Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
“Who was it?” Quinton’s calm facade cracked a little. He could roughly guess who she had met, but he felt it was unlikely given how much she hated him. She would have never met his sister.
“I think you must have guessed it. It was Joanne,” Flossie whispered.
Quinton flexed his fingers but tried to keep his expression nonchalant. “Why would she meet you?”
“She was reluctant at first, but I waited until she came.” Flossie smiled fondly. She sincerely liked Joanne. “She’s an elementary school teacher at the moment, leading a calm and peaceful life.”
“Really?” Quinton added coldly, “It looks like Halston takes good care of her. No wonder she’s so loyal to him.”
“There you go again, Quinton! It’s not like that between them. I can vouch for it!” Flossie sighed. Every time she asked Halston, he would firmly deny it. She knew Halston well-if he was seeing Joanne, he would openly admit to it.
*Joanne sought refuge with Halston and betrayed you because of something else.” Flossie saw the change in Quinton’s expression, and added meaningfully, “I think you should know that. If not… why don’t you ask her about it?”
Flossie could tell that Quinton had not forgotten about Joanne, and his feelings for her ran deep. That was why he refused to open up or get close to other women. Hence, Flossie hoped that Quinton and Joanne could at least talk so they could let go of their past and start their new lives.
Unfortunately, Quinton kept avoiding the subject. “Don’t worry about my affairs, especially my love life. Just take care of yourself and get along well with Justin; that’s what I really wish for.” He had no intention to date anyone for now-he just wanted to restore his family’s image and protect Flossie well. He knew that he had a lot of trauma, and if he dated someone, he would subconsciously hurt that person.
“I’m not trying to force you to go on a date or make peace with Joanne. I just hope that you can let go of your past and open your heart to new things. Then, you can truly live your life.’ Flossie sounded urgent as she sighed. “I feel like a doctor. I know the reason for your illness and watch you suffer because of it every day. I want you to get better, so I tell you how to cure it, but you stubbornly don’t want to get better and embrace the pain. Do you think! enjoy seeing you like this?”
“The reason for my illness?” Quinton looked up at Flossie and smiled helplessly. “You think it’s because of her?” “Yes!” Flossie added firmly. “The reason for your sadness is your bad past, and Joanne is a part of it. You need to face your past bravely; that’s how we Ellsworths always do things.”
“I’m not sad because of her. She’s in the past, and the past is over. Why would it affect me?” Quinton avoided Flossie’s gaze and said stubbornly.
“Ugh, whatever! This is pissing me off!” Flossie realized that she could not persuade him, and got to her feet angrily. She told him Joanne’s work address, then said firmly, “I’ve given you the address; whether you go or not is up to you. You can’t keep waiting for others to save you-you’ve got to do it on your own!” Then, she left the garden and returned to her bedroom to sleep.
Taking a deep breath, Quinton looked up at the crescent moon.
Lone Pine Elementary was one of the very best elementary schools in Beach City. The teachers working there had exceptionally high academic qualifications, with all of them at least having a master’s degree. Joanne, however, was the only one without dazzling academic qualifications or teaching experience. She was gloomy and not as energetic as the other teachers, which was why she eventually became a target of scom of the teachers there.
It was the new students’ first day in the school, and the school’s principal appointed Joanne as the class teacher of the third class of first graders. She was responsible for teaching the Cienna language. Another teacher, Gina Cadigo, was responsible for teaching the Filansier Language. She graduated from Coral Coast University in Eliwern and was young and fashionable. Gina had wanted to get chosen as a class teacher because that was a prerequisite to getting a promotion.
Gina had to have enough experience as a class teacher if she wanted to get a management position. One needed a rich resume to be the class teacher. Since Gina graduated from Coral Coast University, she was confident that the principal would appoint her as the class teacher. To her displeasure, the principal had picked Joanne instead, who was unqualified in all aspects.
‘Ms. Garcia, it’s going to be tiring receiving the new students today. What would you like to talk about during the parent-teacher meeting later?” After helping the students settle down, Gina came to the office and spoke to Joanne.
*I’ll talk about my teaching methods,” Joanne replied coolly. She had an innate aloofness, which was why she wasn’t close to the other teachers there even though six months had passed. Additionally, all the teachers there shared Gina’s thoughts in thinking Joanne was inferior and did not deserve to be working there.
“Gina, you don’t know since you just came, but Ms. Garcia is awesome. She just graduated from high school but is now an outstanding teacher here. She puts insignificant people like us, who graduated from famous colleges and hold postgraduate degrees, to shame.” Another class teacher, Ashton Quillen, sat behind Joanne and spoke to Gina sarcastically. Instantly, the other teachers joined in.
“Ah, you guys know nothing. Academic qualifications aren’t important compared to your teaching methods. Maybe Ms. Garcia is good at teaching.”
“If she’s so good at teaching, why is her class the worst in the Cienna language? I think her teaching methods are problematic. She shouldn’t be lowering our school’s level like this, or we’ll feel burdened too!”
*Agreed! Not everyone can be a teacher. Some people should just give up if they aren’t suited for it, instead of stubbornly staying in that position and refusing to do well. Isn’t that just a waste of resources?”
At first, they just mocked Joanne, but later, they criticized her openly. She never responded when they made fun of her, and none of the higher ups defended her, so it seemed like she didn’t come from a powerful background. Not having to face any consequences, they enjoyed bullying Joanne.
“Hey, don’t say that. She’s now a class teacher, so give her some respect.” Gina smiled brightly. “Ms. Garcia might not have any good academic qualifications or experience… but she’s pretty. She can get what she wants thanks to her looks. You can’t do that even if you want to!”
“What do you mean?” Joanne had been keeping her head bowed quietly, but she looked up at Gina sharply when she heard that.
Gina looked at Joanne and blinked, then grinned coyly and said, “Don’t be upset, Ms. Garcia… I was just joking. After all, it’s rather odd that you were hired here despite your academic qualifications and experiences. I know far a fact that all teachers here are curious about it.”
“Can you accuse someone like that just because you’re curious?” Hostility gleamed in Joanne’s eyes. “If that’s the case, can I assume that it’s because of your looks that you became the deputy class teacher of the primary school at such a young age?”
“How can you say that, Joanne? I graduated with a master’s degree from Coral Coast University. I worked hard to get here!” Gina immediately stood up and said rudely, “I must have guessed right that you got into this school by relying on a man-you wouldn’t be this upset otherwise!”
“Well, you also overreacted, so I must have hit the nail on the head too,” Joanne sneered.
Gina’s eyes widened in rage. “How dare you…
Ainsley Terrell, the teaching director, immediately stepped forward to mediate the situation. ‘Ladies, stop arguing. Both of you are young and pretty, and you both hold good positions. You two need to guide this class together, but you’re fighting before you can even start work. Do you want to quit your jobs?”
Although Gina was young, she was smart and observant. She smiled and grabbed Ainsley’s arm. “Mr. Terrell, you’re mistaken. I wasn’t arguing with Ms. Garcia-I was just chatting with her. It’s just that she can’t take a joke, and she humiliated me. Aren’t I allowed to fight back?”
‘There’s an extent to telling jokes. She was upset, but you kept going. It’s very rude,” Ainsley said crossly, then warned, “If you do it again, there’ll be repercussions.”
‘Fine, Mr. Terrell, I was wrong. I won’t talk to Ms. Garcia again, okay?’ Gina angrily sat down, feeling like Ainsley was biased towards Joanne.
*Ms. Garcia, are you okay?” Ainsley looked at Joanne in concern.
“I’m fine.” Joanne’s head was lowered as she tidied up her table. “The parent-teacher meeting will start soon, so I’m going to the washroom now.” Joanne got up and left for the washroom. The teaching director sighed unhappily, then left the office.
‘Hmph! What’s Joanne’s background like? Why does the teaching director always let her have her way?’ Gina snapped, slamming her fist on the office desk unhappily. From elementary school until college, she had always been favoured. If she got into an argument with someone, the adults would always take her side. However, her charms didn’t seem to work in this shabby school. Not only was she given the position of deputy instead of head, the teaching director had scolded her instead of Joanne. Ainsley didn’t dare upset Joanne, and it made Gina even more resentful of her.
Calista Jude, another class teacher, turned to Gina once the others left. “Girl, there’s no point in making a fuss. You’ll be the only one losing. She got in by pulling strings, so you’ll have to be sneaky if you want to go after her!”
“What do you mean?” Gina asked Calista curiously.
“Ms. Garcia has no academic qualifications or background, so I’m sure she slept with a superior to get in. Isn’t she going to hold a parent-teacher meeting soon? You can add something to her presentation slides to let the parents know just what kind of person is teaching their kids…” Calista lowered her voice and glanced at the laptop that Joanne had left on.
“You’re saying…”
Gina looked at the laptop reluctantly. “But saying she has no academic qualifications or experience won’t affect her much.”
“Well, maybe you can spice it up a little,” Calista suggested slyly. “Let me give you an idea… Do you know why Joanne always wears long-sleeved shirts and long pants? It’s 104 Fahrenheit now, but she still doesn’t dare to show skin.”
“I don’t know… Is she conservative?”
“Of course not!” Calista peered outside, and when she saw that Joanne hadn’t come back yet, she whispered to Gina, “I’m guessing her body is either really scarred or covered in tattoos. Think about it… No parent would want someone like that teaching their kids.”
“Is that true?” Gina swallowed and took a deep breath. “Thanks for the advice, Ms. Jude. I know what to do now.” Joanne stayed in the washroom for a long time because her stomach was cramping. She thought it was because her period was coming soon, but when she checked her notes, that didn’t seem to be the case. After thinking about it, she figured it was the sickness she got back when she lived alone in the red-light district at Pinebell in Cyndiago.
Since it was almost time for the parent-teacher meeting, Joanne braced herself and got up. She splashed some water on her face and patted her cheeks, trying to look energetic for the parents. She had escaped hell and suffered so much back then, and at one point, she felt like she had nothing to live for. However, Joanne sincerely loved her students. She realized she had a soft spot for children, especially babies and toddlers. Halston knew her character and had pulled some strings to get her a job at Lone Pine Elementary.
At first, she was reluctant to accept the offer. Her colleagues were right-she had no academic qualifications or experience, and she had a lot of trauma. She felt she wasn’t fit to teach others, but Halston encouraged her to try it out. He told her if she didn’t like the job, she could resign. Finally, Joanne gathered the courage to try teaching the Cienna language. Although her academic qualifications were not great, she had always gotten good grades, especially in the Cienna language. She was very talented, and the knowledge she had was more than enough to teach elementary children. After having a trial class, Joanne’s heart was softened by the children’s innocence, kindness, and enthusiasm. She loved spending time with them, so she shamelessly accepted Halston’s offer. She usually wouldn’t bother when her colleagues taunted her because they spoke the truth-she had pulled strings to get a job there. However, she couldn’t stand Gina saying she got the job using her looks because it made Halston look bad. Feeling guilty for getting angry, she apologized to Gina when she returned to the office.” I’m sorry for losing my temper earlier, I hope you won’t take it to heart. Let’s work together to make the third class better.”
“Ah…” Gina stared at Joanne, stunned.
“I need to go to the parent-teacher meeting now.” Joanne took her laptop and walked to the third class. She had no idea what trouble was awaiting her…
Joanne arrived at her class to hold a parent-teacher meeting with the new students’ parents. The parents were very curious about the people who taught their children, especially the class teacher. They were very concerned about that.
Joanne stood at the door for a while, taking a few deep breaths before striding into the class. “Hello, everyone, welcome to the first parent-teacher meeting for the third first grader class.” Joanne was wearing a professional white shirt and pants, with her hair up in a ponytail and a pair of rimless glasses on. She looked elegant and proper, and the parents looked at her in admiration.
‘Let me introduce myself-I’m the class teacher, and my name is Joanne Garcia. Although I’m not very experienced in teaching, I’m well-versed in various teaching methods. Now, I’ll explain my plans for the class.” Joanne smoothly redirected the topic, emphasizing her strengths. She inserted her USB drive into the computer to open the detailed presentation she had prepared. “First, my teaching concepts are based on four different areas: virtue, politeness, diligence, and love. The first area concerns morality.” Joanne placed her hand on the podium and confidently explained her teaching methods.
The parents listened attentively, impressed by Joanne’s concept.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, excuse me.” At that moment, Gina walked in and stood beside Joanne. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m the deputy class teacher, and I teach the Filansier language for this class. I graduated from Coral Coast University with a master’s degree in Multilingualism and Languages Education. I received band eight in the Filansier language and was picked as one of the top ten youths in Beach City… Gina introduced herself quickly, trying to snatch the limelight from Joanne. Lone Pine Elementary was a public primary school, but it was one of the best schools in Beach City. Many parents did whatever they could to send their children to that school, even spending a lot of money so their child could study there. It was clear the students’ parents were powerful and influential people.
“Wow, she has great qualifications! Why didn’t the class teacher tell us her qualifications too? Ms. Garcia, can you tell us about your academic qualifications?” A smartly-dressed man waved dismissively at Gina and turned to Joanne.
“…” Joanne flexed her fingers, lowering her head because she had no idea how to respond. “My qualifications aren’t great… but I can promise you that my teaching concepts are advanced. All my students love me, and I’ve also helped improve their writing skills…