Chapter 27: Public Humiliation in the Café
I had been ready to throw away that damn eight thousand dollars just to answer their insults about my husband. But the system’s last words made me decide to trust it and play along.
I straightened my back, picked up the coffees from the barista, and walked past them as if they were nothing more than empty chairs.
"Oh my god, are you fucking deaf?" The smile on Madeline’s face finally cracked as I kept ignoring her.
Every silent step I took seemed to fuel their rage, making them hungrier for the reaction I refused to give.
[Good job, Host. Keep walking. The door is just a little farther.]
"Helcia!"
Madeline shoved my back. The push wasn’t even that strong, but the system’s voice rang in my head.
[Fall now!]
I let my knees buckle, my balance gave way. The cups in my hands tilted, and coffee splashed all over my clothes as I crashed to the floor.
Gasps erupted from every corner of the café, the sound of chairs scraping back and phones clicking into recording mode filling the air.
Oh ... I finally understood why the system told me to keep ignoring them and act as pitiful as possible.
It seemed I needed to use my acting skills today.
[Now cry, Host. Make it look real. Make yourself look as pitiful as you can.]
With shaking hands, I brushed at my face, smearing nothing but making it seem like tears. My shoulders trembled, and I let out a soft sob from my lips.
"Young Miss, are you alright?!" A woman from a nearby table rushed over to me.
I kept my eyes on the coffee spilled across the floor, silent for a beat, before lifting my head slowly.
My crocodile tears glistened as I whispered, "She ... she pushed me on purpose." My finger pointed weakly at Madeline. "I didn’t even do anything to her." I bit my lip, letting my sobs grow louder. "I just wanted to drink some coffee."
The system had told me not to interact with Madeline or Isabella, but it hadn’t forbidden me from interacting with other people in the café.
Therefore, I could use it to gain more pity from others.
On the other side, the young woman looked at me with pity. She helped me to my feet, then shot Madeline a furious glare.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why would you push this poor girl?!"
Madeline froze, clearly not expecting anyone to defend me. "I—I didn’t even push her that hard!"
"Liar!" a teenage boy shouted from another table. "I saw her push the pretty girl really hard!"
"You’re lying!" Madeline snapped back, her voice cracking. "She’s my sister!"
Once again, gasps rippled through the café. Even the barista, who looked like she had been about to call the police, stopped moving, probably more interested in witnessing a real-life family drama unfold.
"That’s even worse!" someone else shouted.
"Why are you bullying your own sister?!"
As insults began flying toward Madeline, I leaned closer to the young woman beside me and whispered weakly, "It’s alright ... maybe I deserve it."
Without waiting for her reply, I bolted out of the café like a broken heroine who had just been bullied, which, in this case, wasn’t too far from the truth.
[Congratulations, Host! You have successfully completed your quest: Completely ignore Madeline and her cousin until you leave the café.]
[Reward: $8,000 has been credited to your account.]
I staggered onto the street, the cool air hitting my face. Coffee dripped from my blouse, clinging uncomfortably to my skin.
As I walked toward Mr. Silo, he looked at me in shock, as if he had just seen a kitten get hit by a car.
"Young Madam, what happened to you?!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide as he hurried over to me.
I quickly wiped away my fake tears and smiled at him. "It’s nothing! Just a little accident!"
"Then ... then why are you crying?" Mr. Silo’s voice softened, his worry written all over his face. "Did someone bully you?"
I opened my mouth to answer but hesitated. This was the perfect chance to gain Lando’s sympathy because Mr. Silo would surely tell him what happened.
But ... was it really alright to lie to him too?
[Host, you truly were bullied by your sister and cousin, so this doesn’t count as lying.]
Oh ... that’s right.
Maybe I didn’t need to feel guilty about it.
"I ... I just ran into my sister and cousin at the café." I lowered my head and whispered, "That’s all."
I didn’t explain the details to Mr. Silo, but his dark expression was enough proof that he understood that I had been bullied by Madeline and Isabella.
"Can we go home now?" I asked softly. "My clothes are a mess ...."
I had actually planned to buy some beauty products and clothes after coming back from the bank, but after running into Madeline and ruining my outfit, all I wanted was to go home.
I couldn’t even explain why, but I just wanted to go home.
"Alright, let’s go home." Mr. Silo opened the car door for me and gently guided me inside.
The ride back felt a little awkward and quiet, probably because Mr. Silo didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t have the energy to break the silence either.
Facing people with demonic hearts was truly exhausting. It felt like they had sucked the life out of me, leaving me empty and weak.
Thankfully, I wasn’t the real Helcia. If I had been, I probably would’ve had a full-blown panic attack the moment I saw Madeline or Isabella.
Just as I thought, even though I possessed Helcia’s body, that didn’t mean I inherited all of her feelings toward the ones who had hurt her.
Sure, I felt angry. But since I wasn’t the one who had endured their cruelty for years, I didn’t carry the same deep trauma she did.
It would be different if I ever came face-to-face with the people who had hurt me in my past. Well, I hoped that wouldn’t happen anytime soon.
When we finally arrived at the mansion, I was surprised to see Henry and Lando waiting outside. I thought Lando had already left, since I remembered him saying that he would be going out of town this afternoon.
So why was he still here? And ... why did he look so angry?
Had Mr. Silo already told him what happened to me? But that didn’t make sense because Mr. Silo hadn’t even touched his phone since he saw me return with dirty clothes.
Then why did Lando look so furious?
The car stopped right in front of him, and before I could greet him after stepping out, he spoke first. "Do you still have compassion for your family, Helcia? Because if you don’t ... I won’t, either."