Chapter 2

2

"What's going on in that group chat?" I asked directly.

He was surprisingly blunt about it, not even trying to hide it. "So you joined the group? Fine. Since you saw it, I won't beat around the bush."

"Avery, let's break up. I don't love you anymore."

I expected to feel sad, but I didn't.

My heart didn't even skip a beat. Honestly, I almost wanted to laugh. "You couldn't have said that earlier? You had to wait until you found a new girl?"

He paused for a second. "I was just afraid of hurting you. I didn't know how to tell you..."

I cut him off. "Also, where did you get all that money?"

That was the question I really wanted answered.

His family struggled financially. To make sure he didn't feel inferior, I used to live frugally just to match his lifestyle.

But now, he clearly had a lot of cash on hand.

Did he... take out a predatory loan or something?

However, mentioning money seemed to hit a nerve. His attitude flipped instantly.

"Avery Young, know your place! You aren't my girlfriend anymore. Stop sticking your nose in my business!"

Then he hung up.

I checked my social media and realized he had already blocked me.

Ugh, what a scumbag.

I decided to tell Lyra the truth to stop her from being scammed.

But as I walked out of the bathroom, I saw Lyra showing off a brand-new bag while giving the other girls relationship advice.

I glanced at it. It was a Chanel.

That specific model is huge with the younger crowd. I have the exact same one.

My dad is loaded and loves buying me gifts like that for no reason. The more I have, the more he buys.

I'm not really into luxury goods, so I just keep them at home as decorations.

Lyra was still talking.

"The day I posted my new bag, dozens of guys from the group chat added me. I vetted them all, and they were all rich."

"The broke losers were filtered out. They didn't even have the confidence to talk to me."

"After a thorough investigation, I chose Dustin as my boyfriend because he's the wealthiest."

"Anyway, just remember this: as long as you build a convincing socialite persona, you'll definitely catch a trust fund baby."

I was completely disoriented.

How on earth did she get the impression that Dustin was wealthy?

But that wasn't even the point anymore.

The point was...

I frowned, pulled Lyra into the bathroom, and asked, "Did you use the money I lent you to buy that bag?"

Yes, I had lent Lyra money.

After the housing assignments were posted, the four of us started a group chat to get to know each other.

Right before the semester started, Lyra DM'd me asking if I had any spare cash.

She cried to me, saying her mom was critically ill and needed a kidney transplant. She said her family was temporarily short on liquid assets and promised to pay me back soon.

I'm a soft-hearted person, so I had my family lawyer draft a legally binding IOU.

Then, I lent her three hundred thousand dollars, agreeing she'd pay it back by the end of the semester.

To me, three hundred thousand is just a month's worth of allowance.

But if that money could help a classmate in a crisis, it felt meaningful.

I really believed her at the time.

When she talked about interest with tears in her eyes, I even told her not to worry about it―just pay back the principal.

And the result?

She didn't use the money for a hospital bill; she used it to play dress-up as a rich girl?

And she happened to bait my own boyfriend who was faking being a billionaire?

This was beyond ridiculous.

Lyra looked at me with total indifference. "I borrowed the money, and I appreciate it. But what I do with it is none of your business."

I was fuming. "I lent it to you because I thought your family was in trouble! I didn't even charge interest, and you lied to me. I could have made a fortune just leaving that money in the bank. Instead, I get disrespected by you? Don't you think you're being a bitch?"

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "That's on you for being so gullible."

Before I could snap, she patted my shoulder condescendingly. "Look, I'll pay you back an extra ten thousand for the trouble, okay? We'll update the IOU later."

"My Dustin has plenty of money. I'll definitely be able to pay you back, so stop being so dramatic."

I was caught between rage and laughter.

"Fine," I said.

I'd love to see what she actually uses to pay me back when the time comes.