Her words nearly spelled out, "What's the point of having you?"
Aaron felt both embarrassed and angry. "You..."
Kyle's father quickly intervened. "Chairman Lin, calm down. This is just children's play. Don't make it hard on them."
Nyla's mother chimed in, "Yes, our Nyla also made mistakes. We can't blame Zuri."
The other parents echoed their sentiments.
Seeing everyone backing down, Mrs. Tan reluctantly held her anger.
Jason, seeing the parents not pressing charges, breathed a sigh of relief.
Everyone thought the matter was settled until someone didn't want to let it go.
"You might not pursue it, but I will," Zuri said coldly, looking at Nyla's and the others' parents.
Everyone was stunned, staring at the beautiful girl in shock.
"This is my first day at Windsor Academy, my first day in class. Before I even got to know all my classmates, these people couldn't wait to bully me. As their parents, shouldn't you give me and the Lin family an explanation?"
"Although the Lin family isn't one of the top eight families in the capital, it's not to be bullied by you all. Or do you have some grudge against us and orchestrated this?"
What!!!
Kyle's parents were dumbfounded.
Nyla and the others were equally shocked.
Aaron, however, was deep in thought, scrutinizing the parents.
Zuri pointed at Kyle, her cold gaze fixed on his father. "Your son openly said he wanted to 'conquer' me. He boasted about how exciting it would be to play with the Lin family's daughter."
Kyle's father's face turned pale. He slapped the back of Kyle's head. "You wretch, see how I deal with you at home."
Zuri then pointed at Shaina, Nyla, and the others, staring down their parents. "Your sweet, well-mannered daughters spread rumors that I am a prostitute with venereal diseases, describing in detail how I serve men, as if they had seen it themselves. This is the good upbringing of high society?"
Aaron's face darkened.
Jason was also shocked at the vile things these teenagers had said.
Shaina's mother couldn't believe her daughter had said such things. "Did you say that?"
Shaina stammered, not daring to speak.
Her demeanor made the truth clear.
Despite being uncultured and abrasive, Shaina's mother was straightforward. She slapped Shaina's face. "What have you learned? Is that something a person should say?"
Shaina was furious but didn't dare talk back.
She despised her mother for being uneducated and uncultured.
Nyla's mother approached Zuri sincerely. "Zuri, I apologize on Nyla's behalf. I will discipline her properly at home."
Zuri compared Nyla's mother's response with Shaina's, seeing the stark difference.
Apologies and promises of discipline meant nothing if they were merely protecting their daughters.
"Auntie, you don't need to apologize. You did nothing wrong. It's those who did wrong who should apologize," Zuri said, determined to make Nyla and the others apologize, knowing it would hurt their pride more than anything.
Kyle's father dragged his son by the ear, bringing him in front of Zuri. "This kid of mine has no filter. He was out of line."
With that, he gave Kyle a kick in the calf and sternly commanded, "Apologize."
Kyle didn't want to apologize, but under his father's pressure, he had no choice. He stiffened his neck, looking aggrieved, and muttered, "Sorry."
Madam Tan glanced at Shaina and ordered, "Go apologize."
Shaina was furious. "Are you really my mom? Your daughter was beaten, and now you want me to apologize to the person who hit me?"
This sentiment resonated with all the students who had been hit. They felt utterly wronged and miserable.
"You have the nerve to speak. If you hadn't provoked others, would they have hit you?"
Shaina's tears started to fall in frustration, and she begrudgingly said to Zuri, "Sorry."
Then she turned to Madam Tan and yelled, "Are you satisfied now?!"
After shouting, Shaina ran out of the classroom, with Madam Tan hastily chasing after her.
Nyla's mother gave her a look, and Nyla reluctantly stepped forward. "Sorry," she said, her face turning beet red afterward.
One by one, the other students were made to apologize by their parents.
Aaron's expression softened slightly, and the parents continued to apologize to him profusely.
Aaron smiled and said, "It's okay, it's okay. It's normal for kids to have scuffles. To be honest, our Zuri was at fault too."
To show his magnanimity, he turned to Zuri and said, "Zuri, you should apologize to them too."
Zuri snorted and walked away without a word. Dream on if you think I'm going to apologize!
Watching her leave, the smile on Aaron's face froze momentarily, but he quickly recovered and said to the other parents apologetically, "I'm sorry. Zuri is still upset with us and hasn't forgiven us yet."
"We understand, we understand," the parents nodded repeatedly.
The news of Zuri hitting her classmates spread throughout the school in just over an hour. Everyone was waiting to see her get her comeuppance.
But to many's surprise, the final outcome was quite the opposite.
Not only did Zuri walk away unscathed, but those who had been hit ended up apologizing to her.
"This is so unfair," one girl complained.
"Guess who I saw? Saira's dad."
"Oh my God, if I remember correctly, Saira's parent-teacher meetings have always been attended by her mom. Her dad never shows up, let alone to resolve issues."
"That's right. Aaron is so busy; how could he have time for this?"
"But he came to deal with Zuri's matter this time. Do you think this shows the difference between a biological daughter and a non-biological one?"
"Just now, I saw Aaron leave with Zuri in his car. He didn't take Saira with him."
Hearing the discussion among the girls ahead, Saira's face turned grim.
"What are you talking about?" Natalie snapped.
The girls turned around and, upon seeing Saira's close friends, looked extremely embarrassed.
Samara pointed at them, "If I hear you badmouthing Saira again, I'll cut your tongues out."
Saira, feeling downcast, tried to calm Samara, "Samara, let it go."
"These people need to be taught a lesson," Samara retorted indignantly.
After the others left, Saira choked up, "It's normal for dad to like her. After all, I'm not the Lin family's daughter."