Chapter 59: Confrontation

Ronald sat at the edge of his bed, gripping his game pad tightly, eyes fixed on the large television screen as he immersed himself in a soccer video game. The sound from the game blended with the booming music that filled every corner of the room. The bass thumped through the walls, shaking the windows slightly, but he didn't seem to mind. His focus was intense, brows furrowed in determination as he tried to score a winning goal. The knock on the door went unheard, twice. He was too wrapped up in his game world to notice. It wasn't until he felt a hand lightly touch his shoulder that he jerked up from his seated position, startled. His thumb slipped off the controller, and the game paused abruptly. 'Seriously?" he asked in disbelief, whipping his head toward the intruder. He quickly reached for the remote and muted the music. 'Finally! My ears can be at peace now," Madison said with an exaggerated sigh, rubbing her ears dramatically as if she'd just escaped a battlefield. Ronald stared at her, clearly annoyed. 'What are you doing here?" he asked, placing the game controller down and walking over to the television to switch it off completely. Madison flopped down on the edge of his bed, casually crossing her legs in a stylish motion. 'Why are you asking like that? Can't I come over without any reason?" 'You can't," Ronald replied, his tone flat. 'Who gave you permission to enter my room?" Madison rolled her eyes. 'What? Don't give me that face. I knocked before entering. You're the one who didn't hear me." 'Then you should've stayed outside knocking or better still, go back to where you came from!" he snapped, raking his fingers through his hair in frustration. Madison stood up, her heels making her eye-level with him. Her expression twisted in disbelief. 'Why are you acting like this towards me? I thought we agreed to be cool... to be friends. Can't friends visit one another?" Ronald scoffed. 'That's for friends. You're not my friend." Her face fell. 'What do you mean?" 'You and I stopped being friends the moment you teamed up with Helena to plot against Dorah. That day, you crossed a line we can't come back from." Her mouth opened and closed again, stuttering. 'Wha... wha... what's that? What are you even saying? Helena? Plot? I don't know what you're talking about." Ronald's eyes narrowed, studying her every movement. Her hands fidgeted, her gaze darted around, she was nervous. Very nervous. 'You're definitely not a good actor," he said with a smirk. 'You might be good at modeling, but acting's clearly not your thing." Before she could react, Ronald reached out and snatched her purse from her lap. 'Hey! What are you doing?!" she shouted, lunging forward to take it back, but he had already stepped away. He pulled out her phone and tossed the bag to the side. 'Give it back! That's my phone!" she cried, trying again to snatch it from him, but he moved out of reach, causing her to stumble slightly. She caught herself quickly, regaining her balance. 'What's your password?" he asked coldly, the screen displaying a locked prompt. 'No," she said stubbornly, folding her arms across her chest. 'What do you think you're doing? You can't just go through someone's phone like that. That's a serious invasion of privacy. My phone is personal, Ronald. My privacy matters!" She didn't realize he had already raised the phone to her face. In a second, it unlocked with a click. 'Damn it!" she muttered under her breath, cursing herself for leaving the Face ID active. 'Ronald, please... Can we just talk this out?" she said, her tone switching from angry to pleading. 'Give me back my phone, and I'll answer whatever you want to know. Just let's talk, okay?" But Ronald ignored her and walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Madison ran after him, banging her fist on the door in frustration. 'Ronald! Please! Let's talk this out! Going through my phone won't help anything!" she cried, but received no response. Inside, Ronald opened her gallery. He scrolled furiously, searching for any picture that could tie her to what had happened with Dorah. Nothing. No pictures of Jason and Dorah. Not even screenshots. 'She's really the smart type," he muttered. He opened the ‘Recently Deleted' folder, expecting something. Still nothing. 'What?!" he whispered in shock. 'How come? That's impossible..." He backed out and checked her contacts. No Helena. No suspicious names. He browsed her chats again, nothing linked to Dorah. No mentions, no forwarded media, nothing. Confused and frustrated, he stepped out of the bathroom. Madison was waiting, and the moment he emerged, she snatched the phone from his hand. 'Leave," he said flatly. 'What?" she blinked. 'I said leave. Leave my room," he shouted, voice rising in anger. 'Now!" His eyes were blazing with rage, and she didn't argue further. Snatching her purse from the floor, she bolted out, leaving the door swinging behind her. Ronald dropped to his bed, covering his face with both hands. His heart was heavy with doubt. Jason had told him that only Helena and Madison had been around when the incident with Dorah happened. It made sense. The evidence should've been there, so why wasn't it? 'Maybe she's not the one," he whispered to himself, turning onto his back to stare blankly at the ceiling. But he shook the thought away. 'No... It has to be her. They were the only suspicious people there at that moment. But... what if... what if it was Helena that took the photos?" He paused, thinking. 'No, that doesn't make sense. Helena was the one who bumped into Dorah. She couldn't have taken the pictures and staged the scene. Could she?" His train of thought was interrupted by the creak of his door opening again. He turned his head toward the sound. His mother stepped into the room, looking concerned. 'You should've knocked before coming in," he muttered, sitting up. His mum raised a brow. 'So I have to knock before entering your room now?" He nodded slowly. 'Yeah. You used to." 'Well, I'm in already, so..." she said, brushing it off as she sat down at the edge of his bed. 'I heard yelling earlier," she began gently. 'When I came to check what was going on, I saw Madison running out. What happened? What did you do to her?" 'Nothing," Ronald said quickly, adjusting on the bed and covering himself with his duvet. 'I don't want to ever see that girl in my room again." 'You're joking, right?" she asked, surprised. 'I've said my own," he replied, not even turning to face her. 'That girl is nothing but a pain in the ass. I don't want her near me again and I mean it." His mother sat there for a moment, speechless, staring at his back as he shut himself off from the world.