Chapter 444 Cyber Bullying
Wrenna did not tell Damian that Stella was her lecturer.
She felt weak if she had to inform him every single detail whenever Stella came into the picture. Moreover, she did not want to be overly dependent on him.
There’s no point in doing this. In fact, it may make Damian pay more attention to Stella. In turn, it will create more opportunities for them to keep in touch.
Therefore, Wrenna decided that it was best to keep the news from Damian. She was resolute not to tell him anything about Stella unless it was completely necessary. As of now, there was no reason for her to do so.
Hence, Wrenna swept everything under the carpet and moved on as if Stella never existed.
Unfortunately, that thought backfired the next day.
Her catfight with Stella was posted all over the school forum.
It appeared that someone was targeting Wrenna.
There was a brief description of the dispute between both ladies during the lecture.
The person who exposed the incident commented that Stella was just advising young girls to live with self-respect and be independent. On the contrary, the same person magnified how Wrenna retorted the lecturer. It claimed that Wrenna was of the opinion that women should rely on men, instead of working hard. The post also implied that Wrenna thought of it that way because of her excellent family background.
Such a post would definitely invite netizens to leave hateful comments even though it did not account to anything serious.
Moreover, Wrenna and Stella were well-known figures in school. Although both of them had totally different personalities and styles, a majority of the students sided with Stella. Times had changed. People now had the impression that it was a disgraceful thing for women to depend on men. Anyone who acted so should be despised.
There was a long list of replies directed to the famous Wrenna.
Wrenna is a rich girl. Who cares about being independent when one has a pocket full of cash? She has nothing to worry about in life even if she’s unemployed.
Oh yes, Ms. Jackson doesn’t give a da*n about this. That’s why she’s brazen enough to refute Ms. Lane. Our poor lecturer… Wrenna is probably laughing behind our backs for regarding Ms. Lane as our idol, isn’t she? Haha!
Once somebody started the ball rolling, the negative comments continued to pour in endlessly.
Subsequently, many chimed in to mock Wrenna.
Though there were a few level-headed people who contributed some rational comments, the unending waves of criticism on the forum drowned their replies almost instantly.
As a result, Wrenna had been blacklisted in school. The incident had gone completely viral, from the forum to all known and unknown group chats, Wrenna became the talk of the town.
Many commented on her ideals, but in actual fact, those disapproving attitudes shown toward her were just sour grapes. This was because Wrenna did not need to secure a job after graduation due to her well-off family background. Unlike her, the other students had to face the harsh reality of job search.
Actually, many girls envied Wrenna though they refused to admit it.
All these comments upset Wrenna terribly.
She was not as strong as she had portrayed herself to be. Deep down, she was quite fragile. Upon reading the post on the school forum, Wrenna went ballistic. She kept replying to the bad comments and refuted the others online. However, she was absolutely outnumbered, and there was not much that she could achieve.
In addition, the netizens could not care less about the truth. Whether Wrenna was what the post had described, the netizens followed the crowd and joined in the fun to jeer at her.
In the end, Wrenna was the victim of cyber bullying.
“What gives? I didn’t do this. How could they say that about me? That’s not what I was implying. I didn’t even say that…” No one listened to her side of the argument.
Back in the dorm, she was so worked up that she cried. Staring at the computer screen, she wanted to stand up for herself so badly, but to no avail. Feeling wronged and aggrieved, Wrenna shut her computer.
The atmosphere in the dorm was thick with uneasiness.
As much as her friends wanted to console her, they knew very well that words meant nothing at this point.
It was hard to make her feel better, especially when it concerned baseless comments on the Internet. The general public did not care about who was right or wrong. They merely followed the trend, chipped in their two cents, and vented their frustrations. Nobody cared if their words had hurt the other party nor weighed the impact of their responses.
“Stop crying, Wren. It doesn’t help even if you bawl your eyes out.” Linda shot Xandra a look, hoping that the latter would say something as she was the only one who could talk sense into Wrenna.
Meanwhile, Dora was busy using her multiple accounts to speak up for Wrenna, but that had little impact on the situation.
Xandra was also skimming through the school forum. Tucking her phone away, she said, “Wren, I contacted a senior to help track the ID of the post. He discovered that it’s from someone who attended the class the other day, specifically from the male dorm. Thus, I suspect it’s the monitor of that class.”
“Stella must have instructed him to do so,” Wrenna concluded as she put the blame on her rival.
Frowning, Dora offered another perspective, “I don’t think so, Wren. It could be that he was seeking justice for Ms. Lane on his own accord. It may not necessarily be an order from Ms. Lane.”
Dora was still very fond of Stella, a woman whom she hoped to become in the future, except for the part where she was labeled as a homewrecker. She felt that there was a possibility Wrenna had wronged Stella.
Upon reading between the lines, Wrenna stared daggers at Dora. She was furious and felt a tad bit betrayed.
“Dora, why are you siding Stella? Don’t you remember what I told you girls? What kind of a woman is she? Why are you on her side? She’s one who schemes. I can tell you now that this is definitely one of her doings. Why don’t you believe me?”
“No, Wren. I was just thinking perhaps the post wasn’t…”
“You still don’t trust me. You think that Stella is right, don’t you? Dora, I’m so disappointed in you.” Wrenna turned her head away as tears streaked her face. Dejected, she felt a sting of unrequited friendship.
Dora wanted to justify herself, but tears welled up her eyes when she saw Wrenna sobbed uncontrollably.
That’s not my intention. I just feel that we have to be objective when approaching this matter. We can’t be so biased as to generalize Stella’s mistakes.
Dora could understand how Wrenna was feeling. However, being two young girls, their tolerance levels were low. Hence, when one party threw a tantrum, the other would follow suit.
Similarly, Dora turned her back at Wrenna too. With that, the tension in the dorm became increasingly unbearable.
Later on, Dora packed her things and left the dorm. She could no longer stand the intense pressure in the room.
Shortly after her departure, Wrenna leaned against Xandra and burst out into tears again.
The emotional turmoil continued until Wrenna returned to Jackdaws Mansion. Deep sorrow was written all over her face.
Worried, Cora asked, “Mrs. Quigley, did something happen? Are you feeling down?”
Wrenna shook her head and slumped on the couch, hanging her head despondently. She hugged the pillow in silence, debating if she should tell Damian about the matter.
Prior to this, I didn’t want to say a word to him. But I’m feeling so awful right now, it’d be nice to talk it out with him. If I do so, will he think that I’m a baby? Since Stella shows up in my life, I’ve been whining a lot and asking him for help.
Coincidentally, Damian was working overtime that night and did not return home.
Disturbed by the quandary she was in, Wrenna did not have her dinner nor take a shower. She just lay in bed, thinking about all sorts of scenarios until she dozed off.
When she woke up the next morning, she ran into Damian downstairs. He was wearing a greyish blue tracksuit, seemingly just finished his workout. Droplets of sweat rolled down from his forehead to his chiseled face. Wrenna was mesmerized by his look, especially when he looked so gorgeous basking in the morning sun.
At that moment, she had forgotten all of her issues from the night before. She just wanted to keep staring at Damian like a fangirl.
“Wren?” Damian wiped the sweat off his forehead and approached her.
He found her expression amusing. “Still sleepy?” He chuckled while patting her head lovingly.
Upon recollecting herself, Wrenna blushed.
“Oh, no, nothing. Did you come home very late last night, Damian?” “Yup, there was something that I needed to attend to. So, I got back quite late. By the way, Cora mentioned to me that you were down in the dumps and didn’t even have dinner. What’s wrong?”
Wrenna hesitated, and then shook her head. “Nothing much. I got upset with my friend at the dorm. I’m planning to have a good chat with her today to clear the air. I should be fine.”
Damian did not suspect anything. He doted on her and said, “Just get it out of your chest and talk it out with your friend. I bet you’ll get along with your friend again soon.” Thereafter, he went upstairs.
Wrenna stood still without saying a word. In her heart, she had decided to deal with the matter herself.
After lunch, she set off to the campus.
As soon as she stepped foot into the dorm, she locked eyes with Dora. Both of them froze for a second. Right when Wrenna was about to utter something the next moment, Dora opened the door and walked out.
Wrenna felt so let down. Immediately, Linda attempted to explain, “She’s gone to a lecture.”
Upon blurting a response, she realized that it was a bad excuse. With that, Linda felt so awkward that she scurried away with her bag.
Xandra was the only one left in the dorm. While she was reading, Wrenna sat down and sighed repeatedly.
“Why are you sighing?” Xandra lifted her head.
Finally, Wrenna had found someone to confide in. “Xandra, I wasn’t in the wrong, right? I didn’t expect Dora to like Stella so much. Yes, she’s someone who makes other girls turn green with envy. But her behavior is appalling! There’s nothing more serious than this.”
Xandra cast a glance at her. “True, but she’s undeniably an expert in her profession. You can dispute that she has her worth and strengths.”
Hearing Xandra’s straightforward remarks, Wrenna felt hurt. Knitting her brows, all of her insecurities and anxiousness crept up on her at once.
