Chapter 130 - She Lied

{The Late Afternoon when Allen left after talking with Lily} 

"I thought of it as well. But the only problem is that she isn't in contact with anyone except Harrison. Also, she doesn't usually leave her house as her appearance has only been once a week or maybe once a month," she said. 

"How do you know all this?" I asked her.

"Well her father and mine are somewhat close. Or used to be. So, I have met her a couple of times and no more than that. That's when I came to know that she doesn't leave her house," she said. 

It's been far too long and after all this time I only know a handful of information so, "Mind telling me in detail?"

"Well…" she seemed to be disputing whether to tell me or not. 

"I would like to know the smallest of details about her. Just as an assurance," I said. 

"... Fine but you can't tell this to anyone," she said. 

"I won't," I instantly replied. 

"Right… so it was around the time when I was 10 years old," she said. I noticed her breathing getting bigger. 

"10? What happened that time?" I asked. 

"That girl and I used to be close, our father used to meet so we decided to go on a small picnic," she said.

"Picnic?" 

"What? Didn't you go somewhere fun with your friends when you were in middle school or in elementary?" she asked me. 

"... I for one went to a park… alone… so is it considered a picnic?" I asked her now. 

"Allen you- don't tell me you haven't gone somewhere with your friends to play also…" she seems appalled. 

"I shall give you all of my personal details later on, okay? So why don't we focus on 'your' story for the time being?" I said. 

"Ah. Yes. Where was I-" 

"Picnic," I said. 

Gosh, how long is it going to take now? I have already gone through the thing with Peter not too long ago, and now this… 

"Yes! My father couldn't come so it was me, her, her father, my brother, my personal servant or you can say a bodyguard, and someone special to me and my brother," she said.

Just say- 'A total of 5.' I don't want to know who was and who wasn't there. 

"Then what happened?" still I asked. 

"... Well it started with a pleasant picnic but soon turned into something that I still can't cope my feelings with. Also…" her voice felt heavier or the entire atmosphere felt weird all of a sudden. 

"Also…?" 

"That was the day her father died due to… an unforeseen incident. And ever since that she couldn't leave her house or maybe her room… or she didn't want to leave that is," she said and I noticed watery eyes. 

"Still I don't understand why would she then come to school? And of all days, she decided to come that day only? I asked. 

"I… wasn't the only friend she used to have. The School President, Harvey was also somewhat close to her. Maybe he asked her to come to school…" 

"Now that we are on this topic," I raised a question, "The Student Council doesn't seem to be taking any kind of interest in you, right?"

"H-Huh? Why would you say th-that…?" she seemed a bit taken aback. 

"Well you are one of the few influential people in the school so it's possible for them to use your popularity to get me in the corner," I said. 

"N-No, nothing like that," she said. 

"But of all people Him, huh? That doesn't look good. If he is there then it's going to get difficult," I remarked. 

"Why?" she asked me. 

"Well if he arranged all this even before I got the gist of this then he isn't that dumb. He is extremely quick-witted so he must have used that girl's vulnerability and used it," I said. 

"Why would… she let herself get used by… him then?" she asked me. 

"Why wouldn't she? You didn't get in contact with her ever since she shut herself up, right?" I asked. 

"Y-Yeah… although I regret it ever since," she said. 

"You didn't get in touch with her and possibly her rest of other friends also didn't. If I am right then it's possible that Harvey took the first step and gained her trust and possibly someone she thought of him as someone she could lean on other than her mother," I said, "You can't easily express yourself with your parents so it's most likely that the one closes to her was Harvey. And depending on the situation she didn't want to burden her mother even more." 

"... If you put it like that… it makes sense but I don't think Harvey is that kind of person," she said. 

"What kind of person?" I asked her. 

"Who uses someone for his own benefits," she seemed confident in that. 

"How do you know all this?" 

"Well…" she was conflicted about whether to tell me or not. 

"Lily, you know that if you can't be honest with me I can't comply with you any further," I said without giving any second thought. 

No matter the benefit, it wouldn't matter if I were to be backstabbed in the end. 

"... I have been in touch…" she said as if she was covering something. 

And apparently, my doubts about her turned out to be true. 

"..." 

"Allen, at least say something…" Lily said with her eyebrows bent downwards. 

Alright now, how shall we deal with this? This isn't what I had expected, this development might take some time to solve. 

"Lily," I said in a very low voice.

"Y-Yes…" she seemed a bit shaken. Well, that's a given she hid the most important thing from me. 

It's just like infiltrating the enemy grounds in the name of a helper and then throwing a bomb at the headquarters and asking if they aren't hurt or not.

"Mind if I leave now…?" I said. 

"W-Wha- No-" 

"It was a rhetorical question. But never mind that. I will be leaving now and before I leave I think it's better to say this now off," I said. 

"W-What…?"

"Never approach me," I said, "I don't care what you do but please mind your distance from me. And about That Girl, forget about it. I am better off alone than working with someone who is already colluding with the enemy. 

"W-Wa- No- Tha-" she wasn't just in conflict but she was jeopardized. 

I don't care who she talks with. I just want to exploit that guilt that she has been carrying all this time. The more I hit that exact mark the more it will hurt.

"Lily you know I was pretty sure you would be on my side after all that happened. Meeting with my mother and with all the talking… but I guess I was just disillusioning myself all this time," I said. 

"N-No! That's not true…!" she exclaimed. 

"Let's see… What should I say? You clearly know who I am going against. You extended your hand to help me, I even felt bad to doubt you and I still did but not now," I said. 

"..." 

"You didn't even consider telling me that you have been in contact with the one man that tried to expel me not too long ago. If our conversation wouldn't have gotten this far would you have considered, ever thought of telling me that…?" I poured salt on her open wounds. 

"N-No I didn't tell him anything," she said. 

"I am sorry for saying all this but after knowing all this I don't feel like talking with you any longer…" I said. 

"Allen! I am sorry! I am telling the truth…! I haven't told him anything about our meetings. It's just that I was meeting with a friend. I have known him for a long time but after what he did to you that day I have been constantly trying to change his mind about all this…" she said. 

"... Really? You have just been trying to change his mind…?" I said. 

"Yes. Nothing else," she said. 

"... You have made this difficult for me Lily," I said, "What should I do now…? You aren't being honest with me and now of all times, you tell me this. How am I supposed to trust you back again, huh? Who knows you have been hiding another lie that I don't know off…" 

"... H-How about I do something to prove that I'm not colluding with the Student Council or the President?" she said.

"What are you proposing?" I asked. 

"I will spy on how the President meets with our Secret Video maker and that way we can formulate a plan," she said. 

I guess the trick worked pretty well. 

Luring her right where I wanted. Acting innocent and making a face that had just been wronged was a nice strategy. 

"... If you could do that then I might think about changing my mind…" I said half-heartedly. I don't want my lie to get caught. 

"Don't worry about that yet. I will make sure you change your mind…!" her eyes lightened up. 

TO BE CONTINUED… 

{The Timeline Will Continue in the Next Chapter as well.}