NovelOnlineChapter 359
The little girl's nicknwas Belle. She adored hanging around Marvin, practically his biggest fan.
But the past few days, she'd been keeping her distance.
Because...
"My dad told| can't talk to you anymore," Belle whispered, glancing at Marvin with worried eyes. "He also
said that Keen's dad made it clear-if anyone talks to you, or plays with you, they're making enemies with the
O'Brien family."
Belle looked around nervously to make sure no one was listening, then leaned in and continued, her voice barely
above a whisper: "lI asked my mom about it. She said it's not really about you-Keen's dad isn't targeting you. It's
about Keen's mom. | heard his parents got divorced, and she made his dad really angry."
She lowered her voice even more. "Since you're close with Keen's mom, you're getting caught in the crossfire."
Keen and Marvin were infamous for their constant squabbles-everyone at Westwood Academy's kindergarten
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtknew about them.
Most of the parents already knew that Stella was Mr. Haynes's ex-wife.
Now that word had spread that Haynes himself had made a public threat, who dared to go against him?
But Neville's son wasn't someone to mess with, either.
Luckily, from one of Haynes's old friends, people learned that this time, Haynes was only targeting his ex-wife.
As long as Marvin kept his distance from her, things could go back to normal.
This was Neo-Vespera, after all.
No one wanted to get on Haynes's bad side-not when he was backed up by Jasper and Foreman, two of the
heaviest hitters in the Novaris business world.
When Haynes spoke, people listened.
No one wanted to risk their family's standing over something so trivial.
Every child at Westwood Academy cfrom a family with plenty of influence.
Belle was a beautiful, lively girl. The very first day Marvin transferred in, the two of them becfast friends.
Marvin liked Belle, too-any the had a new toy or treat, she was the first he'd think of to share it with.
Belle had even made Marvin promise that, when they grew up, she'd be his girlfriend-his very first love.
Marvin had agreed.
So their bond was closer than most. Otherwise, Belle would never have taken such a risk to warn him.
Everyone at school knew what was going on-except maybe Keen, who always seemed to miss the point.
Belle didn't want to see Marvin left out or alone. She pleaded, "Marvin, please— just stop talking to Stella. If you
do, everything will go back to the way it was. The others will let you back in."
But Marvin's eyes grew colder as he listened.
He said quietly, "Out of everyone, Stella's the one person I'll never ignore. Belle, you should go. I'll pretend |
never heard any of this. If | ever hear you say something like that again, we're not friends anymore."
Belle froze in place, her eyes filling with tears.
"Marvin, I'm only telling you this because | care! Haven't you noticed how the kids have been treating you these
days? You promised| could be your girlfriend
someday. Now you're picking Stella over me?"
Marvin's gaze was no longer warm or friendly.
"I don't blyou for listening to your family and staying away from me. But then, why blme for picking
Stella over you? And anyway, you're not as important toas she is. | can have a lot of girlfriends, but there's
only one Stella."
He took a breath. "From now on, we're not friends. But thank you for telling me."
With that, Marvin turned and walked away. His small figure radiated a chilling resolve, not a trace of regret or
longing left behind.
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