She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 271

“Cyrilla, the teacher wants you in the office.”

Cyrilla pressed her lips together. She already knew. Loyce had gone to back Giselle up.

“Did he say why?” she asked.

“I didn’t really catch it,” the student replied.

Cyrilla entered the office, greeted Mr. Ludlow politely, then glanced at Loyce lounging on the sofa. “What is it, Mr. Ludlow?”

Mr. Ludlow said, “It’s about the necklace theft. The other student’s guardian wants to hear your side.”

Cyrilla turned to Loyce, voice soft and sweet. “Loyce, I didn’t want to make this big. From the start, I only wanted Giselle to apologize. We can still be friends after.”

Loyce said, “Oh. So the expulsion idea was Mr. Ludlow’s?”

Mr. Ludlow bristled. “That’s because Giselle refused to apologize—”

“For something she didn’t do?” Loyce’s tone stayed calm.

Beside her, Giselle’s eyes went wet. She bit her lip. “I don’t even want her stupid sun necklace.”

“My necklace isn’t stupid!” Cyrilla’s eyes filled instantly. “You failed at stealing it, so now you insult something precious to me. It means everything. It’s priceless. It matters more than my life!”

At the mention of a sun motif, Loyce’s gaze slid to Cyrilla’s throat. Sure enough—a beautiful sun-shaped pendant rested there.

“More than your life?” Loyce’s mouth tugged. “What does it mean to you, exactly?”

Cyrilla glanced at Mr. Ludlow, embarrassed, then pouted. “Lucian gave it to me. You know what it is.”

Giselle knew Lucian had given it to Cyrilla too. She nudged Loyce’s shoulder gently. “Maybe I should just apologize.”

She was scared this would drag Loyce into trouble, scared the Shapiros would hold it against her.

Loyce’s voice went flat. “You created the mess and you can’t clean it up. I contacted the guardian you listed. What’s the problem? And tell me, why are you so unwilling to put your mother’s name on your file? Are you that ashamed of who she is?”

Mr. Ludlow drifted over, curious enough to wedge himself into the conversation. “Cyrilla’s mother? What about her? Is it… her job?”

Cyrilla’s eyes darted, panic deepening. “Yes. It’s… unusual. Not something that should be written down.”

She dressed like money every day. Her mother still looked like a woman from the countryside. Cyrilla didn’t want her anywhere near the school.

Loyce stared at her openly, reading her like glass. She smiled. “Right. Not something you want to say out loud.”

Cyrilla bit her lip, stamped her foot. “Fine! I don’t want to pursue this anymore. I’ll pretend nothing happened. Just stop bothering Lucian.”

Loyce said, “Sure. Then apologize to Giselle in front of the class. Tell everyone you made a mistake and she didn’t steal anything. Then we’re done.”

Cyrilla looked like she was about to cry. “Loyce! You’re being cruel!”