Third person's pov
A look of shock flashed across Ethan's face as he stared at the people standing at the doorway, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.
His expression returned to its usual calmness.
Where were they rushing to?
He watched relief wash over Aunt Gabriella's face before it slowly turned into guilt.
At the back of his mind, Ethan already knew the reason for their hurry.
The truth had finally come out.
He noticed Daniel's eyes fixed on Emily, causing him to subtly step in front of her.
"Good afternoon Mr Raymond, aunt and uncle." He greeted them.
"Ethan, where did you go?" Aunt Gabriella asked, her voice tight with tension. To others she might have sounded concerned, but Ethan could clearly hear the annoyance hidden beneath her words.
The boy made them look irresponsible in front of his teacher and it didn't sit well with her. She glanced at the young girl standing behind him and narrowed her eyes but didn't comment on it.
"Sorry aunt. I just went out for a walk." Ethan replied blankly.
"That's okay. Come on, let's all go inside." Mr Tyron said. He placed a hand around Ethan's shoulder and led him inside.
If it were under normal circumstances, Ethan would have been delighted but right now, he knew why he was being treated like this and he scoffed internally.
They all sat down in the living room with Ethan sitting between Raymond and Mr Tyron.
Aunt Gabriella glanced at Ethan several times as they all sat in the living room.
Every time her eyes landed on him, the memory of the slap she had given him replayed in her mind.
The red mark that had been on his cheek yesterday seemed to flash before her eyes.
For the first time in years, she found herself unable to meet his gaze for long.
When Ethan said he had only gone out for a walk, she unexpectedly felt relieved.
A strange feeling settled in her chest.
What if he hadn't come back?
"Ethan, I didn't come here today without a purpose. I came here concerning the incident that happened in school. The necklace wasn't stolen but was misplaced by none other than me and I'm deeply sorry that I accused you of stealing it." Mr Raymond said, looking into his eyes. He felt as if something about the boy changed overnight because in the boy's eyes, he didn't see the former emotions of depression and helplessness. Instead the boy's eyes were filled with a serene calmness as he listened to and looked at everyone in the room.
Ethan's pov
I didn't utter a word as I listened to what Mr Raymond said. If he hadn't found his necklace, everyone would still be thinking that I stole it.
How funny the world is. People can be so fickle.
At this moment, as I watched everyone in the room, the earlier scene of my attempted suicide flashed in my mind and I fixed my gaze on the girl who saved me, her words echoing in my mind 'don't give up'.
Her words gave me hope, hope to keep on living and I am so grateful to her.
"Your expulsion has been revoked and you can resume school tomorrow. The entire school offers its deepest apologies and is looking forward to your resumption tomorrow." Mr Raymond continued when he didn't hear me reply.
"It's alright sir. Thank you for making time to come in person. I appreciate your effort." I said blankly and forced a smile.
Their accusations had driven me to the edge and I found it hard to forgive them but that didn't mean I would throw a tantrum like a child.
Mr Raymond left few minutes later after exchanging some polite words with Daniel's parents and making me promise that I will resume school the next day. Emily left with him as she didn't see the need to stay back.
Now the only people left in the living room was Daniel, his parents and I.
I looked at the guilty expressions on their faces before standing up to enter my room.
I had a rough day and needed to rest.
"Ethan, we are sorry." I heard my uncle's voice and turned to face him. I kept staring at him without saying a word.
"We are sorry for the harsh things we said to you and the false accusations and I hope you can forgive us." The man said and I could see that he was being sincere.
I shifted my gaze to the mother and son who had different expressions from the man.
They didn't look apologetic at all but I also didn't care one bit.
I raised my lips to smile and said "It's okay uncle. Mistakes happen." I turned to continue walking back to my room without turning back.
After resting for a while, I resumed my chores as Aunt Gabriella didn't waste a second to come knock at my door to remind me of them.
Third person's pov
Mr Raymond was deep in thought as he drove his car on the road. He remembered the tension in the room earlier and felt something wasn't right. He suspected that things were not as simple as they looked but wasn't so sure.
"You can drop me here sir." Emily's voice brought him back from his thoughts. He glanced at the girl sitting in his car.
He remembered that she always stood up for Ethan even when everyone was against him and he couldn't help but admire her for that.
He offered her a smile before looking out the window to see where she wanted to drop.
"Will you be fine? I could drop you off at your house." He suggested.
"That wouldn't be needed sir. Thank you for the ride." Emily said politely. She had been feeling uncomfortable from the moment she entered the car.
"Alright then. See you at school tomorrow." Raymond said as she opened the door to step out.
Emily watched as he drove off before turning to head to her own house.
She recounted the events of the day in her mind.
She still felt goosebumps when she remembered Ethan standing at the edge of the bridge.
A smile came across her pretty face when she thought about being friends with Ethan and happily skipped home.
As Ethan entered the classroom the next day, the whole class that had been noisy suddenly turned quiet.
He didn't mind them and went to his seat.
He could sense the eyes on him and even though he tried to hide it, he still felt uncomfortable.
He brought out a random book from his bag and started to read to distract him from the looks he was getting.
Emily came in few minutes later. She scanned the classroom and grinned when she spotted Ethan.
She walked up to him and stopped to stand in front of his desk.
Ethan saw the fine pair of tall milky legs that stood in front of him and raised his head to look at the owner.
Emily was smiling at him and he returned the smile.
"Hey." She said
"Good morning Emily. Hope you went home fine yesterday?" Ethan said.
The whole class gasped after hearing their exchange.
Went home? Yesterday?
Were they together yesterday.
Daniel clenched his fists under his table as he watched the two people in front of him.
He remembered Emily coming home with Ethan and still couldn't figure out why that happened.
Emily and Ethan were still engrossed in their conversation as they ignored the other students when Hailey walked up to them. She was the student that proposed apologizing to Ethan for the false accusation.
"Hey Ethan. How are you? I want to apologize for what happened the last time. We shouldn't have been so harsh. I'm sorry." The girl said, her head bent low with he feet drawing imaginary things on the ground.
Ethan smiled at her timidness and said "It's okay."
Soon after, more students apologized one after the other and the entire scenario shocked Ethan.
Who would ever believe something like this ever happened.
"It's alright guys. It's all in the past." He said, looking at all of them.
He can't say he had forgiven them considering the way they had been treating him from the start but he didn't see the need to prolong the issue.
Daniel's eyes darkened as he watched the interaction between Ethan and Emily.
The same classmates who had mocked Ethan yesterday were now apologizing to him.
Even Emily, the new girl, seemed more interested in talking to Ethan than anyone else.
A feeling he couldn't describe rose inside him.
For years, Ethan had always been beneath him.
The orphan.
The servant.
The boy everyone looked down on.
But now, for the first time, it felt as though things were beginning to change.
And Daniel hated it.
He couldn't remember the last time he had seen that smile on Ethan's face.
The more he looked at them, the more irritated he became.
A dangerous thought slowly formed in his mind.
Maybe Ethan needed another reminder of his place.
Ethan noticed Daniel and his group who didn't look so happy at how things turned out.
He scoffed at their faces before turning to face Emily. The smile still hadn't left the girl's face and he couldn't help but wonder why she was so happy.
"Settle down students." A loud male voice echoed in the classroom, compelling the students to rush to their seats and the whole class turned quiet as Mr Raymond walked into the class with his materials.
The man scanned the classroom and smiled faintly when he spotted the black haired boy in the class.