Chapter 4

Hannah showed no joy for Vanessa's success as she hugged the trophy, nor did she seem inclined to hand it over. Instead, she bit her lip and pitifully said, "Nessa, the supervisor asked me to deliver this trophy to you. It's a prestigious award. You're amazing. "Actually, I wanted to ask you something, though it might be a bit shameless. I've never won this award… Could I borrow it for a few days?" Lend it to her for a few days? Vanessa had never heard such an absurd request before. She frowned, her smile not reaching her eyes as she replied, "You shouldn't have asked if you know it's shameless. If you want one, go and win it yourself." With that, she reached out to take the trophy from Hannah. Hannah hadn't expected Vanessa to respond so bluntly, and her face turned pale. She looked as if she'd been seriously wronged. "Nessa, how can you speak like that? I'm not taking it from you; I just want to keep it at home for some motivation." As Vanessa reached for it, Hannah clutched the trophy even tighter, refusing to let go. In their struggle, the crystal trophy fell with a thud, shattering into pieces on the floor. Just then, Keanu and Seamus walked in. They immediately rushed over, pulling Hannah protectively into their embrace. "Hannah!" They surrounded her, expressions filled with concern as they carefully checked her for injuries. Keanu lifted Hannah's skirt slightly. When he saw her calf bleeding from a glass shard, his eyes widened in concern. "I'll take you to the hospital!" Ignoring Hannah's struggles, he picked her up and carried her away. Seeing the mess of broken glass on the floor, Seamus' expression darkened. "Vanessa, you have everything already. Why do you have to fight with Hannah over things?" he asked. Fight with Hannah over things? Vanessa was so enraged she could laugh. "That was my trophy! I worked hard for three months to earn it. It's my honor. Yet, she's clinging to it like a pathetic child, and you say I'm fighting with her over it!" Vanessa trembled in rage as she pointed at the shards on the ground, her voice cold enough to freeze the air. "She broke my trophy. I want her to apologize to me." She thought her few words were enough to clarify who was right or wrong. To her surprise, Seamus became even angrier. He even raised his voice as he said, "I thought it was something important… It's just a trophy! You can have as many as you want; of course, Hannah can't compete. You hurt her. I think you're the one who should apologize to her!" With that, Seamus rushed off to care for Hannah without caring about how Vanessa reacted. Staring at the shards on the floor, Vanessa stood there, stunned. Seamus' words echoed in her mind. Did he actually want her to apologize to Hannah? To have the victim apologize to the perpetrator? She thought, "Seamus, you're really something!" Pain pierced her heart, and only then did she realize that her leg was also hurting. She discovered that she had a long cut on her leg. With blood oozing out, it was even worse than Hannah's injury. Gritting her teeth and enduring the pain, Vanessa cleaned up the shards on the floor before she went to take care of her wound. That evening, Vanessa received a message from Diane, who sent over a dozen wedding dress styles for her to choose from. She looked through them all before calling Diane. After a few exchanges, Diane noticed Vanessa's tired tone and couldn't help but ask what happened. Remembering the grievances she faced that day, Vanessa felt her eyes redden but didn't say anything. Instead, she changed the subject. "Mom, I should be able to settle things here in about a week. How's the wedding preparation going?" Just then, Keanu and Seamus came home. Hearing Vanessa's last two words, they both asked in unison, "Wedding? What wedding?"