Transmigrated: I Became My Nemesis's Woman
Chapter 189: You lied to us
Polly shot Nora one last uncertain look before hurrying after Felix.
The moment she disappeared, an uncomfortable silence settled over the table.
Olivia remained where she was, her arms crossed, her eyes fixed on Nora with a mixture of disbelief and anger.
"Nora," she said slowly, "is what Felix said true?"
Her voice was calm, but the tension behind it was unmistakable.
Olivia knew Felix well enough to understand that he wasn’t the type to fabricate something so serious. More importantly, his family had close ties with the Emersons. If he had publicly claimed Aaron was single, then he had likely heard it from a reliable source.
Nora’s heart pounded.
"H-He was lying," she stammered, avoiding Olivia’s gaze. "He’s just trying to humiliate me."
Olivia didn’t look convinced.
"If that’s the case," she replied evenly, "then call Aaron and prove him wrong."
Nora froze.
"What?"
"Call your boyfriend."
Olivia’s expression remained unreadable.
"Put him on speaker so we can all hear him."
Nora swallowed hard.
"Oli... are you seriously doubting me? We’ve been friends for years."
"I’m not doubting you," Olivia answered. "I’m giving you the chance to clear everything up."
Nora forced a laugh that sounded painfully unnatural.
"He’s probably working."
"Then he’ll answer when he has a minute."
The confidence in Olivia’s voice only made Nora more anxious.
She had never imagined that a casual afternoon with friends would turn into a nightmare.
Her palms became damp as she slowly reached into her handbag and pulled out her phone.
Taking a shaky breath, she dialed Aaron’s number.
"Speaker," Olivia reminded her.
Nora hesitated.
"I said... speaker."
With trembling fingers, Nora switched on the speaker mode.
The ringtone echoed through the tense silence.
Once...
Twice...
Three times...
No answer.
The call disconnected automatically.
Nora immediately tried again.
This time, the call ended almost instantly.
Her face drained of color.
"He... he must be busy," she said quickly. "You know how occupied he is."
Olivia let out a cold laugh.
"Or..."
She looked directly into Nora’s eyes.
"...he blocked your number."
The words struck Nora like a slap.
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
"N-No..."
Olivia stepped closer.
"Call him again."
"I said he’s busy!"
"Then prove it."
Nora couldn’t.
The silence that followed said everything.
Just then, hurried footsteps approached.
"What happened?"
Polly returned, slightly out of breath, having failed to catch Felix.
She looked between the two women before noticing Nora’s pale face.
Olivia turned toward her.
"Felix wasn’t lying."
Polly frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"He told us Aaron is single."
"And Nora can’t get Aaron to answer her calls."
Polly’s eyes widened.
She looked at Nora in confusion.
"Nora... tell me she’s wrong."
Nora desperately shook her head.
"It’s not what you think."
"Then explain it."
"I..."
She searched for an excuse, but none came.
Polly slowly took a step back.
"So... you lied?"
"No!"
"You said Aaron is your boyfriend and that his family is looking forward of getting you two married."
Each accusation landed harder than the last.
"I..." Nora whispered helplessly.
"I was going to tell you eventually."
Olivia’s patience finally snapped.
"Eventually?"
Her voice rose enough to draw the attention of nearby customers.
"You let us defend you!"
"You made us believe everyone else was jealous of your relationship!"
"And all this time..."
"...you were lying to our faces."
Nora felt tears gathering in her eyes.
"I didn’t mean for it to get this far."
"Then why didn’t you stop?"
Olivia finally lost her composure.
She had trusted Nora without question for years, defending her whenever anyone spoke against her.
But now, one lie after another was being exposed.
She took a slow step back, trying to process everything.
Polly stood frozen beside her, her face turning pale as another realization hit her.
"Then..." she whispered, "does that mean Ivy was telling the truth that day at the get-together?"
The memory resurfaced vividly.
Even after a witness had tried to explain what had really happened, they had refused to listen. Instead, they had blindly believed Nora and turned against Ivy, mocking and humiliating her at every opportunity.
The guilt settled heavily in Polly’s chest.
"All this time..." she murmured, "Ivy was telling the truth."
Olivia slowly turned back to Nora.
Her expression had become frighteningly calm.
"So everything you told us about Ivy..." she asked quietly, "...was a lie too?"
Nora lowered her head without answering.
Olivia took another step closer.
"I’m talking to you, Nora."
Still, there was no response.
Unable to control herself any longer, Olivia grabbed Nora by both shoulders.
"Answer me!"
Her voice echoed through the bar.
"Were you lying about Ivy from the very beginning?"
Nora’s breathing grew uneven.
She looked at the two women who had stood by her side for years.
The admiration in their eyes was gone.
In its place was disappointment.
She realized there was no point pretending anymore.
The image she had carefully built over the years had already crumbled.
Slowly, she pulled Olivia’s hands off her shoulders.
When she looked up again, there were tears in her eyes—but there was also a strange sense of relief.
"Yes," she admitted.
Her voice was quiet but steady.
"I lied."
Polly instinctively took a step back.
Nora let out a bitter laugh.
"I lied to both of you."
The confession hung heavily in the air.
"I lied about Aaron."
"I lied about Ivy."
"I lied about almost everything."
Olivia stared at her in disbelief.
"...Why?"
Nora closed her eyes.
"Because I was jealous."
The words stunned them.
"I was jealous of Ivy from the moment she transferred into our class."
"She was prettier than me."
"People liked her."
"Teachers praised her."
"And no matter how hard I tried..."
"...I always felt invisible standing next to her."
Polly’s lips parted in shock.
"So you ruined her reputation?"
"I only wanted people to stop comparing me to her," Nora replied, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"At first, they were just small lies."
"I thought they wouldn’t hurt anyone."
"But every time someone believed me..."
"...it became easier to tell another."
Olivia shook her head in disbelief.
"You let us bully an innocent girl."
Nora couldn’t meet her eyes.
"Yes."
"You watched us insult her..."
"Yes."
"You watched everyone isolate her..."
"...Yes."
Each answer felt like another knife twisting into Olivia’s heart.
She had always believed she was standing up for her friend.
Now she realized she had spent years hurting someone who had done nothing wrong.
Polly covered her mouth, tears filling her own eyes.
"I can’t believe we did that to Ivy..."
Her voice cracked with guilt.
"We never even gave her a chance to explain."
Olivia looked at Nora one last time.
"I defended you."
"I fought with people for you."
"I even pushed Ivy away because I thought she was the problem."
She shook her head slowly.
"And all this time..."
"...the problem was you."
Nora lowered her head, silently listening as Olivia and Polly confronted her.
For a few seconds, neither woman said another word.
Then Nora slowly looked up.
A cold smile spread across her face.
"Yes," she admitted. "I lied."
She let out a mocking laugh.
"And the funniest part is... you two were stupid enough to believe every single word."
Her voice carried no guilt.
No regret.
Instead, it was filled with contempt.
It was as though betraying the two people who had trusted her the most didn’t matter in the slightest.
Olivia’s jaw tightened.
Something inside her finally snapped.
Without another word, she raised her hand.
Smack!
The sharp slap echoed throughout the bar.
Nora staggered sideways, nearly losing her balance before collapsing onto one knee.
She pressed a trembling hand against her burning cheek, her eyes slowly lifting toward Olivia.
The warmth and innocence she had always pretended to possess had vanished completely.
Only hatred remained.
Olivia glared at her.
"That," she said through gritted teeth, "was for lying to us."
Polly immediately grabbed Olivia’s wrist.
"Come on."
Her voice shook with disappointment.
"She’s not worth it."
Olivia took one last look at Nora before nodding.
"Let’s go."
The two women turned toward the exit.
Before they could take more than a few steps—
Nora shot to her feet.
"You think you can just walk away?"
She lunged forward and grabbed a fistful of Olivia’s hair, yanking her backward with all her strength.
"Ah!"
Olivia cried out as she stumbled.
"Nora!"
"You bitch!" Nora screamed, completely losing control. "Who gave you the right to slap me?"
The gentle, soft-spoken image she had carefully maintained for years shattered in an instant.
The woman standing before them now was consumed by rage.
Polly rushed forward.
"Nora, let her go!"
Instead of listening, Nora tightened her grip.
Olivia winced before instinctively grabbing Nora’s wrist, trying to pry it away.
"Let go of me!"
"You hit me first!"
"And you deserved it!"
Within seconds, the argument escalated.
Olivia shoved Nora.
Nora shoved her back.
The two women crashed into a nearby table, sending glasses and bottles crashing onto the floor.
Crash!
Customers jumped out of the way.
Someone screamed.
A bartender hurried over.
"Stop! Both of you!"
But neither woman was listening anymore.
Polly desperately wedged herself between them.
"Enough! Stop fighting!"
Instead, Nora accidentally shoved Polly aside.
Polly stumbled into another table.
"Seriously?" she exclaimed.
Frustration finally got the better of her.
She grabbed Nora’s arm.
"If you won’t stop, then I’ll make you!"
The next moment, all three women were struggling with one another in the middle of the bar.
Chairs scraped across the floor.
Glasses shattered.
Customers quickly backed away, forming a circle around the chaos.
Several people had already taken out their phones.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Are they filming something?"
"No, I think it’s real."
At another table across the room, Nate looked up from his drink.
"What the..."
He nudged the man beside him.
"Kevin."
Kevin glanced up lazily.
"What?"
Nate pointed toward the commotion.
"Dude... I think those girls are actually fighting."
Amused, Nate immediately pulled out his phone.
"This is going viral."
He zoomed in to get a better look.
His grin slowly faded.
"...Wait."
Kevin frowned.
"What is it?"
Nate lowered the phone slightly.
"That’s Nora... and I think the other two are Olivia and Polly."
Kevin finally looked toward the center of the bar.
His expression remained indifferent.
There wasn’t even a trace of sympathy in his eyes.
After everything Nora had done to Ivy, this outcome didn’t surprise him in the slightest.
He stood up and adjusted his jacket.
"Let’s go."
Nate blinked.
"You’re not going to watch?"
Kevin glanced at the three women one last time before turning toward the exit.
"They made their choices."
"They can deal with the consequences."
Without another word, he walked away, leaving the chaos behind as the shouting inside the bar continued.