“How can you be so cruel?”

Carlotta exclaimed, her voice full of indignation and her eyes red with anger.

“She was desperate, asking for your help, and all you did was... call her weak! I already didn't like you very much, but after that, I've only confirmed that I can't stand you.”

As soon as Carlotta said those words, I caught a glimpse of her leaving the room, practically foaming with rage, probably going after Roccia.

The truth is that I knew what Sid had said to Roccia. After all, she herself had told me everything yesterday. I understood the weight of his words and, to a certain extent, I understood his stance, even if I didn't agree with it. But that... that wasn't what I expected from Sid.

The most surprising thing of all was seeing Sid. Instead of remaining in his usual indifferent posture, he looked... sad? It was something I'd never seen in him before. His expression, normally closed and neutral, now showed a fissure. He didn't seem angry or disdainful of what Carlotta had said, but rather... shaken, as if he had somehow cared about what she had said.

Brent, who until then had been quiet, watching the situation from the doorway with an indifferent expression, suddenly became furious. Unable to control himself, he advanced towards Sid, letting his anger show without trying to hide it.

“Hey, you asshole!”

Brent shouted, pointing at Sid with his finger, as if he was about to explode.

“You don't have to be so...”

Before Brent could continue what, he was saying, Sid suddenly lunged forward with one swift movement. With no time to react, Brent barely had a chance to defend himself before he received the second blow: a direct punch to the face, which sent him staggering backwards and then falling heavily to the ground.

“Guys, let's calm down so that everything goes...”

Mira, realizing where the argument was going, decided to intervene. However, before she could finish what she was about to say, I noticed an expression of astonishment forming on her face. It was only after looking at Brent, lying on the floor, that I finally realized what was going on.

“Don't tell me you-”

I asked, looking at Suzana kneeling next to Brent, with worry on her face. However, before I could finish my sentence, Sid interrupted me.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

“Asshole, me? Maybe. But at least I don't betray other people's trust.”

Sid replied, keeping his countenance neutral, but with a subtle trace of anger hidden deep inside.

Sid's gaze was still fixed on Brent, with a mixture of disdain and disappointment.

“Did you at least consider how she'd feel before destroying the chocolate she'd worked so hard for?”

I stared at Sid in shock, then turned my gaze to Brent, who looked bewildered, unable to answer right away. My attention turned to Brent's backpack, where Sid was already approaching. With a quick movement, he pulled out a small package and placed it on the table.

The package was carefully tied with a bow, but its contents left no doubt: it was the chocolate Roccia had made.

When I realized that all the effort Roccia had put into that chocolate had been in vain, I was paralyzed for a moment. However, in a matter of seconds, I was back to normal when I heard Brent's comment.

“C-like you...”

Brent began his speech in a soft, almost guilt-ridden tone. However, before he could finish what he wanted to say, Sid cut him off, maintaining a neutral expression as he continued.

“Your pointless argument ended up giving you away... First of all, only the people in our group knew that the chocolate was in that bag.”

Sid began, with an indifferent expression on his face, staring at Brent, who was still on the floor. After a brief pause, he let out a sigh before continuing what he was saying.

“Secondly, before the lesson started, Roccia told me that she had learned how to make chocolate with Astrid's help. But what really caught my attention was the fact that she wanted to stay at home to meet her sister's boyfriend.”

As soon as Sid had finished speaking, it was Suzana's turn, with a confused look on her face, to speak up.

“But what does that have to do with what we're talking about?”

Sid was silent for a moment, his eyes fixed on Suzana before he finally answered.

“When Roccia mentioned that her chocolate was gone, I started watching everyone in the room. And it was at that moment, noticing you, that I...”

Sid explained with a serious countenance, pausing briefly - something I had never seen before. Something about the situation seemed to be really irritating him for some reason.

Brent and Suzana, still not understanding what Sid was getting at, decided to ask. However, before they could do so, Sid interrupted them, continuing his speech.

“I noticed that both of your shoes were stained with lily-of-the-valley dust, the same flowers that, coincidentally, Roccia told me she had in the garden at her house.”

As I watched everyone's faces, I ended up focusing on Camellya, who was listening in silence to everything Sid had said. She had probably come to the same conclusion as me: Sid had done all that to Roccia so that she wouldn't hear the words he was about to say to Suzana and Brent.

Mira, having come to the same conclusion as me, was visibly disgusted by what had been done to Roccia's chocolate. I, however, was even more frustrated; after all, I had spent the whole evening helping Roccia prepare that sweet.

Seeing the result of so much effort destroyed there, spread out on the table, gave me a feeling of discomfort that was hard to ignore. However, before I could say anything, Mira was quicker and made a comment that was almost exactly what I was about to say.

“Let me get this straight... You already knew that the chocolate Roccia made was for Brent. But since you two were already together, you decided to destroy it to avoid hurting Roccia by revealing this truth?”

Mira asked, hiding behind her good girl mask.