Hearing that Zara Zeller was going to check the security footage, Zoe Zeller quickly tugged at Preston Dalton's clothes.
"Preston, I'm fine. Just let it go, don't argue with Zara."
"You know how she gets."
Preston remained dissatisfied. "Zoe, you can't keep backing down every time."
"Not everyone has to cater to her terrible temper."
"You're just her cousin, not her mother!"
Preston didn't even need to hear Zara's side of the story; he automatically assumed she was the one bullying Zoe.
It had been this way since they were kids.
Zara always threw her weight around as a legitimate daughter of the Rose family to torment Zoe.
Zoe was the daughter of a son from Old Mr. Rose's second wife, sharing no direct bloodline with the main family, meaning she was always forced to bow her head to Zara.
If he hadn't found Zoe crying alone in a corner during one of Zara's birthday parties, he never would have known how badly she was treated.
Whatever internal drama plagued the Rose family between the original heirs and the second wife, what did that have to do with Zoe?
She already suffered enough living under their roof. For Zara to bully her on top of it was simply crossing the line.
Zara and Claire just stood there, arms crossed, watching the spectacle.
This guy really had a wild imagination.
Zoe had clearly instigated the whole thing, but regardless of the truth, he was willfully blind and deaf.
He believed whatever Zoe said, even filling in the blanks himself.
With an idiot like him around, it was no wonder Zoe could easily make Zara feel so suffocated without lifting a finger.
"Exactly, she's just a cousin, not a mother. Why should anyone cater to Zara's bad temper?"
"Come on, tell us exactly how Zara was bullying you just now."
Claire looked at Zoe, waiting for her to speak.
"And don't pull that 'she didn't bully me' routine. Saying that is just code for 'she bullied me' so this guy can rush to your defense, right?"
"That's not what I meant." Zoe had no idea where Zara found this woman or why she was grilling her so relentlessly.
"Then what did you mean?" Claire pressed, getting straight to the point.
Her tone was completely calm, devoid of any aggressive edge.
Zoe was entirely defenseless.
She could only look helplessly at Preston.
Preston instantly glared at Claire. "You're Zara's friend, aren't you?"
"Zoe already said nothing happened. What more do you want?"
"Birds of a feather really do flock together!"
Claire scoffed. "Birds of a feather, indeed."
"Everyone better keep their distance from him, lest you catch his sheer stupidity."
Preston was stunned.
The crowd fell silent.
Great. You two are arguing, but you're dragging everyone else down with you?
One accused the crowd of being
bullies like Zara, while the other net
called everyone stupet
belongs to ownovels
Preston's family had some money, but everyone present came from a wealthy background.
Thinking back, Zara hadn't actually bullied Zoe at all.
Instead, it was Zoe who kept throwing out passive-aggressive insinuations.
As soon as Preston arrived, he
leaped to Zoe's defense, and the et crowd just watch
the
entertainment. Content belon
FindNovel.net
But nobody actually thought Zoe was some pure, innocent victim.
Between the two cousins, the older one was manipulative, manipulative, while the younger was a gullible beauty
o
It wasn't that Zara lacked intelligence; she just constantly fell into Zoe's petty traps.
However, the friend Zara brought along today was clearly a force to be reckoned
with.
Backing Zoe into a corner until she was speechless was no small feat.
No wonder Zara brought her in as backup.
"Did you just call me stupid?" Preston's face darkened.