CHAPTER 385

"No! Katy! You know I'm not that kind of person!" Jared hastily explained himself. "I saw a figure pressing Heidi against the wall when I walked in. I didn't know it was you, so I thought Heidi was getting bullied. Trust me. I just acted before I could think at that time. I swear I didn't do it on purpose. I—"

Suddenly, Jared stopped as sweat beaded on his forehead. For some reason, he felt that his explanation still felt vague and odd, no matter how he tried to justify his actions.

Still, deep down, he truly hoped Caitlin would understand and forgive him for his reckless action earlier. I swear to God. I really didn't mean to harm her. I couldn't see the figure's face, so I didn't know it was Caitlin. I only saw that my new girlfriend was getting bullied, that's all. So as a man, my first reaction was to rush over and save my girlfriend.

As he thought of that, he thought that explanation was somewhat plausible.

In the next minute, she said flatly, "I get it. You don't have to explain to me. I was bullying your girlfriend, indeed. You've pushed me to the ground, and I got injured, so I guess we're even now. I hope you and your girlfriend won't file a complaint against me. I'm just filling in for a friend tonight, and this job means a lot to her, so I don't wish to get her involved."

"File a complaint against you?" Jared was so shocked that his face turned pale when he heard that. "Katy, what do you take me for? How could I possibly report you? We're childhood friends. We grew up together. Sure enough, the rest of us can't meddle much with the grievances between you and Luke. But in my eyes, you will always be Katy, my dearest childhood friend. So how could I do such a thing to you?"

"Thank you," Caitlin said monotonously, "Well then, Young Master Jared, since you're so terribly

understanding, may I ask you for a favor? Can you please help me inform the supervisor that I'm asking for leave tonight? I need to go to the hospital to treat this wound."

Jared had goosebumps from head to toe when he heard her addressing him as Young Master Jared.

Panic crept in and he immediately clasped his palms together, begging Caitlin for mercy. "Katy, I was wrong. It was all my fault. So can you stop addressing me as Young Master Jared? I have goosebumps all over when you address me like that. I'll accompany you to the hospital right now."

As he spoke, he glanced at the wound on Caitlin's forehead. He was so worried that he wished he could go back in time so badly and slap past him, who grabbed Caitlin by her clothes and tossed her to the ground.

Meanwhile, Heidi stood on the side, looking dumbfounded. She was shocked by what had happened in front of her eyes. What's going on here? Not only does my boyfriend not avenge me, but he also humbles himself and apologizes to Caitlin, whereas Caitlin treats him harshly.

Her body was shaking with anger.

Frankly speaking, Heidi's family could be considered a second-class aristocratic family. The Leighton Family, on the other hand, was a first-class aristocratic family.

Although there was only a slight difference between the second and first in terms of digits, the actual gap between them was massive. The social circles of the prominent first-class families and that of the second-class were as different as heaven and earth.

For that reason, as a daughter born into a wealthy second-class family, Heidi's greatest glory and pride had been to catch the attention of Jared, who came from a first-class moneyed family and became his girlfriend.

Because of this, she eagerly anticipated that someday she could marry into the Leighton Family every day after she became Jared's girlfriend.

From her point of view, she believed that her social status would be successfully upgraded from second-class to first-class if she could marry Jared and become a part of the Leighton Family. Of course, by then, she would be the most outstanding one in her social circle, and everyone who knew her would be envious and jealous of her.

Also, Yvette, Xandria, and Andrea treated her even more solicitously after her relationship with Jared. Even her parents also constantly praised her for being able to catch Jared's attention and kept reminding her to get along well with him, hoping that she could officially tie the knot with Jared as soon as possible.

Even without her parents' constant reminder, Heidi would still do her best to get along well with Jared. She hoped that she could officially tie the knot with Jared more than her parents. Thus, she showed her consideration toward Jared by all means and treated him with a gentle smile. She listened to him and was willing to do anything he wished—hoping that Jared's feelings for her would increase over time.

Yet, her beautiful dream shattered when she saw the scene before her. I can't believe that the man I treat gently and courteously in every possible way will humble himself down to please Caitlin, the girl whose family has gone bankrupt! How can this be?! The Owen Family has gone bankrupt! A noble family that has lost their powers is even more inferior than ordinary folks. So I don't understand. Caitlin is already so abjected to the point that she works as a waitress in Club Tempest. But why does Jared

still need to humiliate himself to please her?! Why?! Is it simply because she's pretty?! NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

The more she had those thoughts wrapped around her mind, the more infuriated she was. At this point, she felt she was about to go ballistic if she continued to remain silent. Hence, she rushed over and linked arms with Jared. While she did her best to suppress the jealousy and anger in her heart, she mumbled in disappointment, "Jay, didn't you say you want to introduce me to your friends? Your friends aren't here yet, so how can you leave?"

"Yeah," Caitlin said with a half smile. "How can you leave when your friends aren't here yet? Just stay around and accompany your girlfriend. I'm fine. I don't need anyone to accompany me. But—"

Suddenly, Caitlin stopped. Then, she stared at Heidi's face before shifting her gaze back to Jared. After a while, she added, "Seeing that we were friends, I would like to give you some advice, for your own sake. You can f*ck around with her, but someone like her must never sway you. She—"

She paused and laughed. "Initially, I wanted to say that she's not worthy of you. But after remembering your past, I suddenly realized that the two of you are actually quite a good match. It's pretty good that you date her. That way, you can't go out there and scrounge other young ladies of a good family. Both of you are a perfect match!"

When Heidi heard what Caitlin had said, her face reddened with anger. "Caitlin, what are you implying?!"

"I'm implying that the likes of you gross me out. What's the matter? You can't grasp the meaning behind my words?" Caitlin sneered at her, "It turns out that not only are you wicked, but you don't have the brains behind all those schemes of yours."

"You—" Heidi couldn't finish a whole sentence as she was so enraged that even the blood in her entire body was seething with anger. Even so, there was nothing she could do to win against Caitlin in a verbal fight. Therefore, in a fit of rage, she raised her hand and wanted to slap Caitlin again.

Nevertheless, this time, Jared stopped her before her palm could reach Caitlin.

Jared grabbed her wrist and pushed her away harshly. His handsome face that was initially smiling at Caitlin instantly turned cold. He even ordered, his face icy and fierce, "Get lost!"

Heidi was startled out of her wits. Shortly after, tears began welling up in her eyes as she called out aggrievedly, "Jay…"

"I told you to get lost. Didn't you hear me the first time?" Jared spoke coldly, "I never lift my hand against a woman. So, don't make yourself an exception!"

Heidi was stunned by the sudden drastic change in Jared's demeanor. At this moment, her face was ghastly pale, and her lips were trembling in fear as she stared blankly at Jared. She didn't understand why things would suddenly turn this way.

She knew that Jared was willing to introduce her to friends, so she assumed that her relationship with Jared had intensified and that she was already Jared's official girlfriend. She fantasized that, over time, Jared would fall for her even more and would get engaged to her. Then, he would marry her, and she would become the young mistress of the Leighton Family—an affluent first-class family she had longed to be a part of.

Now, all Heidi saw was Jared glaring at her with his eyes filled with absolute coldness and disdain. What was worse, he even asked her to leave even though he was the one who arranged tonight's

dinner plan in the first place.

Heidi couldn't accept all this. Soon, tears streamed down her cheeks like a waterfall. "Jay…"

"I told you to get lost!" Once again, Jared repeated his words icily. "Don't make me say it a third time."

Heidi was reluctant to give up, so she murmured tremulously, "Jay—"

Unfortunately, right at that moment, a few more people suddenly entered from outside before she could finish speaking.

The one who walked at the forefront was stunned for a moment when he saw Caitlin, and the wound on Caitlin's forehead immediately caught his attention. He rushed over in concern and looked over her worriedly. "Katy, what are you doing here? And why are you injured?"

As for Caitlin, she had already expected that she might bump into this man and the several other men behind him. Therefore, she wasn't surprised at all when they suddenly showed up. She looked at the man in front of her, smiled, and greeted him warmly, "Theo."

He ignored her greeting as he focused his gaze on Caitlin's injury; Theodore Rackham, one of Jared's good friends, asked with a frown, "What exactly is going on? How did you injure yourself? And why is the injury so serious?"

Right then, another voice sounded. "Katy is injured?"

Before she could answer, another voice followed suit and asked, "What happened?"

The owners of those two voices were Gerald Collins and Fergus Samson, who entered after Theodore. Similar to Theodore, they were also Jared's good friends. The moment they took notice of Caitlin's disheveled state, they, too, rushed quickly over to her and checked on her.

Heidi was trembling with anger when she saw that a group of tall and handsome men with elegant temperaments paid all their attention to Caitlin but hadn't even glanced at her in the slightest. These guys only saw Caitlin when they stepped into this room. They're even surrounding her right now, asking and showering her with care. But what about me?! This is so unfair!