A Beauty With Multiple Masks
“Are you really asking me why I yelled at you?” Marcus let out a bark of wry laughter. “Will you finally be
satisfied after wreaking havoc across the school? Or do you want to reduce it to rubble, too?”
“Are you talking about me?” Wendy pointed at herself with a look of astonishment. “What did I do? Isn‘t
Arielle the one at fault here? Why aren‘t you scolding her? Instead, you are blaming me for wreaking
havoc.”
The onlooking students couldn‘t help but look back and forth between Marcus and Arielle as they tried to
decipher Marcus‘ reasons for protecting Arielle.
A few of the students stepped forward to defend Wendy. “Mr. Brown, isn‘t the archive considered a
restricted area? It‘s clear that Arielle ignored her advice. Why is she the one at fault???
“Yeah! Mr. Brown, you should be scolding Arielle instead!”
Nevertheless, only a few students tried to help Wendy. Most of them remained silent as they deduced
that there might be another reason for Marcus‘ anger.
Wendy‘s eyes began to fill with tears. “That‘s right. I really have no idea what I‘ve done wrong. You can‘t
favor Arielle and look over her mistakes just because she helped the school‘s reputation! You should
treat every student fairly,” she mumbled.
“I‘m favoring her?” Marcus‘ livid gaze swept toward Wendy. “Though I suppose there is some truth in
your
words. I shouldn‘t be so forgiving toward my students‘ mistakes.” He laughed bitterly.
For some reason, a tremble skittered down Wendy‘s spine when she heard Marcus‘ words.
“Wendy, you‘ve ignored the school‘s rules, bullied students, and nearly destroyed the school‘s reputation.
As the principal, it is my responsibility to punish you accordingly. This will be your first strike. Additionally,
you will write a three thousand word essay to reflect on your wrongdoings and publicly apologize to
Arielle during assembly,” Marcus uttered coldly.
Wendy could not believe her own ears.
In a haze of desperation, she clutched Marcus‘ sleeve. “W–Why are you giving me a strike? Arielle‘s the
one who intruded the archive. I didn‘t do anything wrong! How could you punish me?”
The other students were dumbfounded by Marcus‘ declaration as well.
What is Mr. Brown doing?
“Are you asking me why I punished you?” Marcus pointed at Arielle. “Well, let me tell you then. I was the
one who let Arielle borrow the archive key. Even Mr. Baxter was there when I gave her the key. I also
recorded it down in my office. You can look at it as
proof.”
Wendy‘s mind went blank,
In a daze, she looked toward Arielle and noticed that the corners of Arielle‘s lips were upturned into a
cold smile.
Arielle‘s cold and calculating smile caused Wendy‘s skin to prickle with fear.
Arielle was never an intruder. Right from the very start, she had received Mr. Brown‘s permission. No
wonder she remained in the archive even after I mocked her. This entire time, Arielle had me dancing in
the palm of her hand. I stumbled into her trap like a fool.
“Do you know why I‘ve punished you now?” Marcus asked coldly.
All the blood drained from Wendy‘s face.
Instantly, realization dawned on the other students.
“It looks like Arielle never intruded the archive. It was this student here who was grasping at straws and
tried to sabotage Arielle!”
“I must say, despite her good looks, she has a horrendous personality.”
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