Her screams attracted the attention of a few others standing around and, of course, Blake who was already walking towards us.
I watched the way his eyes widened in shock and concern as he dashed towards Stella without wasting another second, closing the distance between us in a few big strides. He quickly pulled her out of the fountain, beads of water droplets trickling down the ends of her damp hair and rolling down her face. Her dress was also drenched in the dirty fountain water as she stood there, clearly fuming but a knowing look twinkled in her eyes.
It was at this moment when he noticed me, and we locked eyes. For a second, he looked shocked to see me appear right in front of him.
"Aurelia? What are you doing here?" He asked, looking surprised to see me standing before him. His gaze swept over my body in a split second. "Are you stalking me?" He questioned.
A scoff escaped my lips. "Why can't I be here? Besides, I have no interest in stalking you, you aren't that great," I replied curtly, my sharp words stabbing at his fragile ego.
"You know what? You aren't that great either!" He yelled back and Stella tugged on his arm, shaking her head loudly as some people turned to stare, throwing a judgemental look at them.
Then, a thought popped into his head at that moment. "Did you push Stella?" He accused quicker than I had expected as he narrowed his eyes at me and his features hardened. His intense glare was burning right through my eyes, as if he had already made up his mind, deciding that I did push her on purpose.
Stella glared at me with a knowing look gleaming in her eyes. A slight smirk tugged at the corners of her lips, knowing that Blake fully trusted her without her needing to lift a finger. But as soon as Blake turned to meet her eyes, her entire demeanour shifted in a split second, taking on the role of an innocent pitiful woman who was wronged.
The smugness on her face quickly faded and her eyes started to water, tears filling up the brim of her eyes as she looked at him, averting my eyes completely.
"Aurelia, she… she pushed… me into the fountain," she stuttered, managing to get a few words out in between her breaths as she bit her lower lip to stop her tears from flowing down. "I was just trying to talk to her and she… she got aggressive all of a sudden. I don't know why she pushed me, Blake," she said with a pitiful look as her eyes softened, easily tugging at my ex-husband's heartstrings.
She then turned to meet my gaze. "Did I do something wrong? Why do you not like me?" She asked me, her voice slightly trembling as tears started to roll down her flushed cheeks.
I watched as Blake immediately took off his own blazer to put it around her shoulders in an attempt to keep her warm and she looked up at him with a grateful smile that stretched across her lips. Her eyes flickered over to glance at me for a fleeting moment, and the slight smirk on her face didn't go unnoticed. Meanwhile, Blake was ignorant the whole time, falling for her act so easily.
"What the hell is your problem, Aurelia?" Of course, he would automatically trust what Stella had to say. "I knew you had always been jealous of my friendship with Stella, but you don't have to resort to violence! Now her dress is ruined! Are you going to pay for it?!"
A cold chuckle emerged from my throat as I looked between the two of them with an indifferent look plastered across my face.
"Violence?" I repeated with an incredulous look on my face as I raised my brow at them, taking to step forward to close the tiny gap between us. "I barely touched her and she fell on her own," I answered coldly as Stella sniffled beside him.
He let out a breath. "So, are you trying to say that Stella is accusing you? That you didn't actually push her?" He questioned, his voice laced with a thick layer of malice.
"Yes," I said without hesitation, standing my ground and my voice remained firm. "You are just too damn blind to see it for yourself," I snapped, glaring at him and Stella.
"You!" He sneered, raising his arm with the intention to slap me across my face. But before he could lay a finger on me, Stella had grabbed onto his hand to hold him back and the blazer that was once sitting on her shoulders fell to the ground in a soft thud.
She looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Blake, don't do it," she pleaded, desperation coated each word that left her lips. They locked eyes and I watched as his features softened and slowly, he lowered his arm while her fingers were still curled around him. "I guess it is my fault. I think I tripped over something and fell backward… I didn't mean to accuse Aurelia," she muttered under her breath as she lowered her head.
He scoffed loudly in response. "Don't try to protect her, Stella. She doesn't deserve it," he spat as he glanced over at me, disdain clearly evident on his face. "I know what she did, and she can't just get away with it," he sneered.
"No, it's fine. It was just an accident," she insisted, shaking her head lightly.
"She needs to apologise to you, Stella."
"I don't want to cause a scene…"
I scoffed loudly once again. "The scene you created and directed on your own?" I retorted as I glared at her. "How ironic coming from someone like you."
At this time, he snapped his head to look at me, his eyes boring right into mine. "What exactly do you mean by someone like her? You should count yourself lucky that up till now, Stella is still being so nice to you, and she doesn't want you to take the blame. Why can't you just be nicer to her? Would it kill you?" He sneered.
"I'd rather die than to be nice to someone like her," I retorted and watched as his face turned red with anger in an instant.
"Stella isn't what you think she is! Why can't you just admit that you are wrong?!" His voice boomed loudly. "Apologise to her now," he demanded through gritted teeth, and his fists were clenched tightly beside him.
Tension lingered in the air between us as silence enveloped us for a brief moment before I spoke up.
"No, she doesn't deserve my apology."
"This isn't up to you to decide, Aurelia. That's the least you could do!" He snarled with disdain. "Since you are going to be so stubborn, let me help you with it."
Before I knew it, he grabbed the back of my head and my shoulder, forcefully trying to make me bow to her in apology. "Apologise now!" He remained insistent.
I tried to break free while Stella watched with a triumphant smile on her face. But alas, he was still stronger than I am.
"What's going on here?" A familiar voice pierced through the air. I glanced over to see that it was the man Xavier was talking to just earlier, Harrison was his name.
Before anyone could say anything else, Xavier's voice reached my ears.
"Take your filthy hands off her."