Chapter 55 Who's Lying, Marco or William?

Elena Garcia POV:

I was caught off guard. Marco showing up was the last thing I expected. It wasn't until he called my name and explained why he was here that I remembered he had mentioned something about a gift for my enrollment.

I thought it was just a polite gesture or something he'd do after I started school since he said he was super busy lately.

But here he was, right in front of me.

Looked like he rushed to get the gift to me before my enrollment.

Blushing, I pulled away from William. I felt a bit shy because someone saw me kissing him.

And it was even more awkward because that someone was Marco, who had shown interest in me before.

"Thanks for the gift. I guess you're still busy," I said softly.

I walked closer to Marco and reached out to take the gift from his hand.

I tried to smooth over the awkwardness in my heart and ignore Marco's unease. When he saw us, the gift box in his hand had fallen to the ground, which I took as a bad sign.

"You're not late; my enrollment hasn't started yet. Today is a party for Sofia. Did you see her when you came in? And Albert, he's also at the party," I replied.

"Yeah, I saw him. It was Albert who told me you were here," Marco said.

Marco held the gift box tightly, and I couldn't take it from him at first.

He leaned in close to me and sighed softly in my ear. "You know that's not what I meant, Elena. You're trying to distract me. I am still late."

Marco's tone was very somber. "Albert just told me that you and William seemed to have had a disagreement. It might be a bit unseemly, but my first thought was that this might be a good opportunity. Because Albert also told me that William has confessed to you on the beach."

Marco was revealing his inner thoughts to me at this moment.

Marco continued, "I felt angry, but I realized I could comfort you as a friend. Whether you had already agreed to him or not, I could take this as an opportunity to warn the guy who hurt you to stay away."

I sensed a hint of danger in his tone, not towards me, but towards the other person standing on the balcony.

His gaze towards me remained gentle. "But when I got here, I understood that I was too late."

He didn't hide his inner thoughts, even if they might be considered dark.

Marco let go of the gift box and tried to touch my cheek with his hand.

I instinctively dodged. I felt uneasy, perhaps because I couldn't respond to Marco, and even after I had rejected him, his emotions were still affected by me.

As he said, he was a greedy person and didn't really believe we would just be friends in the future, which wasn't what I wanted.

I looked at Marco and emphasized the fact that made him sad. "Don't show this side of yourself, Marco. I know you're upset, but I've decided to be with William."

Marco's eyes were filled with sadness as he looked at me without speaking, which gave me a brief sense of relief.

He wasn't angry, nor did he bluntly refute or mock me, which was a good sign for me.

I was worried he might do something drastic, which would strain our relationship.

My thoughts might be naive, but I still unilaterally considered Marco my friend.

I wouldn't want my friend to leave me, no matter what, especially since I had very few friends.

But I soon realized I had relaxed too soon.

Because when Marco looked at the approaching William, his expression was different from when he faced me. His face was cold.

"I think you misunderstood my earlier words, Elena. If you want to choose someone else, even if it breaks my heart, I would hide my emotions well and bless you. Because you are far more important to me than you could have thought," Marco explained.

Marco's speech was slow but clear. The way he looked at William was like a beast ready to pounce and tear out his throat.

"But you shouldn't choose William. He's a liar," Marco remarked.

"Liar? What?" I tilted my head in confusion.

Marco didn't lower his voice, so William, who was walking up to us, heard every word.

William's face went from stunned to furious in a heartbeat.

"Marco, who are you calling a liar?" he snapped.

"Did the night wind mess with your head on the way here? You know nothing about me, how dare you judge me like that?" William shot back.

"Of course, it's you, William McDonald," Marco said, completely unfazed by William's anger. "You're a liar. If you want me to repeat it a few more times, no problem."

I had no idea why Marco was calling William a liar. It felt way too personal and downright rude!

"Marco, why are you saying this?" I asked.

Marco sneered, "You should ask him if, at the welcome home party hosted by the Garcia family, the person who picked you up and took you away when you fell was really him."

William's face turned a bit pale as he looked at me.

"Of course, it was William!" I instinctively defended.

But Marco's confident demeanor made me second-guess myself.

I turned my gaze to William.

William looked hurt. "Elena, do you doubt me? The person who helped you at the party was definitely me. I would never lie to the person I love."

Then he angrily turned to Marco and rushed at him.

When William grabbed Marco's collar, Marco grabbed his in return.

I noticed Marco's other hand was at his waist.

That was dangerous. I realized Marco might be carrying a weapon.

"Stop! Marco, William!" I shouted.

I tried to get between them, and Marco let go.

"You bastard, who the hell are you? You're close with Albert, but I've never seen you in the social circle, and your last name!" William cursed.

Mafia families didn't openly appear in public conversations; they maintained secrecy.

Except for some families who had done business with them, no one knew their movements, and they didn't allow too many people to know, as it would bring danger, especially to the heirs of the family.

"You don't have the right to know my last name, and besides, I think you'll regret it if you do." Marco showed a mocking expression.

I felt confused. I really wanted to believe they were both telling the truth, but that was impossible. One of them had to be lying to me.

I looked at William. He didn't meet my gaze. I wasn't sure if it was because he was disappointed that I didn't trust him.

Marco met my gaze. He didn't seem to be lying either.

He had always been very honest with me in the past, but I wasn't sure if this honesty was temporary.

I fell into difficult contemplation. Who should I believe in?

I asked Marco if he had any evidence to prove that the person who helped me at the party wasn't William.

After hesitating, Marco told me he couldn't prove it.

This was ridiculous. If he doubted William, then he should be the one to provide evidence.

Otherwise, he had no right to question William.

"Marco, don't do this," I urged.

The scales in my heart had already tipped in favor of William.

But I still didn't want to believe Marco would deceive me, so I decided to give him a chance to convince me.

"If you think William wasn't the one who helped me, then do you know who did it?" I asked.

Marco looked at me, gritting his teeth, and then looked at William.

He frowned, as if stumped for words, and then asked me, "If I say I know, I suppose you'll ask me for evidence to prove it, right?"

"You're talking nonsense!" William immediately said.

Seeing that Marco couldn't provide evidence, William sniggered smugly.

I thought it was because he was pleased with his innocence.

"I don't have any evidence," Marco gave a bitter smile. "At such a critical moment, who would have time to leave any evidence?"

I silently looked at Marco. I believed I had already gotten an answer in my heart.