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Tiffany saw that her dad thought she was just trying to make Adam stay, so she didn’t bother <i>to </i>exin further. If she insisted, her dad would only use her of always wanting topete with Alicia.
Tiffany just nodded sweetly. “Okay. So, Dad, now that Adam’s left, do you still want to-”
“No need,” Hugh replied. “Since I already promised you, I won’t use that method anymore. I’ll handle it some other way.”
Aaron looked at Hugh. “Dad, what’s your n?”
Andrew and Archie exchanged eager nces at their father, hoping he’de up with a way to really <i>get </i>back at Alicia. She’d made them look foolish, so they figured she deserved some proper payback.
Hugh sneered, “Alicia won’t have anywhere to stay when she leaves. If she tries to rent a ce, I’ll make sure she can’t find one. I bet she’lle crawling back to us eventually.”
“But what if she doesn’t rent? What if she crashes at a friend’s ce?” Andrew frowned, genuinely worried.
Hugh smirked, “We’ll see which of her so–called friends has the guts to take her in. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind making things difficult for them, too.”
Tiffany’s eyes sparkled when she heard that. She thought smugly, ‘Like Alicia even has any friends, other than Sienna, she’spletely alone.
‘If I can just convince Sienna to ditch her, Alicia will be left with no one. She’ll have no choice but toe begging us to take her back.
‘And when that momentes, I’m going to make her taste every bit of what I suffered because of her.
Andrew and Archie nodded in agreement. “That’s a good n.”
After discussing their strategy, the family members went their separate ways.
*****
Meanwhile, Alicia was totally clueless that the Lawrence family was scheming to make here back using some dirty tricks.
Right now, she was fully wrapped up in her art, analyzing every detail of the oil painting.
Suddenly, inspiration hit her. Alicia’s eyes sparkled as she grabbed her brush and started sketching.
After an hour of careful work, she managed to restore the painting.
Gazing at her finished piece, Alicia couldn’t help but feel even prouder than before.
A scarecrow stood before the vivid rice fields, while a few crows swept across the sky. Seen from the front, it all came together into a wlessposition.
<b>15:41 </b><b>wea</b><b>, </b><b>Uct </b><b>1 </b><fnef9c> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n Find_Novel(.</fnef9c>
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Alicia gazed at the painting, and out of nowhere, liked it even more. When she’d first painted it, her goal was to create something warm and peaceful, but once it was done, it just felt empty.
Sure, the scene was quiet and calm, but it didn’t have a soul. Now, though, that little chimney and the gentle smoke seemed to bring everything to life.
Even though there wasn’t a single person in the picture, one could almost imagine a cozy family inside–and feel the gentle, slow beauty of time passing by.
Alicia stashed the painting away, just waiting for Edward to show up.
Now, she swore she would never let Tiffany be Edward’s apprentice ever again.
A new day dawned, and Alicia finally made her way back to school, slipping into ss like everything was back to normal.
For the old Alicia, it was just a week away, but for her now, it felt like she’d been gone for ages.
As Alicia took in the surroundings that were both familiar and strangely foreign, she couldn’t help but feel a rush of nostalgia. She was back at square one.
Alicia walked slowly toward the entrance, taking in the sights with each step, letting herself relearn the rhythm of this ce, reconnecting with every little detail.
“Alicia?” called a voice from behind her.
Alicia spun around and saw Sienna rushing over, her face lighting up. “You’re actually here. Why didn’t you give me a heads up?”
Alicia smiled, “I wanted it to be a surprise.”
Sienna giggled, “It totally is. I’m so d you showed up. Seriously, it’s been so lonely without you around. I’ve had to eat all by myself, and I swear, the cafeteria food isn’t even tasty anymore.”
With their arms linked, the two headed off to ss together.
Suddenly, a car pulled up next to them. Sienna and Alicia instinctively stepped aside.
The door popped open, and Tiffany hopped out. The moment she got close, she grabbed Alicia’s hand and put on a worried face. “Alicia, I heard you were discharged from the hospital.
“You didn’te homest night, the whole family was worried sick. Where did you spend the night?”
Alicia looked at Tiffany calmly, suspicion flickering in her eyes. ‘Why is she really asking me this?‘ Alicia wondered.
Seeing Alicia stay silent, Tiffany sneered inwardly. ‘No way you’re escaping this.
Tiffany deliberately raised her voice so everyone around could hear. “Alicia, you’re a girl; you stayed out all
<b>15:41 </b>Wed<b>, </b><b>Oct </b><b>1 </b>
night by yourself? That’s really dangerous, you know.”
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Tiffany’s words were meant to stir up gossip, making people immediately think Alicia had spent the night who–knows–where doing who–knows–what.
Just as expected, students nearby immediately started giving Alicia the side–eye, whispering, and shooting her odd nces.
Sienna saw the strange looks and jumped in right away. “Alicia stayed over at my cest night. Is that <i>so </i>weird? We’re best friends–her spending the night at my house is totally normal.”
With Sienna backing her up, everyone quickly went back to minding their own business.
Tiffany gave a little smirk. “Oh, so she was at your ce, Sienna. Alright then, I’ll let Mom and Dad know, so they won’t worry.”
With that, Tiffany picked up her bag and strode off toward the ssroom.
Alicia watched Tiffany’s back as she walked away, her gut telling her that these questions had nothing to do with making Alicia look bad. Tiffany just wasn’t one to drop things so easily.
Alicia thought, suspicion sharpening in her mind, ‘If Tiffany were really after my reputation, she would’ve kept poking and prodding until the whole school was talking. Why let it go so quickly?
‘She’s definitely up to something else.’
After thinking it through, Alicia suddenly put the pieces together.
Ever since she left the Lawrence family, Tiffany had lost her private artist. No one was left to do her paintings. Of course, they wanted to push Alicia intoing back.
But they didn’t want Alicia returning on her own terms–they wanted her cornered and desperate, begging toe home. That way, they could keep her under their thumb for good.
They were probably going to use Alicia’sck of a ce to stay to back her into a corner. After all, without the Lawrence family, she had nowhere else to go.
No matter where Alicia tried to live, the Lawrence family would just put pressure on whoever owned the ce and force her out.
Alicia wondered, ‘And now, with Sienna saying Alicia spent the night at her house, isn’t that just painting a target on Sienna’s back? That silly girl is just asking for trouble and doesn’t even know it.‘
Alicia couldn’t risk letting Sienna get caught up in her family’s mess.
ask(a
Knowing how suspicious Hugh was, he’d never just send Tiffany to ask a few questions and call it a day. He’d be sure to have someone digging behind the scenes to find out exactly where Alicia was staying.
Alicia needed Hugh’s spies to think she wasn’t living at Sienna’s ce; that way, Sienna wouldn’t end up tangled in the feud between her and the Lawrence family.
15:41 Wed, Oct <b>1 </b>
Just as Alicia was deep in thought, Sienna piped up, “Hey, Alicia, where are you staying now?
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“If you haven’t found a ce yet, why don’t you just crash at my ce for a while? Or maybe <i>see </i>if there are any dorms still open?”
Premier Academy had students from all over, so of course, there were dorms.
But for Alicia, getting a dorm room wasn’t really on the table. With the Lawrence family trying to squeeze her, there was no chance they’d let her get one approved.
“Dorm rooms are only avable at the start of the semester,” Alicia replied, sounding rxed. “It’s toote <i>to </i>apply now. Seriously, don’t worry–I’ve got somewhere to stay.”
Alicia didn’t mention the whole mess with the Lawrence family pressuring her; no need to get Sienna worried over it.
As far as Sienna knew, Alicia’s biggest issue was finding a ce to live. Now that Alicia said she had it covered, Sienna was visibly relieved.
Sienna immediately linked arms with Alicia, beaming. “Awesome. Come on, let’s get to ss before we’rete.” As they walked together, Alicia was already working out her next move in her mind.
‘Guess I’ll <i>be </i>sticking around at Charles’s ce for a while longer. Hugh would never dare to make trouble for the Yates family, she calcted.
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