The Rebirth of a Scorned Heiress

“You want me to apologise to her? On the school platform?” Merissa asked in bewilderment while looking from her father’s stoic face to her mother’s solemn one, unable to believe her ears she repeated the question, “Really?”

“Yes, you’ll have to apologise using your actual profile. It would be good if you did a video, instead of a write-up,” Mr Smith replied and Merissa’s face turned pale.

“Father! Why would I have to bow my head to the likes of her? Can’t you just settle their family with some money and then have them take the post down? They are the ones that need to apologise to us, not the other way around!” She whined.

“We can’t. You saw the way they reacted yesterday. And even now, the whole thing has escalated beyond what we can control and to settle it, we will need you to apologise to her” Mrs Smith explained calmly.

“But mother! If I apologise to her, then it would mean I am admitting to doing what she said!” Merissa voiced and Mr Smith scowled.

“Did you not do them? Did you not say all those words or did you not sleep with her boyfriend?” He demanded coldly, making her shiver at his tone. “It was a crime you committed and you should pay for it. Prepare the apology video before noon and post it” he instructed and stood up to leave.

Seeing her father’s resolved expression, Merissa felt a shiver down her spine. She turned to her mother with an aggrieved expression, hoping to get her mother to side with her.

“Mum, I really can’t apologise to her publicly, I don’t mind doing it privately, but on the school forum, people will laugh at me!” She complained with teary and hopeful eyes.

Mrs Smith dropped her spoon and shook her head. “I won’t be able to help you this time, we have no other choice,” she explained grimly.

“Mum! Don’t you know the others would laugh at our family? The daughter of the Smith family apologising to such a lowlife. Will it not affect the family’s reputation?” She explained further.

“I understand what you are saying but this time we have to bow. I have always taught you that it is important to know when to quit and when to continue. If it was just Lily and her family, it would have been easy to settle” She breathed out a heavy sigh.

Merissa frowned. “What do you mean? Is Zach finding trouble with our family?” She asked.

“No, but our competitors want to use this opportunity to suppress us. Smith’s stock market has been dropping since the fiasco started and even the sales of our products have dropped in just one day!” She explained.

“Do you know what that means? We are in a desperate situation and the poor masses are the ones who buy our products the most. If one of them is being treated badly by us on such a public scale, they will move to the next best option, our competition” Mrs Smith clarified.

“Not only that, someone is obstructing us from taking down the post, even the hackers your father employed could do nothing. They demanded money and also for you to apologise before noon today or else, they will make the post appear on national news. If that happens, we will suffer even more. So you have to understand how difficult it is for your family to ask you to do something like that”

“Can they really spread the news throughout the country?” Merissa asked shakily, her hand trembling as the image of what would possibly happen to her, flashed through her mind.

“I’d rather we not find out. Come on, eat up, let me help you get ready for the apology video”

*****

“@Lily. I want to apologise for the slanderous words I may have said that caused someone with an evil intention to make the previous post. I would like to clarify that I didn’t make the post nor did I investigate it. But then, it did not offset the fact that I had done something bad that hurt you. For this, I apologise. It was wrong of me to call your family beggars when the things given to them are worked for. The relationship between us has gone beyond repair at this point, due to my immaturity. I wish you good luck in life”© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Lily chuckled and then let out a small laugh after watching the apology video. Merissa’s awkward and stiff appearance throughout the video sent a wave of satisfaction into Lily’s heart.

{Are you not going to reply to her apologies}

“What’s the use of a reply? I have nothing to say to her half-hearted apology, besides, this is merely the beginning” Lily laughed brightly.

{You are impossible to understand sometimes}

“What’s there not to understand? Anyone with eyes can see that the apology is forced and not an iota of Genuity is in it. Why would I need to respond to such faking? If I respond, that means I was just seeking attention and validation but since I won’t respond, people will conclude that my post was just me venting” she explained.

“And after receiving such a blow, knowing her personality to always be on top, Merissa would still look for ways to pay me back and then I can deal with her a little more” Lily explained.

{I feel like you are enjoying this prolonged revenge even more}

“I am!”

As Lydia and the other two walked into the room to see Lily smiling at her computer, they froze at the doorstep, each one fearing for their lives.

Jasmine, who had received a warning from home not to ever go against Lily or offend her, felt a shiver run down her back.

She bit her lips and walked in, her legs wobbling as she got close to Lily. “Hello,” she greeted awkwardly.

Without looking away from her laptop, Lily replied dully. “What do you want?”

I…I…I got this for you!” Jasmine blurted out, not knowing what to say or why she had walked up to the girl in the first place.

‘Shouldn’t I be staying away from her instead?’ she thought while stretching out a bag of dessert from the famous dessert shop on campus.

Lydia and Priscilla gaped at her in shock, both not understanding why Jasmine, who is the most difficult to deal with, is trying to curry favour with the country bumpkin.

Lydia clenched her fist angrily while glaring at Lily. ‘What’s so good about her! She’s nothing but a slut and even now, Jasmine is sucking up to her!’ she thought.

Lily looked up to see Jasmine’s trembling hands and scoffed. “What is the meaning of this? Why are you suddenly getting me dessert?” She asked with a raised brow and a smirk.

Taken aback by the coldness in Lily’s voice, Jasmine stepped back. “I just wanted to apologise for the way we treated you before”

“Why? Are you scared I will post something bad about you on the forum like I did with Merissa?” Lily demanded and Jasmine shook her head.

“It’s not that!” She argued. The post was not the main reason her parents called to warn her, it was the gold card. The news that Lily has a gold card belonging to the Watson’s group had spread overnight and it had been confirmed that the card is real.

That led the upper noble family who got curious about her identity to do some digging about her and her family. Nothing was found, it was just a simple family of four who grew up in the countryside. However, no one wanted to believe someone who can obtain the well sought after gold card is a country bumpkin and so some people did more digging and they found out Lily’s mother is the only sister to a certain ironclad man in the business world.

Now the people in the know are sitting around with bated breath while watching Lily’s movement, deliberating whether to stay clear of her or to ally with her. “It’s not that, then what is it?” Lily asked impatiently.

“Ah! It’s nothing, I just wanted to apologise and start over again!”

“You are not trying to poison me, are you?” Lily asked with narrowed eyes and Jasmine shivered.

“Of course not! I can have a taste if you think I’m lying” she hurriedly confessed.

“Fine then, thank you for the present and your apology is accepted. As long as you don’t cross me, I will not do anything to you!” Lily smiled up at her and took the dessert bag before turning to the other two while giving Lydia a pointed glare.

“Do you two have something to say to me? Most especially you, Lydia?” She asked with a fake smile, startling the onlookers.

“Ah yes, I also apologise for the way I treated you before, I was mainly just jealous of your talent” Priscilla confessed.

“It’s fine, I forgive you. What about you? No, it doesn’t matter, even if you apologise, I won’t accept it”