
“You’ve been staying here all this time? That must’ve been rough,” he remarked lightly, breaking the silence that had lingered since their return.
Victoria and Eleanor hadn’t spoken a word on the way back.
“Yeah,” Eleanor replied softly, her nod sluggish, as though her mind still hadn’t caught up to reality.
Lucas observed her quietly, contempt curling beneath his polite expression.
Typical spoiled rich girls. Do they really think the world revolves around them?
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Only someone like Kenneth would put up with this crap.
If it were me, I’d have ditched these fools ages ago.
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Still, it was precisely this kind of blind arrogance that made them so easy to manipulate.
Masking his disdain, he sighed with performative guilt. “This is really all my fault.
“I didn’t think Kenneth would turn out like this.
“He’s gone too far.”
“Exactly!” Victoria burst out, her tears spilling with fury. “How could he say that to me?”
She still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Kenneth had actually confronted her and called her out to her face.
After all, he was the one who had insisted on standing up for her back then, even sending her father to prison.
I was a victim too. Was I supposed to just sit there and get slapped around while he watched?
And now he wanted her to pay him back, knowing full well she had no money.
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Just thinking about the way the crowd had stared at her, disdain
in their eyes, made her skin crawl.
I’ve never been humiliated like that before!
How can he be so petty?
Eleanor let out a sigh and handed her a tissue.
She wasn’t exactly thrilled either, but Kenneth had made his point clear, and honestly, it wasn’t unreasonable.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized Victoria really shouldn’t have passed the gift along like that.
But now wasn’t the time to say that. So all she offered was a muted, “Stop crying.”
Too lost in her own shame and frustration, Victoria didn’t pick up on the shift in Eleanor’s tone.
But Lucas noticed. He caught the crack in the foundation, and pressed right into it. “Kenneth wasn’t always like this. He told me himself it was no big deal.”
The girls paused, struck by the memory.
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Chapter 32 I believe in you
That’s right!
He did say that.
Why act all generous in front of us if he didn’t mean it?
She chose to forget the tension in his voice, the discomfort written across his face. All she wanted now was to salvage her pride. “He was the one pretending to be noble!”
“Maybe that girl said something to him,” Lucas added, casually throwing Marianne under the bus.
He hadn’t forgotten how she brushed him off. If she wouldn’t play along, he’d gladly use her as bait.
“Her?” Eleanor frowned.
“Who else?” he replied with conviction. “What else would make him turn on you both like that?” He let the thought.ang, then added with mock understanding, “No wonder she started stirring things up the second you showed up.”
He could see it now. They were starting to believe him. He stood abruptly, his face dark with righteous fury. “You know what? That’s it. I’m going to talk to her, right now!”
“Wait!” Eleanor reached out instinctively. “Don’t do anything
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rash.”
“No, I’ve had enough.” Lucas‘ expression hardened. “Even if
Kenneth gets mad at me, I can’t just stand by while that woman walks all over you!
“I won’t let her twist the truth about you two.”
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Gifts
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Chapter 33 Name Your Price
