Chapter 32: Don't Overdo the Acting

Daphne instantly stopped the words that were about to leave her mouth. Linda, standing behind Charles, peered at Alicia lying on the ground. Her voice was filled with false concern, but the underlying mockery was clear as she commented, seemingly to defend Charles, but actually mocking Alicia for being overly dramatic. “Alicia, dear sister, why are you so delicate now? Charles barely touched you, and you’re reacting like this. Besides, it wasn’t intentional, right, Charles? Unless you’re just trying to—” Linda trailed off, leaving the rest to Charles’s imagination. Initially, Charles felt a pang of guilt seeing Alicia in such visible pain on the ground. He had thought of helping her up, but given the current situation, with Linda watching, he restrained himself. He couldn’t risk hurting Linda’s feelings—after all, she was the one he truly cared about. “I barely nudged you. There’s no need to exaggerate like this, acting as if I pushed you hard,” Charles said, looking down at Alicia