"I'm not going to say I put it there and forgot to take it out because I remember my actions clearly! It was less than ten minutes ago, how could I possibly forget something like that?"
The crowd's murmuring didn't stop. If anything, it grew. Some still looked uncertain, but others shook their heads as if her defense was nothing more than a desperate excuse.
Chineye clenched her fists, struggling to keep her composure. "Evelyn, are you defending me, or are you making things worse for me?"
For the first time, Evelyn truly looked at Chineye, not as a friend, not as an ally, but as someone caught between two opposing forces.
There was something almost calculating in her gaze, hidden behind that innocent, nervous expression.
Evelyn felt the weight of Chineye's words, but something deeper inside her stirred, hatred. Intense hatred.
