Hiding Behind Her Superficiality

Chapter 59

Chapter 59 Jealousy Kills

Jacob was feeling a little guilty, his gaze flickering.

“The classroom should have a surveillance camera. After we check it, we will then know whether Max was framed.”

Jacob felt relieved when he heard Elspeth suggesting to check the surveillance footage.

Fortunately, he had gone to the principal’s room earlier and deleted today’s surveillance footage. Otherwise, he would be exposed right now.

True enough, the principal shook his head and said, “I’m afraid we won’t be able to do so. The surveillance camera appears to be having issues today, and the footage is not saved.”

Without the surveillance footage, Max couldn’t clear his name from everyone’s suspicion. Furthermore, he had always been a rebellious student, so the principal subconsciously assumed that his words were bare denial.

“Let me check it now.”

The principal then opened the surveillance settings in the computer, while Elspeth went over to check. Things were as she had suspected—the footage had been deleted on purpose, rather than due to a flaw in the surveillance system.

She then spent a few minutes entering codes to recover the data on the computer.

With that, the previously deleted footage then reappeared on the screen.

“Look at this, principal.”

Elspeth smiled as she pointed to the image of the surveillance footage. “This figure appears to be familiar. Is that… Jacob?”

The screen clearly showed that during recess, when no one was in the classroom, Jacob entered and sneakily placed the note on Max’s table before leaving, pretending nothing had happened.

“This…” The principal stared at the screen in disbelief. How is this possible? How could Jacob be the one who framed Max?

Elspeth, on the other hand, sneered. “I knew it was you.”

With his trembling voice, Jacob responded, “No… That’s not me! The footage is forged!”

However, Elspeth merely raised her brows and smiled mockingly. “I’m sure you know whether or not the footage is true.”

Realizing that he couldn’t hide the truth any longer, Jacob suddenly let out a vicious laugh. “Me? We are all humans, but how can he be born with a silver spoon and hold such a noble status? How could he obtain such a high score even for this examination that none of us prepared for?”

It was clear that Jacob’s heart was filled with jealousy. The long suppression accumulated into a volcano and erupted, which was why he did what he did this time.

Elspeth lightly shook her head in response. “No matter what, it is wrong for you to harm others. Max’s plagiarism is minor, but your framing of him is not.”

The principal naturally understood what was going on at this point.

However, Elspeth did not stop there. She turned to face the counselor and smiled before saying, “Counsellor, I believe you’re related to Jacob, yes? Your gaze has been fixed on him since you entered. When Jacob’s acts were exposed earlier, you appear to be as nervous as he is.”

Feeling ashamed of his earlier misjudgment, the principal quickly apologized to Elspeth. Then, he turned his head and reprimanded Jacob sternly, “You’re usually obedient, Jacob. I never expected you to do something like this. Don’t come to school from tomorrow onward. It’s such a disgrace to the school that this happened here!”

Jacob’s face was ashen as he heard that and he turned around, about to leave.

However, it was obvious that Elspeth was dissatisfied with the matter stopping here. Hence, she extended her hand to prevent Jacob from leaving.

“Wait. It’s a crime to malign others for plagiarism.” She was smiling, but her smile was as cold as a sneer. “The police should be here anytime soon. You better take some time to come up with an explanation.”

Her sentence deprived Jacob of all hope as his legs wobbled, bringing his entire body to the ground.

After the matter was settled, Elspeth then brought Max home. This is from NôvelDrama.Org.

Mas stared at Elspeth when they walked on the road, and after hesitating for a long while, he finally expressed his gratitude.

When she noticed his awkward demeanor, she couldn’t help but tease, “Why are you acting like a shy girl?”

“I’m not! I just wanted to say thank you!” he responded, his face flushed. After a few moments of thought, he opened his mouth again. “Thank you for helping me out today, Miss Elspeth.”

“You’re welcome.” Elspeth said as she smiled and carressed his head. “You just need to focus on your studies.”

Max looked at her, a bizarre feeling rising in his heart.

“I understand why Callum likes you now…”

That stunned Elspeth for quite some time. When she finally understood what he was saying, she smiled ironically. “Didn’t you know Callum has a crush on someone else?”

Max was surprised by her words. “Are you referring to Emma? She was Callum’s first love; his feelings for her have long faded!”

“That’s simply because you’re unaware of it. Callum gave up a collaboration project a few days ago just to rush back to meet her.”

Perplexed, Max replied, “What? Callum has been in the company for the past few days, and not a single woman has managed to get near him!”

Elspeth was taken aback when she heard that. Was everything that happened previously my own misunderstanding?

Meanwhile, Callum was rushing to school after hearing about Max’s incident. When he was on his way, he noticed Elspeth and Max walking by the roadside and slowly pulled over.

“Callum!”

“Plagiarism? What have you done, you rascal?”

Callum was obviously too concerned with Max’s behavior at school to spare Elspeth even a glance.

Max scratched his head, looking embarrassed. “Everything is fine now, Callum. It is thanks to Elspeth! Otherwise, I would have been expelled from school as a plagiarist by now!”

Hearing that, Callum turned to Elspeth, who was standing off to the side. It was only after a while that he commented softly, “Thank you for helping Max.”

Such a sentence from him seemed to have distanced their relationship. It was as if they were strangers to each other.

That didn’t sit well with Elspeth. However, she remained polite and responded to his gratitude.

Max, too, sensed that something was amiss between Callum and Elspeth. Hence, he let out a light cough, intending to leave so that the two of them could have some alone time.

Yet, before he could do so, Elspeth sensed what he was about to do and quickly said, “If there’s nothing else, you both may go back first. I’ve got something else to do.”

“Where are you going, Miss Elspeth?”

“Don’t meddle in other people’s business,” Callum said indifferently.

Elspeth, on the other hand, simply forced a smile. She then turned on her heel and left.

As she walked down the street, she felt increasingly aggrieved. How could Callum treat me with such an attitude when he was the one who misunderstood my relationship with Jordan?

The more Elspeth thought about it, the more enraged she became, making her unwilling to return to the Winthrop Group right now.

She even considered leaving the Winthrop Residence so she wouldn’t have any contact with Callum in the future.

“Miss Elspeth!”

A yell rang out from behind. Elspeth turned around to see Max panting as he ran after her.

“What happened?”

Max quickly approached her. Something flashed across his gaze as he asked, “Miss Elspeth, are you giving Callum the cold shoulder?”

“No. You’re overthinking things. Why would I do that when there’s nothing between us?” She pursed her lips, suppressing all the bitterness in her heart.

“Don’t say anything that you don’t mean. I’m sure something happened between the two of you. Why can’t you both talk it out calmly instead of acting strangely toward each other right now?”