Mandy felt extremely wronged. "I didn’t originally plan to become friends with her. That day at the party, we chatted, and I felt her experiences were similar to mine. Slowly, we became familiar with each other."

Alex, slightly reproachful, said, "She approached you because she needed something from you. As Mom said, you’re easy to use."

Mandy’s tears flowed even more. "It’s all my fault."

"I’m not blaming you. Stop crying. If our children see this, they’ll think something ...