Chapter 3

When did I first realize something was wrong?

Girls from the next dorm room would see me in the hallway and, instead of smiling and greeting me as before, would pretend not to see me.

In class, everyone except my two roommates kept their distance.

I thought I was being sensitive. After all, the places I'd lived growing up had such tight security that I rarely saw neighbors. So I had no frame of reference for this kind of "cold" environment.

Until one day, Chloe couldn't hold it in anymore.

I walked out of the shower, drying my hair with a towel, when Chloe suddenly pushed open the door and sat on my bed, her face looking odd.

"Evie, have you heard?"

"Heard what?"

She hesitated, then pulled out her phone and opened a SnapChat group.

Scrolling up through the chat history, a girl named Sarah Johnson had posted three messages in a row.

"You guys know Evelyn Reed from Class 4? The way she showed up on the first day, bodyguards and all, really thinks she's a princess."

"She gave her roommates skincare, but the condition was for them to be her servants. $500 for cleaning, $100 for packages. Isn't that just using money to humiliate people?"

"Sophia from the next dorm told us. She said receiving the gift made her feel awful, like she was being humiliated, but she didn't dare refuse it because she was afraid of offending Evelyn."

After reading those, I admit, I was definitely annoyed.

The replies below had already reached almost a hundred comments.

Some cursed me for being a nouveau riche, others said I was a rich person with no class.

Someone even passive-aggressively sent a string of candle emojis, saying: "Poor Sophia, stuck in a dorm with someone like that."

I handed the phone back to Chloe.

"Sophia said all this?"

"The chat logs say it was her, but Sophia's still acting innocent in the group!"

Chloe was furious.

I scrolled down further. Sophia had posted, feigning distress:

"I didn't mean for everyone to know, I just complained a bit privately to Sarah. Please don't attack Evelyn, let's not cause her any trouble."

Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Pfft! 'Privately complained' and it spread across three classes?"

I didn't say anything.

Chloe thought I was angry and added:

"Evie, don't worry about it. These types are just jealous of others' success. If you want to deal with her, I'll help you!"

I shook my head.

"No need. It's too minor to bother with."

The next morning, on my way to class, I deliberately walked past Sophia's seat.

She was looking down, flipping through a book. I didn't say anything, just sat in the empty seat next to her.

She stiffened.

The few girls sitting nearby also looked up and glanced at me.

I opened my phone, pulled up that screenshot, and pushed it toward her.

"Explain this."

Sophia glanced at the screen, quickly pushed the phone back, and whispered:

"I... I just felt a bit uncomfortable, so I complained a few times, it was all just a joke..."

I took my phone back and leaned against the chair.

"You accepted my skincare, Apple laptop, and Chanel bag, then turned around and told people behind my back that it was charity, that I was using money to humiliate you?"

Her eyes quickly reddened. The students around us were already looking our way.

Sophia suddenly raised her hand to cover her face, her shoulders trembling, her voice tearful:

"Evelyn Reed, what did I ever do to offend you? Why do you have to corner me like this?"

She sniffed, then looked up, her eyes showing a mix of grievance and defiance.

"You gave me such expensive things. I know you're rich, but you know my family's situation, how can I ever pay you back?"

"I didn't even dare use them. They're just sitting in my closet, and looking at them every day terrifies me. What's wrong with me complaining a bit to Sarah? Am I not allowed to have feelings?"

I sat there silently, watching her performance.

Sophia simply stood up, her chair scraping loudly across the floor.

"Yes, I'm poor, so I should be eternally grateful for your gifts?"

"But who are you to condescendingly decide the nature of our relationship? You humiliated my pride with your money, am I not allowed to feel uncomfortable?"

After she finished speaking, her tears fell even harder.

The students nearby started whispering to each other.

"Evelyn Reed, don't be too much. Just because you have money doesn't mean you can bully your classmates!"

My voice was flat.

"Sophia, done crying?"

Her sobs paused.

"First, if you felt the gifts were too expensive and you were uneasy accepting them, then bring them back to me tomorrow."

"Second, you think I'm using money to make you a servant, but why didn't you feel humiliated when you accepted the money for chores?"

She opened her mouth, tears still streaming, but couldn't say anything.

I stood up and adjusted my jacket.

"I have the SnapChat screenshots saved. I advise you not to push it."

I scanned the surrounding students who were watching.

"I don't care if they believe you, but next time, I won't be so easy to deal with."

After my warning, she and those in the group chat were quiet for two days.

But a week later, I received a FaceTime call from my fiancé, Ethan Hayes.