Chapter 18 Is Excellence the Key to Love?

Elena Garcia's POV:

Sofia was pretty adamant about turning William down right in front of me.

That's why I was cool with helping her reject him.

But then she went and kissed him in the garden, and I was like, what the heck? Maybe she realized she actually liked him after all.

This was the only explanation for why she kissed him.

Even though it was super awkward, I tried to see the bright side.

When Sofia left, she didn't even say goodbye or look at me. Maybe she was just shy?

I went over to say hi to William.

He seemed kinda out of it, like he was still thinking about Sofia.

I remembered telling him on social media that Sofia wasn't into him.

Everything changed so fast, it felt unreal.

I had to admit, my feelings were all over the place and a bit bitter, but I wanted to give them my best wishes.

"William, are you dating Sofia?" I asked, half-joking.

I thought he might blush and say yes, and then I could give them my blessings.

Then I could pretend to complain about how Sofia had asked me to turn him down before.

Love always needs a few bumps to show the real feelings, just like in TV shows.

You only know if you really like someone when you let them go.

But William's silence gave me a bad vibe. His look was complicated, and his face was almost blank.

He seemed kinda scary like that.

It also gave me a bad feeling. "William, what's up?"

"No, nothing. Sofia and I aren't dating."

I looked at him, shocked, then quickly looked down to avoid hurting him with my expression.

Why?

When Sofia kissed him, I thought they had figured out their feelings. Was that kiss just a goodbye?

I shouldn't have asked. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have hurt him again.

I started to regret it. "That's really too bad. I mean, I thought you two were just kissing."

I felt like such an idiot!

I blamed myself for being so clueless, but William cut me off.

He looked right at me. "Elena, do you like me?"

It was a super direct question, and my face went red instantly.

Sofia! Only she had guessed that I liked William. Did she tell him?

This was so embarrassing. William liked my sister, and I had feelings for him.

Did Sofia use me as an excuse when she turned him down?

"No." I almost instinctively denied it.

But I felt William's eyes on me, and maybe he didn't believe me.

I thought William might feel awkward and lose some feelings for me, but luckily, he still treated me the same.

We were still friends.

William told me the kiss was just a misunderstanding, confirming it was a goodbye kiss.

After William left, Sofia refused to see me. I thought maybe she was embarrassed.

I had no way to ask her why she told William I had feelings for him.

I thought I just had a crush, but it wasn't like I wanted him to be my boyfriend.

Sofia's assumption almost cost me a friend.

But I couldn't blame her; she was my family after all.

During these days, I got my interview results.

Boston University's medical program accepted me.

This was awesome news. Robert couldn't stop praising me, saying I was the easiest student he ever taught.

He showered me with compliments, calling me smart and organized. He couldn't say enough good things about me.

His praise made me feel a bit vain. I almost forgot all the manners Vivian taught me as I ran to the dining room with my acceptance letter. I was so eager to get some praise from my parents.

Look! Even though I'd been away from them for so long and grew up in a rough neighborhood, I still turned out great.

It felt like a weird sense of family pride.

At the dining table, James and Isabella were whispering about something.

When I showed up, they frowned. "Elena, where are the manners Vivian taught you? My God, what's wrong with you? Who let you run around the villa like a madwoman?"

"Sorry, Dad, but I wanted to share some good news."

"Enough, just keep your nose clean, and we'll be happy as clams."

Their tone was like a bucket of cold water, leaving me speechless.

Isabella asked, "What do you want to say?"

"It's about the acceptance letter. Boston University's medical program accepted me."

"Just for that?" Isabella glared at me, annoyed.

Even James looked puzzled. "Why are you so excited? It's just passing a college entrance exam. Everyone in the Garcia family can do that. You still need to keep your grades up and become an outstanding graduate."

"I know, I will, but I thought you'd be surprised and proud of me."

"Come on, we haven't even talked to you about the embarrassment you caused at the last Garcia family banquet." Isabella wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Now, calm down. I don't want to have to ask Vivian to teach you manners again. You are a Garcia, so why is Sofia so much more outstanding?

Alright, you should restrain yourself a bit.

Elena, the Garcia family is always stingy with praise unless you can do better. In school, besides studying, I hope you can build your own social circle. I don't want you to be just a bookworm."

Their criticism caught me off guard, and I almost didn't know how to react.

If they had never shown a different side in front of me, I might have thought they were just cold parents.

Compared to living with Andrew, a scumbag of a foster father, even my parents' coldness felt like a blessing. 

But the truth was, they weren't cold at all. They showered Sofia, their adopted daughter, with warmth and affection.

On Sofia's first day back, she didn't follow any etiquette, but Isabella was full of satisfaction with her, and James didn't criticize her.

"Why can't you treat me like you treat Sofia?" I must have been really upset to say that out loud.

I felt like I could hardly breathe.

"That's because you're not good enough." Isabella looked at me. "Elena, don't let yourself become a jealous person."

Why?

I didn't get it.

When I was little, even if I didn't succeed in anything, my foster mother Rosa still loved me. She would even tell me that even if I couldn't stay excellent, I could still be loved by others.

But my parents told me, "If you're not excellent enough, you don't deserve any love."

I clenched my hands into fists and left the place that made me feel so sad.

I needed to find a place to calm down.