Chapter 23 Forced Apology


    Addy was infuriated when he opened the door. The smug smile on Kole''s face made him even angrier.


    He pointed at him and shouted, "Kole, have you gone bonkers? I heard what Amaia just said. So what?


    How does her rtionship with Horace concern me? Don''t be unfortunate tonight!"


    Addy walked into the room and stood in front of everyone. He looked like the shadow of himself. He


    was haggard and his usual frivolous expression was nowhere to be found.


    The woes he was currently facing were wearing him out. His whole life had changed dramatically in


    less than forty-eight hours.


    However, things were not over for his family. His father''s previous fortune was self-made. As a result,


    he still had the zeal to start afresh. They were in great debt, but his father had a glimmer of hope that


    he would rise again. Addy saw his father''s efforts, so he didn''t lose all hope in life.


    The most remarkable thing about Addy was that he had learned his lesson. Now he greatly respected


    and admired Horace. His family''spany had gone bankrupt within ten minutes, so he reasoned that


    Horace must be powerful like the top three business tycoons in Rinas.


    It never urred to Addy that Horace, who was the poorest in their ss, would turn out to have such


    a great identity.


    ''I still can''t believe that a trust-fund baby like Horace could pretend to be poor,'' Addy thought to himself.


    With aplicated expression, he looked at Horace and sighed.


    Addy was supposed to have inveterate hatred towards Horace since he had made his family go


    bankrupt. However, he didn''t dare to harbor any hatred because he knew that he wasn''t a match for


    him. His father had given him an earful yesterday. This proved that Horace was the son of a powerful


    and affluent family in a provincial capital.


    Addy was surprised that Horace was keen on acting like a poor man until now. He felt distressed when


    he thought about all that transpired yesterday.


    His father''s lecture made him have his head screwed on right. Now he knew that it was better to be on


    good terms with Horace even if they didn''t be good friends. Being in his good books was better


    than being cklisted.


    Addy would be ying with fire if he attempted to offend Horace again.


    Kole was thrown off bnce when he heard Addy''s angry words. With utter disbelief, he looked at him


    and thought to himself, ''Is this the Addy that I know? Does this mean his rtionship with Amaia was a


    false rumor? But even so, this is not how Addy would normally react to things like this. He would have


    seized the opportunity to oppress Horace! What''s wrong with him today?''


    Kole was very confused, but he didn''t dare to retort or ask any questions. Addy was revered by all his


    ssmates, so he was afraid of offending him.


    Like a docile follower, Kole said obsequiously, "Addy, I''m sorry. I take full responsibility for my actions. I


    shouldn''t have spoken without thinking."


    The frightened look on Kole''s face made Horace sigh. ''Kole and Addy are douchebags. However,


    sometimes a douchebag needs to be set straight by his counterpart. Addy is revered by my former high


    school ssmates, so none of them would dare to stand up to him. Their opinion about him won''t


    change even though his family is now bankrupt. Talk about a longsting impression! Leaving such an


    impression seems to be a good thing. Maybe I should be more stone-hearted.''


    Addy didn''t ept Kole''s apology. He snorted with disdain and said, "It''s useless to apologize to me.


    You should be apologizing to Horace. Do that now!"


    Addy wanted to address Horace as Mr. Warren. But on second thoughts, he decided that it was


    improper since Horace was still pretending to be a poor man. He would be doomed if he exposed


    Horace''s true identity.


    "What?" Kole''s shock quadrupled when he heard Addy''smand. He looked at him in disbelief.


    ''What''s wrong with Addy today? Didn''t he despise Horace the most when we were in high school? Why


    is he asking me to apologize to someone he once bullied? Is he nning to humiliate Horace in a new


    way today?


    Is this a trick? Forget it, Kole. Just apologize first!'' Kole sighed and tried to swallow his pride. But when


    he looked at Horace, he couldn''t get a word out of his mouth.


    The young man in front of him was the sore loser in their ss before. Kole had bullied him countlessly,


    so it was difficult for him to apologize to him.


    Noticing that Kole was hesitant, Addy said authoritatively, "We all need to be united as former


    ssmates. There should be no division between us. It''s wrong to spread false rumors. They always


    affect the parties involved. Kole, you are out of line. You have the chance to apologize to Horace. Do


    you think my judgment is unfair?"


    Kole shook his head subconsciously.


    The other students present looked at Addy in astonishment at this instant. This wasn''t the Addy that


    they knew. They wondered why he was behaving weird today. After a while, they all thought, ''Does he


    have a n to humiliate Horace in another way?''


    Rhett thought the same as the others.


    With this thought in mind, a ssmate echoed, "Yes, Addy. You are right. We all need to unite. United


    we stand, divided we fall. Kole, it is time for you to take responsibility for your actions. Apologize now!"


    The other students supported the notion. "Kole, it''s rather shameful that you spread such a rumor. You


    didn''t do well. Say sorry to Horace!"


    Like devilish plotters, Horace''s ssmates were dying to see Addy''s n as they urged Kole.


    Rumors were indeed disruptive. The false kind always wreaked havoc on the involved parties. Kole


    epted this and was filled with regret. Anxiety set in as all his former ssmates gave him the


    thumbs down. Had he known such a thing would happen, he wouldn''t have stood out. Now he was


    made the scapegoat for everyone.


    Kole was displeased that the other students turned their backs on him, but he couldn''t afford to offend


    Addy. Neither could he afford to go against so many people.


    Finally, he looked at Horace helplessly and muttered quickly, "I''m sorry!"


    "Kole, is that what you call an apology? You sound like a mosquito! How could anyone hear you since


    you spoke in such a low voice? That''s not the way to apologize. Besides, who exactly are you


    apologizing to? How are we supposed to know who owns that apology? Be a man and apologize the


    right way. Don''t tell me that you don''t know how to seek someone''s forgiveness at this age." Addy didn''t


    hesitate to chastise Kole after thetter whispered.


    "Yes, yes. Kole, are you out of your mind? How could you apologize like that? If you were in Horace''s


    shoes, would you ept that silly apology? Apologize to him with a good attitude now!" Some of the


    students championed Addy''s cause. They couldn''t wait to see his secret n unfold.


    In the face of this unforeseen humiliation, Kole''s heart broke. ''I don''t get what''s happening. Addy, are


    you setting a trap for Horace or just humiliating me? If you truly didn''t hear my voice, how did you know


    that I was apologizing? More so, I shouldn''t be the only one apologizing. You have done worse than


    me. When you get ridiculed in the future, I will make fun of you!''


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    Kole didn''t have the effrontery to air his grievance. He couldn''t risk saying anything against Addy since


    it would only make matters worse. After taking a deep breath, he looked up at Horace and shouted,


    "Horace, I''m sorry. Please forgive me for the bad words I said to you!"


    "Good, that''s more like it!" Addy nodded with satisfaction.