Riverside Academy

"Where's Liam?" Jackson cleared his throat and asked James.

"He went to meet Mr. Green about something," James replied.

"Then why didn't you go with him? You could have at least gone over to say hello," Lewis frowned, pinching James's arm.

Earlier, she and her father had bid farewell to the Green family and several other families who still held goodwill toward her—though not everyone. It was, after all, the least she could do. Soon, she would be traveling far away, unsure when she might see them again, so James's lack of manners was somewhat irritating.

James gritted his teeth, enduring the pain in his arm. He silently cursed, "It's all because of her father, isn't it… and Liam, that damned guy, he should have never left me alone like this."

For now, he could only bear Lewis's harassment in front of Jackson—and maybe for much longer after.