The Wrong Woman

Candice felt her hands sweating from nervousness as soon as the question was asked. She clenched her fists and lowered her head. She couldn't meet Elio's gaze, yet her ears remained sharply attuned to his voice.

After stealing a glance at Candice, Elio thought for a moment before saying, "Josie isn't my girlfriend."

"What?" Everyone fell into stunned silence.

Candice looked up, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at Elio in disbelief. Her reaction was so over the top that Elio almost laughed. He found her astonishment adorable and struggled to keep a straight face.

With a frown, Daniel asked, "What's the matter?"

Elio turned to Daniel and explained with a polite tone, "My mom was pressuring me to find a girlfriend back then. Out of desperation, I convinced my best friend to pose as one. We kept up the act for so long that everyone believed we were actually together."

"Why did you stop pretending?"

"My mom found out."

"That explains it."

dumbfounded, her mouth slightly agape in surprise. An unexpected sense of joy flooded her. The dilemma that had troubled her was resolved, and she

were never a couple. That meant Candice's relationship with Elio hadn't compromised her values. And the person she was interested

as he

him. Turning to the group, Jasper said, "Grandma Michaela is really something else. She's downright terrifying. I even have

and scolded him, "Jasper, that's

sighed. "Grandma, I'm just being honest. Dad told me Mom didn't really have a childhood.

a natural genius. That made her studies manageable, and she even became a researcher. Uncle Elio, though, wasn't

Elio gently patted his hand, signaling him to stop. Jasper caught the hint and swiftly skifted the conversation. "You know, I stayed with her during my summer vacation for two weeks, and it was

at 5:30 am. had exactly 15 minutes for breakfast, which was always a timer and strictly portioned. couldn't even pick what I wanted to eat Right after breakfast, it was

was non-stop studying, reading, and writing. Lunch and dinner were half an hour each. I didn't get to shower and wind down until 11:00

laughed. "Jasper, you must

weeks were a total nightmare,"

dramatically, jumping over 30 spots to rank you within the top