Their Queen's Back - Chapter 63: Chapter 63

Seeing Skye blaming Emily, Lauren quickly stepped forward and handed the Strawberry Bear to Miss Emily. "Miss Emily, that little girl accidentally bumped into you earlier, and her boat capsized. So you're still the champion—this is your prize."
Emily took the Strawberry Bear, fighting back the tears welling in her eyes, and handed it to Skye.
"Here, it's for you."
Skye felt as if her heart had been pierced by a thousand swords. Her eyes welled up as she accepted the Strawberry Bear and pulled Emily into a tight embrace.
"I'm sorry," Skye whispered, her voice trembling. "I really, really love your gift, Emily."
Tears streamed down Emily's face as she began to sob softly. With a pout, she whimpered, "You're so mean! I'm scared of water, but I still won you a prize, and you scolded me! You scolded me!"
As she spoke, her sobs grew even louder.
Skye gently wiped away her tears and whispered, "I'm sorry, it's my fault. Please, give your sister a chance to make it right, okay?"
Emily's sobs gradually subsided as she nestled into Skye's embrace, her little face still rosy from crying.
"I want you to stay with me tonight," Emily seized the opportunity to make her request, clearly remembering that she used to sleep with Sophia every night.
Skye replied gently, "Alright, I'll stay with you tonight."
Emily felt a surge of happiness inside, but she pouted and said, "Now that's more like it."
"Skye! Skye! We meet again!" Claire exclaimed excitedly.
Claire came skipping over excitedly. At first, she wasn't completely sure if it was really Skye, but the moment she spotted Emily, she knew for certain it was her.
"Hello," Skye greeted her.
Claire bounced with excitement. "Skye! You're here too? What a coincidence! When did you get here? What have you tried? Oh, is that a Strawberry Bear? It's so adorable! Did you win it, sis?"
Seeing Claire pop up out of nowhere made Emily fume, especially with her calling Skye "sis" every other word.
"Is Skye even her sister?" Emily grumbled inwardly. "She just throws the term around carelessly. How rude! Doesn't she have her own sister?"
"Claire, what's it got to do with you? We don't want to see you. Just scram!" Emily glared at her furiously.
Claire didn't even glance at Emily; all she cared about was her idol, Skye.
"Skye! There's a dessert stand up ahead! It's scorching hot—we should totally get some shaved ice together! Come on, let's go!"
Emily clenched her fists, absolutely fuming—Claire was actually acting like she didn't even exist!
"Claire, she's my sis, not yours! You can't call her that!" Emily declared.
Emily clung tightly to Skye's arm, as if to stake her claim like a possessive little sister.
Claire snorted disdainfully, eyeing the short-haired shrimp in front of her. "Emily, I'll call her that if I want to! I will! What can you do about it? Skye! Skye!"
"You!" Emily was practically fuming, her face red with fury. "Claire, you're so shameless!"
Claire shot back, "My face, my rules! What's it to you? Skye! Skye! Let's go get some shaved ice together!"
Emily was seeing red, fuming with rage. "We're not eating! Let's go!" she snapped, tugging at Skye's arm to drag her away.
Claire darted over and latched onto Skye's arm. "Skye! Skye! I came here all by myself—I don't have any friends here. Can I play with you guys? Pleeease? Look how cute I am! You wouldn't leave poor little me wandering around all alone, would you? Skye, pleaaase?"
Claire's three friends, who had just gone to get some drinks, exchanged glances. "So... what are we, chopped liver?"
Standing behind them, Lauren could only shake her head helplessly. "This girl really knows how to act cute—it's even getting to me," she thought wryly.
When Emily saw Claire touch Skye, she let out a shriek and lunged over, yanking Claire's hand away.
Emily roared, "Claire! Who gave you the right to touch her? You disgusting brat! Shameless! Get lost! Don't you dare hold her hand! Go! Leave—right now!"
Claire found Emily's angry outburst amusing and reached out to poke her flushed, puffy cheek.
Teasing, she said, "What if I touch you instead?"
"Ah!" Emily shrieked, frantically rubbing her cheeks. "Claire, you disgusting old witch! You old hag! You've ruined my face—now I'm not clean anymore! How dare you touch me? I hate you, I hate you!"
Overwhelmed, Emily threw herself into Skye's arms, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes welling up with tears. "Skye, she poked my face!" she whined, her voice full of grievance.
Skye smiled faintly and gently stroked her cheek. "There, there, it's alright. She's your classmate too—you can't just start yelling at her the moment you see her. Have you forgotten? You even hit her last time."
Emily stayed quiet while Claire smirked smugly, though inside, bitterness gnawed at her. "Emily really is so lucky to have such a wonderful sister," Claire thought, her heart burning with jealousy.
She was absolutely consumed by envy, jealousy, and even a hint of resentment.
Claire thought to herself, "How can I make Skye part of my family?"
Skye said, "Claire, we'll go with you to get some shaved ice. Let's go!"
Emily reluctantly followed Skye, grumbling to herself, "Ugh, Claire is so annoying with that smug look on her face."
Skye noticed that Claire had a truly pleasant personality and temperament. Friends can profoundly shape a person's life—a close friend can bring you lifelong happiness.
Sometimes, a friend may care about you even more than your own family does.
"Yay! Thank you, Skye! You're the best, Skye!"
Emily gritted her teeth in frustration and deliberately positioned herself between them, denying Claire any chance to get close to Skye.
Skye, this is the place! Their shaved ice is amazing!
Claire was listing all the flavors when her three friends suddenly walked over. "Claire, just now you—"
Before they could finish, Claire quickly shushed them and dragged them away. "Skye, hang on a sec! I'll be right back!"
Claire pulled her friends aside, took out some cash from her bag, and said, "Sorry, I can't hang out with you guys today. Here, a thousand dollars each—go have fun on your own, and don't come looking for me. Got it?"
The three friends were still dumbfounded when Claire vanished.
Turning their heads, they saw Claire sprint back into the shaved ice stand, beaming with excitement.
"Skye, let's keep going! Those were just my classmates—what a coincidence running into them here! I just said a quick hello."
Emily called her out, "Wait, you came to the amusement park with them, didn't you?"
Claire immediately retorted, "No way! I came by myself."
They didn't arrive together—everyone came separately in their own cars. So technically, she wasn't lying.
She really did come alone!
Emily scoffed, clearly not buying Claire's story. But the moment she tasted the fruit shaved ice, it hijacked her thoughts. "This is so good!" she thought. "So cold and refreshing!"
"So cold and refreshing!"
Seeing Emily's eyes curved like crescents, Claire knew she had already been completely won over by the bowl of fruit shaved ice.
"She's actually pretty cute when she's not snarling like a little beast," Claire thought to herself.
Wait, if I befriend Emily, wouldn't that give me an excuse to go to her house every single day?
Plus, I'd get to be close to Skye! Wow, I really am a genius!
She's truly brilliant—a one-of-a-kind genius, unmatched by anyone before or after.
"Just you wait, Emily! I'm going to win you over!" Claire thought to herself, brimming with confidence.