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LOZ 115
"Oh my god, look who it is! Olivia Parker, you remember me, right? It's been such a long time. Ha, I'm so glad to see you!"
Sienna, with perfectly styled golden blonde hair cascading down to her elbows and wearing a short dress that clung to her voluptuous figure, beamed like a toothpaste commercial model, her lips shimmering with fine pearl particles. With an exaggerated gesture, she threw her arms wide and pulled Jiyu into a hug.
The color drained from Jiyu's face in an instant.
Jiyu had happened to learn through Lauren last autumn that Sienna, who had been accepted to Sarah Lawrence College, had transferred to Barnard College.
It was the day Hunter had stopped by the Hamilton residence without warning, just before the start of the fourth-year fall semester. As it happened, Jerard had also come home from work earlier than usual, so the whole family gathered for dinner for the first time in a while.
A servant could not intrude upon the Hamilton family's dinner table without permission. Thus, Jiyu had intended to head down to the servants' dining room attached to the basement as soon as Daisy's class ended.
However, Hunter spotted Jiyu sneaking toward the stairs and shouted, "Where are you going without eating?" Caught in a state of hesitation, she was called in by Lauren.
As the family meal began in a rare, harmonious atmosphere, with Jerard and Hunter exchanging their usual mindless bickering, Monique served the main course.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, Lauren snapped her fingers.
"Oh, Hunter. You remember Sienna, right? Your high school prom date."
In that moment, Jiyu dropped her fork. She quickly picked up the fork, which had landed on the plate with a loud clang, and murmured a small apology.
Hunter merely glanced at her and didn't even respond to Lauren's question. Lauren continued.
"There was a luncheon party at the Central Park Conservancy's women's meeting recently. The co-chairs for the 'Play For the Park' tennis tournament, which takes place in the third week of September, gathered, and Rebecca brought Sienna along. Apparently, she transferred from Sarah Lawrence to Barnard this semester. She spent a year in Paris before entering college, and then took another year off to do influencer and modeling work, so she won't be in the same classes as you."
Sienna's mother, Rebecca Reed, a fashion designer, was a well-known socialite in New York society and often crossed paths with Lauren at various charity events.
Barnard College, where Sienna had transferred, had an affiliation with Columbia University, meaning Barnard students could take classes with Columbia students. That meant Jiyu could run into Sienna at school at any time.
Hunter silently cut a large piece of steak and put it in his mouth, while Jiyu, her appetite completely gone, focused on dismantling her steak into pieces the size of a fingernail.
"She was so friendly to me. She said she lost touch with you after starting college, and since you don't use social media, there was no way to contact you, so she asked if I could give her your number. I gave it to her. That's okay, right?"
"Why would you do something so useless!"
When Hunter shouted, Lauren flinched and pressed her palm against her chest.
"Hey! Why are you shouting? You startled me."
"Hunter Han Hamilton, apologize to Lauren this instant."
Jerard commanded strictly, his expression unusually stern.
Hunter sighed in frustration and muttered.
"I'm sorry for shouting. But please don't give my number to anyone from now on. Of all people..."
Hunter set down his fork and knife, as if he had lost his appetite. Flustered, Lauren hurriedly made an excuse.
"Now that I think about it, it was quite a rude request... but at the time, other steering committee members were all sitting there, so it would have been awkward to refuse. She said she was quite close to you in high school, wasn't she? She was your prom date. So I thought you were close friends. I'm sorry, Hunter. I think I misjudged."
"We weren't friends. And I have no intention of becoming one."
Hunter spoke bluntly, stealing a glance at Jiyu.
Fortunately, having regained a bit of her appetite, she ignored his gaze and quietly chewed a small piece of steak.
After that day, Jiyu never once looked toward the entrance of Barnard College, located across Broadway.
Though she vowed to always be mentally prepared for a potential encounter, she would still jump whenever she saw the silhouette of a tall, slender blonde. Fortunately, because her range of movement was so limited and she rarely went out late at night, she had managed to avoid her until now. That was why she had let her guard down.
From the Spring Fling to the high school prom.
It felt surreal that the person who had turned Jiyu's school days into a terrible nightmare was hugging her as if they were long-lost best friends.
Her body turned cold, as if she had been drenched in ice water. Simultaneously, her heart raced and her hands trembled slightly.
As Sienna slowly released the hug, her sharp, ornate nails grazed the nape of Jiyu's neck. She glanced over Jiyu's shoulder and sneered, curling one side of her lip.
"I heard there was a girl Hunter Hamilton was seeing, but that they'd been insisting they were just friends for four years because of family opposition, and I wondered who it was... So it was you? Now it makes sense. Poor Olivia. Your family situation... honestly, it's hard for a prestigious family like the Hamiltons to accept. To think the daughter of a Ponzi scheme fraudster would dare date the heir to the Hamilton family. Oh, Hunter's SigEp friends probably don't know yet that you're the daughter of that famous Ponzi scammer, do they?"
Sienna giggled and shook her head.
In that instant, the nightmares she had forgotten for the past four years returned all at once. A ringing sound filled her ears, and her mouth went bone-dry.
Sienna clicked her tongue and looked down at her with pity.
"You're quite persistent. I didn't expect you to still be clinging to Hunter. Since you can't actually date, are you content living as a sex partner? Seeing you do such dirty things behind that innocent face... I guess the fraudster blood makes you vulgar and shameless after all."
Sienna spoke with a bright smile. From a distance, it probably looked like she was just asking after a friend with a friendly face.
Pale and shaken, Jiyu couldn't say a word and lowered her head.
Sienna's words clawed at her heart like sharp nails.
In reality, she had borrowed money from Hunter and clung to him through his "jinx." And "jinx" was simply another name for a sex partner.
Standing before the ghost of her past, everything she had achieved on her own until now lost its luster and felt pathetic. She wanted to run away from this spot, but her feet wouldn't move, as if she were hypnotized.
It was unfair and agonizing that she had not overcome her trauma regarding Sienna even after four years.
How ironic it was that she had written a piece about how cowards can find courage in their own way and won an award for it, yet the author herself was merely bowing her head in a decisive moment despite being treated unfairly.
Jiyu felt ashamed.
'Do I even have the right to write something like that?'
She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them. Then, she glanced back. Hunter was surrounded by people, his back to her.
My blue-eyed monster... Hunter Hamilton.
Her Finnigan was right there.
In the worst-case scenario, there was no doubt that Hunter would slide her behind his broad back and block whatever was tormenting her.
Hunter had always done that. At the playground in childhood, at Aster School, and here.
So, just a little more courage, Jiyu Parker.
You can do this too.
Jiyu slowly lifted her head.
As she met Sienna's malicious eyes, the trembling in her fingertips spread throughout her entire body. She bit her trembling lips hard before opening them slightly. Even her voice shook. But she wanted to say it, even if it was just one sentence.
Not for anyone else, but for the young Jiyu Parker who had been bullied.
"...I'm... not."
"Pfft, what? I can't hear you. Calm down, anyone watching would think I'm bullying you."
Sienna mocked her.
Jiyu shut her eyes tight and raised her voice.
"My father is not a Ponzi scammer. He was just one person who happened to work at that company. And... doing this to me... it's useless, Sienna."
"What?"
Only then did the fake smile vanish from Sienna's face.
Jiyu swallowed hard through her dry throat.
"And, if you're bullying me because you still have feelings for Hunter, give it up now. Hunter has never thought of you as even a friend. And that will remain the same in the future."
Having fired off the words in a single breath, Jiyu's shoulders shook. Her heart was beating too fast and her knees were trembling. But now that she had said it, she felt a bit relieved.
Though she didn't think she could do it a second time.
"Ha, are you done talking?"
Sienna crossed her arms and took a step forward, looking down at her threateningly, utilizing her height.
Jiyu frowned.
Though her appearance was mature, her inner self hadn't changed a bit from her teenage years as the queen bee of Aster School; her attitude was unbelievably childish.
'To think I spent all those years because of a person like this...'
Just then, someone took her hand, gently pulled her away, and stepped in between her and Sienna.
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