"Ryan and Claire are so lucky to have a guy like Ethan."
"The real blessing is yet to come. Ethan is such a good man!"
Their words sounded like compliments, but their smirks told me otherwise.
Looking back now, all the signs had been there. I had just been too blind to see them.
One of them started speaking French right in front of me:
"That guy is wearing the biggest green hat I’ve ever seen. You guys are terrible—bullying such an honest man."
"Blame him for being dumb, and Ryan and Claire for being too smart."
"Aren’t you afraid Ethan might understand you?"
Ryan suddenly burst into laughter, making no effort to hide the mockery.
"He never even went to college. You think he understands French? Relax—he’s just some bumpkin. Claire only sticks with him because he’s obedient."
"Come on, he cooks, does laundry, and brings in money—who wouldn’t want a lapdog like that?"
Everyone roared with laughter.
My fists clenched so hard my knuckles turned white.
They thought I didn’t understand, thought I was uneducated.
Little did they know, I had already finished my studies abroad and was simply waiting for graduation day.
They kept laughing, not even bothering to pretend I wasn’t there.