Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
“Stop beating around the bush and tell us where you graduated from! Explain your qualifications and honors like the Filansier teacher. We have the right to know,” the man demanded.
“Yeah, we need to know. Just telling us your teaching methods isn’t enough; we need to look at your qualifications and experience!” The other parents agreed with the man.
They felt that Joanne looked sophisticated and had good teaching methods, but Gina’s outstanding academic qualifications were hard to beat. They felt Joanne’s qualifications had to be better since she was the class teacher.
“Honestly, I don’t really have any academic qualifications, and I’ve only been teaching for less than six months,” Joanne confessed, knowing the parents wouldn’t let her off the hook.
“What? No academic qualifications and you’ve only been teaching for six months?” The parents were shocked and furious, and wanted to change the class teacher. At that moment, words started appearing on Joanne’s presentation slides.
[Here’s a gentle reminder-Joanne has never been to college. Her life is troubled and messy, and she’s hiding something on her body… That’s why she always wears long-sleeved shirts and long pants!]
“What’s happening? Is it true? The class teacher of our kids has never been to college?”
“What is she hiding? No wonder she put on a shirt with long sleeves on such a hot day!” “That’s preposterous!”
Joanne didn’t know what was going on, and watched in confusion as the parents pointed at her slides and whispered to each other. “Ladies and gentlemen, what’s wrong…” She turned around, and the blood drained from her face when she saw the words on the screen..
Gina laughed and smugly patted Joanne’s shoulder. “Why do you look so pale, Ms. Garcia? Is it true? Do you have a messy life? Why are you wearing long sleeves on a hot summer day? Is there something weird on your skin? I heard that people with filthy diseases will get ulcerated skin. Are you suffering from some kind of infectious disease? If that’s the case, I don’t think you should be teaching children…”
Hearing that, the parents turned to Joanne in horror and disgust. “What’s wrong with this school? It has such a good reputation, but how could they hire someone like this as a teacher?”
“She must be suffering from some kind of disease… That’s why she’s not showing us her arms!”
“Yeah, she can just roll up her sleeves and prove her innocence if it’s not true!”
“Roll up your sleeves now. If you don’t, we’ll report you to the Ministry of Education!”
Tears welled up in Joanne’s eyes as she shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. “No, I’m not suffering from any disease. I just like children and sincerely want to teach them…” Her body trembled as her trauma returned, and she felt like running away.
“Don’t leave, Ms. Garcia. If you go now, you’ll prove them right. Shouldn’t you give them an explanation for the sake of Lone Pine Elementary’s reputation?” Gina blocked Joanne’s path and grabbed her arms. She sneered and said, “Why don’t you roll up your sleeves and show us your arms? It’ll only take a few seconds. Don’t tell me you can’t even do that.”
“Let me go!” Joanne didn’t like people touching her, and tried to shake Gina off.
Her reaction only made the parents more suspicious, and they wondered if the accusations were true. “We just asked you to roll up your sleeves. What’s so difficult about that?”
“There must be something wrong. We can’t let her go. Where’s the principal… He has to come here and explain this.”
“I think we should just tear off her clothes and see if she really has a disease.” Some parents even ran to the door to block Joanne from leaving.
“Yeah, Ms. Garcia. What are you afraid of? We just asked you to roll up your sleeves; it won’t hurt you.” Gina steadied herself and grabbed Joanne’s arms again, then roughly pulled the sleeves of Joanne’s shirt, tearing them off.
The people there gasped in horror when they saw Joanne’s skin.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“How horrible… Who is she? What did she go through?”
Joanne’s exposed arms were full of scars and marks. There were burn marks, scratches, and discolored bruises all over her arms, and it was shocking. The area leading to her wrists had countless overlapping knife cuts, displaying her mental trauma and desperate attempts to end her life.
“It’s terrible. How could such a person be the class teacher of our kids? Does the principal think we’re stupid?” The parents were bewildered and angry, and tried to drag Joanne to the principal’s office to demand an explanation.
“Let go of me!” Joanne felt like a monster who was being exposed to light after years of living in the dark. She covered her arms, wanting desperately to leave. She pushed past the parents and staggered out of the class, and the parents quickly pursued her.
“Go away! Don’t come near me! Leave me be!” Joanne screamed and sobbed, running out of the building. When she turned the corner to the stairs, she bumped into somebody. She grabbed their arms to steady herself, then looked up to apologize. However, when she saw the person, her eyes widened and her face paled. “You… You…”
Quinton looked down at Joanne and frowned icily. “It’s been a while, my dear sister.”
“You’re… You demon!” Joanne’s body shuddered violently. She tried her best to push him away, but he gripped her arms tighter so she couldn’t escape.
“Demon?” Quinton sneered maliciously. “We’re childhood sweethearts, and we grew up together. Is that how you see me?”
“I know that I’ve wronged you, but I was punished too. What else do you want from me?” Joanne looked at Quinton with a pale and teary face. Quinton had recovered his looks, and the scar on his face was gone. He looked more handsome and mature than before, but Joanne knew how scheming he really was. Any woman who got close to him would get addicted to him. Joanne had once been deeply in love with him, but now, all she felt was terror. She just wanted to run away. “Let me go, please. Let me live. I knew I shouldn’t have met your sister. I trusted her, but she betrayed me. Your sister is just as scheming and cunning as you!” Joanne’s fear turned into anger as she thought about it.
“Shut up!” Quinton’s eyes flashed, and he strangled her. “You can criticize me, but not my sister. I’ll break your neck if you keep it up!”
“Go ahead! I can’t wait to leave this miserable world!” Joanne screamed at Quinton hysterically. Her past tortured her constantly, and just when she started to live a steady life, it was going to be taken from her. She felt that it was better to die in pain than live in pain.
“Do you think I won’t do it?” Quinton growled, his gaze fierce. Although he had become calmer lately, he was still the ruthless Night Demon. He was capable of doing terrible things if he lost it.
“Of course you would! You never hesitate to hurt me.” Flushed, Joanne glared at him hatefully. “There’s nothing you wouldn’t do. You even killed your own child! My biggest regret is being kind to you when you first came to my house… I treated you like a brother, but in return, you killed my family, locked me up, and killed our child! You’re a real demon. It’s a pity Halston didn’t kill you. If he did, everyone would finally be at ease!” Joanne had no desire to live, and she knew she couldn’t survive since he had found her. She tried her best to provoke him.
“Is that what you think?” Quinton’s old emotions and trauma returned, and he almost wanted to kill her and himself. “Fine, we’ll go to hell together!” After all, the trauma he had faced all these years was because of Joanne. If they did together, they would be in hell together, and maybe their ill-fated relationship would turn into a perfect romance in their next life.
‘Do it then! I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time!” Joanne looked at him with a melancholic smile. She was not afraid of death; In fact, she was looking forward to it. If she could die with him, it would be perfect, because she would only allow herself to forgive him when she died.
Gina and a few parents rushed over, and they were shocked to see Quinton strangling Joanne.
“What’s… going on? Is he trying to kill her?”
“Is this what they meant when they said she has a troubled life? Her enemy even came to the school! They really should fire her.!”
“Hurry up and get the principal. We have to fire her today. We can’t let her come near our kids!” The parents were shocked at first, but in the end, they decided she was something they had to eliminate.
However, when Quinton heard their wicked words, his gaze turned cold and menacing. He let go of Joanne and faced the parents threateningly. “What did you say about her? Say it again, I dare you!”
“Who… are you?” One father boldly demanded.
“It doesn’t matter. What I want to know is what you said about her.” Quinton’s tone wasn’t loud, but it was threatening enough to scare the parents.
‘She’s the class teacher of our kids, but she doesn’t have good academic qualifications or experience in teaching. Also, she’s probably involved in some shady dealings because her skin is full of scars. We can’t let her teach our kids!’ The man said indignantly.
“Is that so…” Quinton murmured as he approached the man. His face looked calm, but quick as a snake, he grabbed the man’s neck. “Now, tell me again what kind of a person she is. Is she qualified to teach your kids?”
“Ah!” Quinton’s actions scared the other parents, and they screamed and ran off. They were rich and pampered, and had never met ruthless people like Quinton.
“Ugh…” The man grunted as Quinton lifted him up by the neck. He knew Quinton could break his neck at any second, so he didn’t dare to say anything.
When Gina saw that, she summoned her courage and walked forward, trying to reason with Quinton. “Mister, please calm down. I don’t know what your relationship with Ms. Garcia is, but I can tell you that she’ll have to bear the consequences if you do this. If you want to seek justice for her, there are other ways to do it. Just talk it out with the principal. The parents are only worried and acting like this because she hid so many things from them. They’re just worried about their kids at the end of the day. We can talk it out, can’t we?” Gina had no idea who Quinton was to Joanne. He couldn’t be her enemy because he had tried to protect her, but he had also tried to kill her earlier. Gina could only make vague assumptions in the hopes that Quinton would let go of the parent. If that happened, the parents would trust her, and Joanne would lose her job, which was exactly what Gina wanted.
“How brave!” Quinton let go of the man and sized Gina up. “If that’s the case, why don’t you come and take his place? I’ll punish you instead for bullying Joanne.”
‘Mister, what… what are you trying to do? Let’s talk it out!” Gina retreated a few steps, looking at him in horror. He was handsome and dangerous… She was afraid of him, but also wanted to know more about him. “I’m Ms. Garcia’s colleague and friend. I don’t see her as my enemy,” Gina said quickly, seeing how Quinton was defending Joanne.
Quinton, however, could tell she was lying because she didn’t sound sincere at all. He figured she was the reason why these people were attacking Joanne, and his lip curled in disgust. “Friend?” Quinton turned to Joanne. “Tell me… Is she really your friend?”
Joanne smoothed her messy hair and glared at him coldly. “It’s none of your business. Get out and stop making a scene; you’re disrupting classes.”
Quinton turned back and spread his hands, a wicked grin on his face. “See? She didn’t say you’re her friend. I’m guessing you’re the one who backstabbed her… There’s no way these people would know about her background otherwise.”
“No, I didn’t do that! The parents found out on their own. Ms. Garcia is the class teacher, so they just want to know her qualifications and background. I’m Ms. Garcia’s friend… Please believe me!” Gina stammered, looking pale.
‘There’s only one way to prove you’re her friend,” Quinton said slowly as he took out his butterfly knife and rested the blade on Gina’s cheek. “Hey, do you think you’d look good with a scar on your face?”
“No, please don’t!” Gina’s legs felt like jelly, and her body trembled as she fought back tears. She didn’t dare move, afraid the knife would cut her skin.