Chapter 409: You Filled Our Hands With Lies

It took half an hour to drive to college. It wasn’t too far from where Edie was staying. As she was getting ready to leave, she noticed Cecil sitting on the sofa crying. "What’s wrong?" she asked.

"I don’t want to stay here by myself. Can I come with you?" Cecil cried as he wiped the tears from his cheek with the back of his hand.

Edie’s heart was broken. She hated seeing him so upset, but if he were to come with her, he would probably disrupt the classroom. She stood there, contemplating the idea. Should he come? "Okay, get your things. You can come with me," she said.

Her words seemed to calm him, and the sobs stopped. "Really?" he said as he clapped his hands in excitement.

Luckily when they arrived, all she had to do was watch some older movies. Then there was a discussion about the actors and actresses. When the class was over, several women came over to talk to Edie. They all started one after another, making a comment and asking her questions.

"Is this your son? He’s adorable!"

"You must find it hard raising a child and going to college?"

"I bet you have your hands full!"

With a quick shake of her head, Edie said, "No, he’s not my son. He’s my husband’s uncle’s son. Cecil’s very intelligent, but he can be full of mischief at times."

The women tilted their heads curiously and began asking Edie more questions.

"I didn’t know you were married!"

"Why aren’t you wearing a ring?"

"We all thought you were single because you didn’t have one on."

One of the women put her hand in front of Edie and said, "I’m engaged, and I have a ring."

"Why aren’t you wearing one?"

At first, Edie just nodded because her heart was beating unnaturally. There was silence for a moment, and then she sighed, "Oh! I forgot to put in on this morning."

After Edie answered, they looked at one another with a strange expression on their faces. "How can you forget such an important thing? I never go anywhere without it."

"This is the ring my husband bought me. I haven’t taken it off since we got married." She pointed to the ring on her finger. "My name’s Andy," she said, introducing herself. Then everyone turned their attention to Andy and looked at the ring. "Being your husband’s wife should be the most important relationship you have on earth. I think the whole world should know," Andy said.

"That’s expensive. My fiancée and I were looking at rings last week, and I saw that one. It’s worth thousands of dollars!"

"I’m jealous! Your husband treats you like a princess."

"My husband’s rich. He would buy me an island if I asked him. I’m glad we’re not poor, or I probably wouldn’t have a ring," Andy said. Then she turned and looked at Edie.

The room fell into silence while everyone looked at each other. But Edie knew what they were thinking. They thought she was poor. Suddenly someone speaks out, "It’s time for our next class. See you later, Ed!" That was the nickname they gave Edie.

As the days went by, the gossip about Edie was spreading like wildfire.

"Did you know Ed’s family is poor?"

"She told me she forgot her ring at home. It’s been three days and still no ring on her finger."

"She brings the little boy with her every day. He’s definitely a child of mixed-raced parentage."

"Maybe she’s lying about being his mother, and the father isn’t her husband?"

"She’s been in several films. You’d think she’d have money."

Suddenly someone entered the lunchroom, which seemed to silence the entire room. It was Edie, and she had a big smile on her face. She heard them talking about her. Taking a deep breath, she went over to get a cup of coffee. Then she started to leave without saying a word.

Andy was the one who did most of the gossiping. She couldn’t help but feel a little nervous, wondering why Edie didn’t say anything. She stood in front of Edie and said, "Did you hear what we said?"

Edie said in a calm tone, "Yes!"

Seeing Edie so calm only angered Andy. As Edie started to walk out of the room, she grabbed Edie’s arm and spun her around, so she was facing her. "Everyone knows the truth. There’s no need for you to lie anymore," Andy shouted.

"Did I lie?" Edie asks questionably. She’s so upset, and she’s shaking. Holding a cup of coffee in her hand, it spills on her hand. "Could you let go of my arm," she said. She took a deep breath, trying to gain control of her emotions.

Andy had a puzzled expression on her face and asked, "What are you going to do?"

Edie looks her right in the eye and smiles. "Maybe I have the money. Maybe I don’t. What difference does it make?" She paused for a moment to make sure the emotion was cleared from her voice. "Why are you so worried about what I’m going to do? Do you think I’m going to start talking about you behind your back?"

Andy was staring straight at her astonishment on her face. She was furious. "You wouldn’t dare," she replied.

"Why is it okay for you and not for me?" Edie’s voice was low, but the anger vibrating through her tone was unmistakable. "To be honest, I wouldn’t waste my time gossiping about you or anyone else in the room. You rich people are nothing but snobs. I have much more interesting things to do."

Everyone in the room glared at Edie with anger in their eyes. They were looking at her as if she’d done something wrong. "It’s obvious that none of you like me, and I’m okay with it. I don’t know what the big deal is. Who cares if I wear a ring or not, but because I don’t think that makes me poor?" Edie squinted at them fiercely and snarled with frustration. Then she looks at Andy and smirks.

Andy’s eyes were as dark and hard as raisins and full of hatred and anger. "How dare you speak in that manner to us? When you’re asked a question. The polite thing to do is answer. Is this your notion of good manners and common courtesy? I really don’t understand you, poor people."

"You gossip behind people’s back and ruin people’s reputation. Now you talk to me about not being polite." Edie took a deep breath, and her eyes became cold with anger. "You gossip about me, and I found out. Now you’re mad at me? You’re only worried about me doing something to you to ruin your reputation. I’ll put your mind at ease. I’m not going to say a word about you. You’re not worth it!"

Andy was staring straight at her astonishment on her face. "How dare you!" Her tone was agitated, but Edie didn’t care.

Everyone was looking at Edie with a strange expression on their faces, but no one said a word. Then Andy sneered. "You’ve filled our heads with lies. You’re probably not even married, and Cecil’s your son. Lies! It’s all lies!" she shouted at the top of her voice.