CHAPTER 412: CHAPTER 412: REVEALING THE TRUTH

Aurora checked and said in a calm but cutting tone,

"Watching a person from afar doesn’t mean love, Eleanor. Sometimes, it just means you’re pretty good at stalking."

The room fell into silence. Eleanor stood there, stunned, her face frozen with disbelief.

The others almost burst out laughing, but they held it in.

Olivia almost wanted to give her sister a thumbs-up.

Theodore, however, didn’t laugh. He stared at Aurora quietly, thinking about what she said.

Aurora continued, her eyes sharp. "If you truly liked Theodore, then you wouldn’t have tried to frame Olivia."

Theodore immediately turned his head toward Eleanor. "You tried to frame Olivia?" he asked, his voice serious.

Eleanor’s body stiffened. Her face turned pale, and she looked down for a second before raising her eyes again with a pitiful expression.

"Theodore, it’s a misunderstanding," she said in a trembling voice. "I would never do that to Olivia."

But in her heart, she was cursing Aurora.

’This b*tch, why does she keep on interfering! I f*cking hate her!’

Aurora didn’t respond. She calmly turned her head and looked at Olivia.

Olivia understood that look right away. She took a deep breath, turned to Theodore, and tears filled her eyes.

She looked at him without letting the tears fall and nodded slightly.

"Yes," she said softly. "Eleanor is telling the truth."

Though her words sounded in Eleanor’s support... for some reason, it sounded completely different.

Eleanor’s expression changed instantly.

Her hands clenched at her sides as she glared at Olivia, furious inside.

She knew what Olivia was trying to do...she was turning the situation to her favor.

Eleanor stepped forward, trying to speak. "Theodore, I..."

But Theodore interrupted her, his voice firm. "What happened, Olivia? Tell me right now."

Olivia shook her head quickly, still looking down. "It’s nothing," she said quietly.

Theodore frowned. He didn’t believe her at all.

Seeing the tears in his twin sister’s eyes made something inside him twist painfully.

He couldn’t bear to see Olivia cry. Even though he often acted like she was just one of his buddies, the truth was, Olivia always had a special place in his heart.

He walked up to her and gently held her hand. "Tell me, Olivia. What happened?"

Olivia stayed quiet, lowering her head even more.

Aurora saw the moment and smirked slightly. It was the perfect time. She stepped forward, her voice cold and steady.

"It was Eleanor," Aurora said, pointing at her. "She’s the one who framed Olivia. She said Olivia forced her and Mateo to kiss."

Everyone turned to Eleanor in shock.

Aurora didn’t stop.

"In reality, Mateo had feelings for Olivia first. He wanted to go after her. But when everyone found out that the Hawthorne family...the billionaires of New York City...was against our family, he backed away immediately. That coward couldn’t handle it. So what did he do? He got together with Eleanor. And Eleanor agreed, acting all sweet and in love with him."

Eleanor’s face turned red. She tried to interrupt, but Aurora kept going.

"Mateo even proposed that Olivia become his mistress while Eleanor constantly professed her love for Mateo. She even had the audacity to blame Olivia when she was caught kissing Mateo at the university grounds,"

Aurora said, her tone sharper now. "In front of everyone, Eleanor said Olivia was blackmailing her and Mateo."

Olivia suddenly sobbed, and Aurora started to pat her back, pity visible on her face.

Everyone’s faces turned dark. Theodore looked stunned.

Aurora continued, her voice softer now but still filled with anger.

"If it wasn’t for Louis, who took Olivia’s side that day, no one knows what would’ve happened. Eleanor even made fake text messages to make it look like Olivia was guilty. Olivia had to hire hackers to get the real messages back. It cost her all her savings. She was almost broke because of that."

Theodore’s eyes widened. His face went pale as the truth sank in.

Eleanor quickly shook her head and stepped forward. Her voice trembled.

"Theodore, please, it was a mistake. I was scared. I didn’t mean for things to go that far. I’ll make up for it, I promise."

Aurora crossed her arms and looked at her brother seriously.

"If you still go out with Eleanor after this," she said, "then it’s the same as slapping Olivia’s face. You can’t forget that Olivia almost got expelled because of Eleanor and Mateo."

A mechanical voice rang into Aurora’s mind right then.

[Theodore’s favorability has dropped to 30%.]

’It’s working!’

Theodore clenched his fists tightly. His jaw locked, and he looked down, deep in thought.

Aurora’s voice grew colder.

"Eleanor only came back to you because Mateo pushed all the blame onto her and left her behind. Now that she’s been expelled from the university, she suddenly remembers you?"

Theodore’s head shot up. He looked at Eleanor, his eyes red with anger.

He didn’t care that Eleanor had kissed Mateo. Sure, it hurt a little, but not deeply. What truly broke him was knowing that Eleanor had almost destroyed Olivia’s life.

He knew how hard Olivia worked. How many nights does she stay up painting?

How badly she wanted to make something of herself. And Eleanor had almost taken all that away.

The more he thought about it, the more his anger grew. His heart pounded in his chest, and his eyes filled with disappointment.

Aurora suddenly heard the familiar mechanical voice in her mind.

[Theodore’s favorability has dropped to 10%.]

She smiled slightly in her heart. ’As expected,’ she thought. ’Out of everything, Theodore always listens when it’s about family.’

Before Aurora could speak again, Eleanor suddenly dropped to her knees.

Everyone gasped.

Eleanor started hitting her head against the floor, again and again. The sound echoed through the room. Slowly, a red mark appeared on her forehead, but she didn’t stop.

Tears streamed down her face as she looked at Olivia.

"I’m sorry," she cried. "I understand now that my words and actions hurt you deeply. I was wrong. I was blind. But the truth is..I always thought of you as my best friend."

Her voice broke. She looked at Theodore, her face full of pain.

"I’m not asking for forgiveness, Theodore. I just want you both to know that I will spend my entire life making it up to you. I’ll prove it with my actions."

Aurora frowned. Inside her mind, she suddenly heard another voice.

[Theodore’s favorability has dropped to 9%.]

She blinked, shocked. ’What? It dropped again?’ she thought. ’Wasn’t Eleanor making amends? Why is it decreasing?’

Eleanor, on the other hand, looked even more panicked. She turned toward Theodore, tears in her eyes.

"Do you... Hate me now?" she asked softly.

Theodore walked over to her and knelt down. He looked at her bloodied forehead, his expression unreadable.

He spoke slowly, every word heavy.

"I could’ve let it go, Eleanor. I could’ve believed it was a mistake. But now, by kneeling like this, you’re trying to guilt Olivia into forgiving you. You’re using pity to make yourself look good. Not to mention... you said you considered Olivia your best friend, but you still got together with a man who was degrading her. Are you even telling the truth? Just what kind of best friend are you?"

Eleanor froze.

Theodore’s eyes hardened.

"If Olivia doesn’t accept your apology, won’t people think she’s narrow-minded? You’re cornering her again, Eleanor. Even now, you’re trying to control the story."

For a moment, no one spoke. Everyone was stunned. Even Eleanor couldn’t say a word.

Aurora sighed quietly in relief. ’Thank goodness,’ she thought. ’My brother still has his sharp mind.’

But before the silence could settle, Eleanor suddenly spoke again. Her voice was weak, trembling, but full of desperation.

"Theodore, I wasn’t trying to guilt-trip Olivia," she said, shaking her head. "I only knelt because I was sorry. If you think it was wrong, I’ll stop. I’ll never do it again. Please believe me."

She held his hand tightly, her voice breaking as she spoke.

"When Mateo abandoned me, I was broken. At that moment, the only person I thought about was you, Theodore. You were the one who stayed by my side when everyone else ignored me. You taught me physics, remember? You made me laugh when I cried."

She smiled faintly through her tears.

"I remember those nights when we sat under the stars, talking about our dreams. Back then, I didn’t realize what I felt for you. My heart beat faster every time you smiled at me, but I ignored it. I thought it was just friendship."

She looked down, her voice small.

"But when Mateo hurt me, when I had no one, your face was the one I remembered. Your kindness, your warmth... everything. I realized I had been in love with you all along."

Her words were so honest that the entire room went silent.

Even Alex, who had been watching from the corner, felt moved for a moment.

He didn’t pity her, but he could feel the pain in her voice. If he hadn’t known the truth, even he might have believed her.