Chapter 551: Childhood Sweethearts
A soft laugh escaped her.
Amused, a blush bloomed on Kelley Xavier’s pale face. The sorrow around her eyes gave way to a shy coyness, and she lowered her head slightly, unsure of what to say.
She and Howard Thorne had actually gone to elementary school together, so one could almost say they were childhood sweethearts. However, ever since she was a little girl, her difficult family situation had made her quiet and withdrawn, and she never played with her classmates.
During breaks, while her classmates went out to play, she would remain in the classroom doing her homework. She seized every spare second, trying to finish all her assignments at school. Once she was home, she didn’t have a moment to spare—there were endless chores to do, on top of caring for her little brother.
The only free time Kelley could find was during breaks between classes, so she had no opportunity to socialize. To others, she had always seemed aloof and arrogant, even as a child. Her teachers adored her, but her classmates did not. They assumed Kelley looked down on students with poor grades, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Kelley desperately wanted to make friends, but she truly had neither the time nor the means.
Starting in junior high, the children from Clearspring Township had to board at the school in town. Living on campus naturally led to the formation of social circles. The most popular students were usually the ones from well-off families. And those who were both wealthy and academically gifted became the teachers’ pets and the idols of their peers, thriving in the school environment like fish in water.
Howard Thorne, being well-off and also having Lana Steiner’s good name to back him, was quite popular. Kelley Xavier, in contrast, was always alone, growing even more solitary.
She had no money and no time, leaving her no choice but to be a lone wolf. Fortunately, she was ranked first in her grade. So even though her personality wasn’t particularly endearing, she was never bullied. The teachers liked her, and her classmates respected her.
But Kelley still felt lonely. Sometimes, she would see her dorm mates heading out on weekends in small groups to go shopping or on seasonal trips. When they returned, they would excitedly share stories of their adventures, and she couldn’t help but feel envious and a little melancholy.
However, such moments were rare; the feeling of disparity was only occasional. Kelley Xavier was an incredibly strong-willed person. She wouldn’t let herself wallow in sentimentality over trivial things. She had only one goal—
To get into university, escape her stepmother’s control, and raise her younger brother.
To achieve this goal, she was willing to work dozens of times harder than anyone else. Everyone thought she was a genius, but only she knew the truth: she was just an ordinary person.
The difference was, if other people didn’t do well in their studies, they still had countless other options for a bright future.
But if she failed, there was only one path left for her: being forced by her stepmother to marry someone—and not a good man, at that.
But now, her stepmother was unwilling to wait even this one last year. Bitterness and hatred filled Kelley’s heart. She truly didn’t understand what she and her brother had ever done to provoke such animosity from their stepmother. Why was she so determined to make their lives miserable?
’If only she had been a little kinder to me and my brother,’ she thought, ’I would have taken care of her like my own mother once I became successful. But now...’ With her stepmother acting this way, all Kelley had left was hatred, and even the desire for revenge.
’As long as I can get through this, once I’ve made it, my stepmother and her children can forget about getting anything from me. The only family I’ll have left is my brother.’
’As for my father... I’ll figure that out when the time comes.’
Seeing her silence, Howard Thorne thought she was against the idea and quickly tried to reassure her. "We’ll just be putting on an act; it’s not for real," he said. "Once you get into university, I’ll tell my parents and we’ll call off the whole thing. Don’t worry, I promise I won’t get attached. Besides," he added, "I’ll probably have found someone I like by then. I should be more worried about you getting attached to me!"