Chapter 29：Valid reason?

As Renae fell asleep that night, she remembered that Min was returning to school the next day. She inwardly groaned. All she could do was brace herself for tomorrow. Luckily, her wounds had already healed up, but her parents were still not back from Kuala Lumpur yet.

The next day, Matthew came to pick her up as per usual.

"Morning. Min's coming back to school today, her suspension has ended," Renae said as she settled down in Matthew's car. Today, he stuck with his the least eye-catching car he had. To be honest, Renae was quite surprised that when he drove his Maybach to school in the past, not many people went crazy about it. After the first time, they got used to it, huh... She thought to herself.

"Oh damn it. How could time have flown so fast? I've got to see her and her mum after school today too. I told my parents about the stuff Min has done, so we're meeting up to ask Min what the freak she thinks she's doing. If she doesn't have a valid reason, the arranged marriage will be called off," Matthew replied, keeping his dark brown pupils on the road. "Oh, phew then. If you had to marry a girl like her, I'd be very worried for your future," Renae replied, letting out a sigh of relief.

They reached the school no later then, you guessed it, the one and only Min. She got out of her car as if she was royalty and walked with her nose up high. At first, no one realised Matthew and Renae had arrived, not even Min. But after Matthew parked his car and they got out, most of the students' attentions were brought to the nicknamed "love triangle" three who were all stood in the same frame.

The moment Min spotted Matthew, she sashayed over and was about to latch herself onto his arm like a leech, but Matthew moved away in time. "Stay away from me," he said to her, without even sparing her a glance. After which, he grabbed Renae's hand and led her away.

Meanwhile, Kaiden had just arrived at the school and witnessed the scene. Now that he thought about it, he was spending a lot less time with Renae lately. In fact, was she avoiding him? These thoughts made his mood deteriorate by a lot. Walking into school, he gave off such a dark aura that whoever he walked by's hair would stand up in terror.

Walking past Renae and Matthew's classroom brought his mood down even more. The students around him couldn't help hope that he wouldn't punch anyone with his tightly clenched fists.

Right when break began, word started spreading that Matthew was only that rude to Min because he didn't want anyone else to fall in love with Min other than him. The creator of this rumour oso said that that was because Min and Matthew were getting married. These rumours, of course, reached the ears of the four of them.

Hearing this, Cathy laughed. Who would be so ridiculously stupid to believe this? If someone truly loved someone, they wouldn't embarrass them and make them stupid for the sake of keeping them to themself. To her, it honestly made no sense.

She decided to ask Kaiden to go over to their classroom since they weren't leaving and were just hanging around. He agreed and reached there within a few minutes.

"Hello! Have ya'll heard the rumours? It cracks me up, seriously," Cathy said with a cheeky smile. "Yep, word sure travels fast," Renae responded, Matthew sat next to her with a frustrated look on his face. "What rumour?" Kaiden cluelessly asked. Cathy quickly explained it to Kaiden.

The first thought that popped up in his mind was that if Matthew and Min got married, then he and Renae could have a much bigger chance at getting together. At first, he felt a little excited, but that excitement soon died down when he remembered how horrible a person Min was. Matthew was his bro, he wouldn't want him to have to suffer Min's wrath while he happily relaxed in Renae's cuteness.

Soon enough, a bunch of girls came up to Matthew. They all asked the same question, "Are the rumours true?" At first, Matthew just ignored them, but when the amount of people crowding around them started to increase, he couldn't stand it anymore. He blurted, "No, the fact that I have feelings for Min isn't the least bit true. In fact, it might be the opposite of that. The marriage is an arranged marriage planned by our parents and I completely want out of it. There, questions answered, now please leave me and my friends alone."

His answer made all the students' thoughts about Min take a negative turn. Creating hype which had so many loopholes and could so easily be put down, was she stupid?

After school that day, Matthew fetches Renae home before rushing home.

"I'm home," Matthew said as the butler closed the door for him. "Matt! Min and Auntie Tiana are here already, this time Uncle Johnson is with them too. Come join us in the living room," Auntie Ann said in a welcoming tone. He nodded, went up to his room to put down his bag and take off his blazer before running back down to the living room.

"Auntie Tiana, Uncle Johnson, hello." He respectfully did a 90 degree bow before taking a seat next to his parents.

"So I heard from Matthew that your daughter, Min, bought a car and hired people to trail after Matt and his friend. After which, they edited the pictures taken to and posted up fake news about Matt's friend. I also heard that Min physically bullied Matt's friend very badly after some digging. I... I really can't believe that this is true, but Matt has proof, and I can't deny the fact that it is true," Auntie Ann explained the reason for their gathering that day.

Auntie Tiana pretended to act shock while Uncle Johnson was truly shocked. He thought his daughter was an angel, but what did he know? He travelled a lot and hardly spent any time with his family, how would he know anything about his daughter?

"Min...?" Uncle Johnson asked, his eyes wider than the height of the empire state building. "And if Min doesn't provide a valid explanation, then this marriage will be called off," Matthew added, his piercing gaze scared Min shizless (PS not a real word).

Min was so terrified she was on the verge of just running out the front door. Her mind was a mess and she definitely had no valid reason for her doings, but she still wanted to try anyways. Using her panicked feelings, she faked a sob and replied with an innocent look, "I... I just love Matthew very much, so much that I was just getting... jealous when I saw him with his friend. I did all of this because I was blinded by love. Please, forgive me."

Auntie Ann and Uncle Jeffery shook their heads. Matthew was amused by what this girl had said. He scoffed, "And that gives you the right to physically hurt a girl, bash her on social media, and then post up fake news about her? If the girl wasn't strong, she might even be thinking about suicide right about now! Your suspension ended today, yet did you say sorry to her? NO! So tell me, are you really all that sorry? I'm sorry, but mum, dad, I don't want to have to marry a girl like her and live the rest of my live in hell."

After Matthew finished his sentence, he felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Min was stunned. Sure, Matthew had always given her the cold shoulder, but never did he ever say such things to her in her face. "Min... You... you did all of this?" Uncle Johnson was so shook, he struggled to keep his mouth close. Min looked away without replying.

"Okay then, it's official. This arranged marriage has been cancelled. I'm very sorry, Johnson. I can't have my son marry your daughter. In exchange, I'll do anything else to repay you," Uncle Jeffery said to Uncle Johnson. "No, I understand. It seems I've been so caught up in work that I forgot to discipline my daughter."

After he finished his sentence, he ushered Auntie Tiana and Min out and they left.

Upon reaching home, Min hung her head low. She didn't dare to look at her parents in the face. After that, who would? "Min! It's time for you to be punished. How could you be this out of control? To bully a girl to that extent, just grounding you won't do any good," Uncle Johnson scolded.

Min looked up at him and her facial features changed as she got ready to refute. Seeing this, Uncle Johnson's eyes turned red with fury. Before Min could say anything, he lifted up his hand and landed a slap on her face. "If you've been like that for the past few years, then you deserved that slap. I'm cancelling all of my business trips for the next few months," he said.