Final sighs of denial

"She made Ariana bow her head?" Mateo questioned, sounding outraged and disbelieving.

"Yes," Mrs Burt said with a sigh. "Poor girl, she was really upset that day, she did nothing wrong, and yet, she had to lower her head in front of others, because of her mother." 

Mrs Burt continued, "However, she is a kind girl. Optimistic too. She soon forgot about that incident and continued to live her own life but then —that boy came looking for her. Once he was discharged, he started to act more and more crudely with Ariana having learned that no one would stand up for her from her family."

"I saw him following her around the street and so did everyone else, but they blamed Ari. They all however ignored what was going on—time after time, Ariana had asked her mother to help her, but that woman did not listen and even told her daughter that she was blowing things out of proportion."