Vanya's POV
"Vanya! Are you just going to let him bully you like this? What's so good about a man like him? You're really going to drive me crazy!"
"Don't worry, if he hurts me, he'll definitely try to compensate somehow. I won't be the one at a disadvantage," I said.
"You..." Grace was at a loss for words.
I comforted her, "I'm not that bad off. You're angrier than I am."
Grace suddenly said, "My mom was killed by Forrest Gilbert years ago."
I was taken aback for a moment.
Grace's eyes turned red as she held back her anger. "That's why I took over Forrest's company. Forrest has to pay for my mom's death. Men who hit their wives are all bastards!"
I tightly held Grace's hand.
She sniffed and tried to sound casual, "It's all in the past."
Yes, although time moves on, those painful experiences are real and can't be easily let go of.
The car pulled up to the entrance of Wolfe. Grace accompanied me inside to have breakfast.
When we got to the second teaching building, we unfortunately ran into Melinda.
Melinda looked very haggard, thin and frail, with an appearance that seemed to evoke sympathy.
I immediately noticed the black suit she was wearing, with the Todd family crest embroidered on the chest—it was Cliff's jacket.
"Luna Vanya, Miss Gilbert..." Melinda greeted with a smile, "What a coincidence."
Grace's expression was even worse than mine, especially after learning that Cliff had hurt me for Melinda last night.
Without a second thought, Grace slapped Melinda across the face.
I didn't manage to stop Grace in time. Her eyes were cold and sharp.
Melinda's eyes instantly welled up with tears. "Miss Gilbert, why did you suddenly hit me?"
Melinda's voice was tearful and pitiful. Students preparing to enter the teaching building for class saw this scene and only dared to watch from a distance.
Melinda was quite well-known at Wolfe. There was no one else in the school with a similar background to hers.
Moreover, Melinda was academically outstanding and had a sweet appearance, always giving off an image of a positive, kind campus queen.
Most people in the school had heard of Melinda's story, and the male students were especially protective of her.
"How dare you ask me why I hit you?" Grace sneered, "You're the one who spread rumors about Vanya doing shady deals at school. You're also the one who posted things on the bulletin board to slander Vanya! How can you be so shameless? And you still cling to her husband?"
Melinda, with tears streaming down her face, seemed as if the whole world had wronged her.
"Miss Gilbert, how can you insult me in front of so many people? I'm poor, but I have my pride! I've never done these things!" Melinda looked stubborn, "You can't just slander me because Vanya is your friend! Even though I'm poor, I won't let you defame me like this! Just because you have money doesn't mean you can just throw mud at me!"
Grace was furious, but facing such morally manipulative rhetoric, she was momentarily speechless.
I stepped in front of Grace and looked at Melinda, finding her behavior laughable. "Poor?"
Melinda still put on that pitiful, weak, and stubborn look, looking at me.
Previously, I had only retaliated against Melinda, never going too far or intending to make her life at school unbearable.
But seeing her just now, trying to play the victim while being a homewrecker, I realized I was wrong. I shouldn't have been so lenient with Melinda.
I walked up, and Melinda retreated in fear. "What are you going to do?!"
I directly snatched the bag from Melinda's hand, took out one credit card after another, and also took off the suit jacket she was wearing.
"These credit cards, not a single one isn't given to you by Cliff. He regularly gives you tens of thousands of dollars a month for living expenses and pays your high tuition fees; Cliff provides the bag he gave you and everything you eat and wear daily. Remember. We are married. His money is also our marital property. What qualifications do you have to talk about being poor? And where do you get the nerve to say you have principles?"
Melinda's face turned very dark.
"This jacket, it's Cliff's, right?" I sneered, "My husband is really considerate. He keeps you while you're studying outside, personally drives you to school, and thoughtfully puts a jacket on you to keep you from catching a cold."
Having said that much, everyone around understood what was going on.
When a married man is so attentive to a woman who isn't his wife, anyone could see that their relationship is not ordinary.
"I didn't expect Melinda to be this kind of person..."
"I thought she really had principles, but she turns out to be a homewrecker."
"Dependent on others for food and clothing, and she still has the nerve to criticize the legitimate wife here!"
"No doubt, she must have been jealous and spread those rumors on the bulletin board. Too vicious!"
Listening to the comments around her, Melinda's face turned pale and then red.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed the jacket from my hand.