Patrick got along with everyone, and in less than half an hour, he knew what Alaricka had done.

He frowned, disgust in his eyes, and his lips were pressed together. Alaricka did this, which just put Rose in a really bad spot. He didn’t even have to think much to know how those people talked about Rose behind her back. Besides, Rose was still the favorite to win the Mcintosh Piano Competition. All these contestants were super proud, so how could they really respect Rose? There would always be someone with a different agenda.

Roschelle saw it and asked him with a light laugh, “What’s wrong? Who made you mad again?”

Patrick said in a serious voice, “You just focus on getting ready for the game. You don’t need to worry about anything else. Kieran and I will handle it.”

Roschelle said softly, “Did something happen?”

Patrick was silent for a moment, and a dark light flashed in his eyes.

“Nothing.” He said, “I was just thinking, if Alarieka had even a tenth of your kindness, she wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

Roschelle pressed her lips together and said gently, “Alaricka was still young and would grow up.”

Patrick shook his head and didn’t answer. What he was thinking was, at Alaricka’s age, Rose already had the title of piano prodigy, got a spot to study abroad, and was really popular. No matter if it was men, women, old folks, or kids, everyone who met her liked her.

Looking back at Alarieka, she had a bad reputation, a bad temper, bad relationships, and bad character. Everywhere, she was no match for Rose, but still always went against Rose.

Patrick rubbed his fingers, and the impatience and irritation between his brows became even more obvious. Alarieka kept bothering Rose, so I had to figure out a way to solve it for good. I couldn’t let any trouble stay behind, and I couldn’t let Rose get hurt again.

Roschelle was always thoughtful and cared a lot about her reputation with others. Of course, she also heard about what just happened and what Alarieka did. She was of course angry, but there was nothing she could do. It was already good that the surveillance footage didn’t show her pulling Alarieka into the water, but what Alarieka did really put her on the spot.

In this kind of situation, even if you tried to explain, it would just make things worse. She couldn’t speak or do anything. Then we just had to let Patrick do it. Patrick was her most loyal dog, willing to do anything for her. Before she met Kieran, she really did think about staying with Patrick for good. But after she met Kieran, Patrick, who had always been shining, actually lost his light, and all she could see and think about was just Kieran. But even if she decided to be with Kieran, she still didn’t want to let go of Patrick. She was a thoughtful person. Even though she liked Kieran, she didn’t want to make Kieran her only choice. Patrick was the backup she picked for herself. Patrick could only follow behind her, could only watch her, be her backup for life, and do the things she didn’t want to do or couldn’t do.

So, Roschelle turned her head, faced away from Patrick, raised her hand, and wiped the tears from the corner of her eye. She said softly, “I just… just felt a little sad.”

The grievance and sob in Roschelle’s voice weren’t obvious, but Patrick heard them clearly, and his heart suddenly tightened. Patrick felt a dull ache and heartache in his eyes: “Rose.”

Roschelle sniffed, her voice trembling a little, “Patrick, you go out first, I want to be alone for a while.”

Patrick frowned even more. He couldn’t help but get closer to Roschelle, reached out a hand, wanted to touch Roschelle’s hair, but his hand stopped in midair, slowly curled his fingers, and pulled it back little by little.

Before Patrick left, he said in a serious tone, “Rose, just get ready for the game. I’ve got everything covered.”

Roschelle turned her back to Patrick and nodded lightly, “I trust you.”

The door of the room was closed. Roschelle wiped away her tears, and a meaningful smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

That night, Alarieka heard a few people yelling outside, making a lot of noise, so it was impossible to calm down. Alarieka got annoyed by the noise, dropped her pen, and walked out the door. There were already a lot of contestants and hotel staff gathered outside her door, blocking Alarieka in front of her, with their backs to her.