Chapter 4 No Rousing the Willfully Blind

"Elizabeth, what on earth are you talking about? There's nothing special between Claire and me at all."

"Isn't she your sister?"

"I've always treated her like my own sister."

"Your own sister?"

Elizabeth let out a scornful laugh. She hadn't expected Lonnie's self-deception to reach this level.

If he hadn't still been her boyfriend, she would have truly admired his ability to fool himself.

"Lonnie, how can you even say that? Even I can't accept what you're saying!"

"Just because your so-called sister said she was scared, you left me sick with a high fever and stayed with her all night, right?"

"I almost forgot - you said back then that you two were just hanging out innocently, nothing crossed any lines, right?"

"Claire casually mentioned she liked my limited edition cello bow, and you just took it from me, then accused me of being petty and unwilling to accommodate her."

"You'd better face reality. I'm the actual family member. She's just an outsider who's been taking over someone else's life for twenty years. She's not my sister at all."

"And this concertmaster audition - this is a dream I've held onto for years, an opportunity I fought for with everything I had, yet you casually tell me to give it up for her with just one sentence."

"You're way too hypocritical. You feel sorry for her at every turn - why don't you just give her the family shares directly?"

"You can't bear to do that, can you? But when you sacrifice my interests to please her, you never hesitate. Does being your girlfriend mean not only being good to your parents, but also tolerating you favoring someone else?"

Every single one of Elizabeth's words hit home, completely tearing apart Lonnie's facade.

Lonnie hadn't expected Elizabeth to say these things. He instantly panicked. "Elizabeth, these are all misunderstandings. Claire had just learned about her background during that time, and her emotions were extremely unstable. I only see her as a sister - taking a little extra care of her isn't a problem at all."

"That bow - I was planning to buy you an even better one, I just never got around to it."

"As for the concertmaster position, I just felt Claire needed this opportunity more. Her health isn't good, and she has depression. If she fails this audition, her mental state will completely collapse."

Elizabeth's heart turned ice cold. Lonnie had only panicked for a moment before immediately coming up with perfect excuses to justify himself.

The fact that he could react this quickly was proof enough that he'd long ago found justifications in his heart for these biased actions.

In her past life, she'd never even gotten these perfunctory explanations.

She just felt her past self had been incredibly foolish.

The answer had always been simple - Lonnie had never felt she deserved to be favored or respected.

Elizabeth, who came from an orphanage, simply wasn't worth treating sincerely in his eyes.

"So I'm supposed to keep giving in and sacrificing everything to fulfill you two?"

Elizabeth's cold voice interrupted him.

"Lonnie, do you think everyone's easy to fool?"

"Whether she has depression or not isn't something you can just define with one sentence. Even if you don't understand this mental illness, you can see her condition. Claire is full of energy every day, in great shape. Depression couldn't possibly apply to her."

Dead silence fell on the other end of the phone.

"Elizabeth, are you... have you lost your mind? After arguing with your family, are your emotions too worked up, is your thinking confused?"

Lonnie didn't believe Elizabeth's words at all. He just thought Elizabeth was full of grievances after being criticized by the Wilson family, and dissatisfied because he'd advised her to give up the concertmaster position, so she was speaking carelessly and making wild accusations.

Elizabeth laughed coldly. As expected, Lonnie would never consider things from her perspective, would never take her side.

"Enough. I don't want to waste any more words on you. Someone who deliberately chooses to blind themselves - no amount of persuasion from others can make them see clearly."

Elizabeth completely lost patience arguing with him.

"We're breaking up. From now on, we're even, no more connection between us."

"Stop being unreasonable."

When Lonnie heard the word breakup, his tone instantly became impatient.

"I know you're upset, but you can't take all your dissatisfaction out on Claire, and you definitely can't use breaking up to force me to compromise."

"Claire has a kind personality and is understanding. She's never wanted to compete with you for anything."

"Your tough attitude now will only make her feel more guilty and upset."

"Can you be more mature and look at this rationally?"

"Whatever, Claire is willing to back down on her own. If you don't want to apologize, that's fine - you just need to give up the concertmaster position."

Elizabeth was almost amused by his double standards.

Just giving up an opportunity that should have been hers - in his eyes, this had become some huge concession.

Lonnie probably really thought that Claire giving up the demand for an apology was some great favor to her.

"Can you not hear what I'm saying, or do you just refuse to understand?"

"I said we're breaking up! Whether you and Claire are just friends or have some ambiguous relationship, whether you spend time alone talking or being intimate together - none of it has anything to do with me anymore!"

She didn't give Lonnie another chance to argue and hung up directly.

She didn't want to hear any more of his selfish, biased excuses.

Lonnie was indeed very good at hurting people.

He could always say exactly the words that disappointed her most, that hurt her most.

In her past life, she'd been trapped by their mental exhaustion tactics and moral blackmail. Living again, she could see clearly all their calculations and schemes.

The reason her past self had been so obsessed and unable to let go was simply because she still held unrealistic expectations for this relationship, for these people.

A bitter smile appeared on Elizabeth's face.

She then opened her contacts, found Lonnie's information, and deleted it without hesitation.

Next she opened her social media app, blocked and deleted Lonnie's account with decisive movements.

After doing all this, Elizabeth let out a long breath, as if she'd removed heavy shackles from her body.

In her past life, it was because she held too many illusions about Lonnie, compromising and giving in again and again, that she ended up dying miserably.

This life, she would never repeat that mistake.

From now on, she would only live for herself.

On the other end of the phone, Lonnie stared at the disconnected call screen, his face extremely dark.

He never expected Elizabeth would take the initiative to break up, and even dare to hang up on him directly.

"Elizabeth is getting more and more willful and reckless."

He muttered through gritted teeth, intense anger churning in his eyes.

He still couldn't understand why Elizabeth, who used to be completely obedient to him and accommodating in everything, had become so unfamiliar.

She not only publicly broke with the Wilson family, but dared to break up with him, even wantonly slandering Claire.

Lonnie was convinced that Elizabeth had been publicly criticized by the Wilson family today, accumulated grievances in her heart, so she was venting all her emotions on him and Claire.

Lonnie took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

He prepared to call back, only to discover he'd been blocked.

He then opened his social media app and confirmed his account had also been blocked.

A trace of real panic rose in Lonnie's heart for the first time.

He could feel that this time, Elizabeth's attitude was extremely firm.

But this panic was quickly suppressed by him.

He rejected his own guess.

Impossible.

Elizabeth loved him deeply - she would never truly cut ties with him.

She grew up in an orphanage - he was her only support.

She was just being stubborn for now. Once her emotions calmed down and she thought things through, she would definitely come back on her own.

Perfect timing - he could also use this opportunity to give her the cold shoulder for a while, wear down her willful temper.

After consoling himself this way, the panic in Lonnie's heart completely dissipated.

He called Claire.

The call connected quickly, and Claire's voice came through with a heavy crying tone.

"Lonnie..."

"Claire, are you okay?" Lonnie frowned deeply, genuine concern in his eyes. "I heard Elizabeth had an argument with you and even pushed you. Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine..." Claire responded with a sob. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't competed with Elizabeth for the concertmaster position, she wouldn't have gotten angry, and wouldn't have broken with the family. Blame me, Lonnie."

"Silly girl, this has nothing to do with you."

Seeing Claire being so understanding and vulnerable, Lonnie couldn't help but compare in his mind.

If only Elizabeth could be half as considerate as Claire, she wouldn't have ended up with everyone dissatisfied with her.

"Elizabeth is just too willful and doesn't know how to be considerate of others. Don't take this to heart. Rest well and focus on preparing for the concertmaster audition."

"Once she calms down, I'll have a good talk with her."

"Okay..."

Claire responded obediently, but a flash of smugness quickly crossed her eyes.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth, walking toward the hospital, suddenly heard urgent screaming around her.

"Someone's collapsed!"

"Quick, call for an ambulance!"

"Is there any medical staff here? Please come help!"