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897words
“But believe me, Ethan! I love you!” She clung to his waist. “I never asked for money, have I? Everything you gave me was because you wanted to.”
“That proves I’m not after your cash.I love you,but I’m scared you’d judge my background…”
At that point, Ethan tuned her out, prying her hands off, his face as cold as ice. "I’m done digging into your lies. I know where I stand.”
“Return my $6,300. Otherwise, I'm taking you to court.”
He stormed out,pushing through a crowd of eavesdroppers.
I was in the midst of the crowd when I let out a cry of surprise.
“Chat says it’s our department’s…Olivia?Liv?”
“No way…”
I shoved into Room 403,feigning shock.
Olivia clutched the locked phone and slumped it on the floor, despite the comments were still pouring on the screen.
“Liv?”
I yanked off her cartoon mask, asked, “It’s you! You’re a shady voice streamer?”
The stream’s fallout tanked Olivia’s reputation.
Her carefully crafted rich-girl sweetheart persona crumbled ended up being exposed as“Rabbit,” the risquévoice streamer.
She couldn’t show her face on campus.
Classmates gossiped about her behind her back during classes, and she was surrounded by curious onlookers in the dormitory.
Not only that, but the school administration also called her to the office.
“Olivia, considering that your live streaming has affected the campus atmosphere and many parents have raised objections, to prevent the situation from escalating further and impacting next year's admissions, we have decided to take disciplinary action against you," they said.
She was expelled from school.
At the same time, her family called asking for money, saying that her brother needed a computer and a phone.
Facing Ethan’s debt and expulsion from school, she couldn't even use her last bit of dignity to borrow money. No one saw her as a pure goddess anymore. Everyone was there to watch the drama, as she packed her bags and left the dormitory.
Only I remained silent, bending down to help her tidy up.
“Sophie…thank you…I see now…you’re the only one who cares about me…”
“I was wrong to take your stuff.I’m sorry.Please beg the dean to not expel me.”
I hesitated.
It wasn’t hard for me.
As long as my brother asked his mentor, the renowned scholar, to give a lecture at the school, the administration could temporarily suspend their punishment of Olivia in return.
“Anything else?”
“Could…you ask your parents for a loan of me? $6,300’s nothing to them…I’ll work part-time to repay you…”
She twisted the hem of her clothes, her face flushed red. That was the most humble I had ever seen her.
“No.”I smiled politely.
“What?”She blinked,stunned.
I repeated, “No.”
“Sophie, I’m begging you…If I can't pay back this money, Ethan will sue me. If I get expelled, my family will remove my name from the family register...I don't want..."
She didn’t want that. But did my brother want to be falsely accused of sexual harassment and be pushed off a building to his death.
Did my parents want to lose their son?
Did I want to be forced to drop out of school, watch my brother and parents pass away one after another, and finally be trampled on and leap to my death from a high-rise?
Why should she be spared just because she didn't want to face the consequences? We didn't want to accept our fates either!
“No.” I said again.
I leaned to her ear, whispering, “Because I orchestrated this whole thing from beginning to end.”
“From exposing you to Ethan, to convincing you to become a voice host, even that phone of yours, I was in control.
"Pity," I smiled. "All the evidence has been destroyed by me. Now, if you go out there and tell everyone that I framed you, no one will believe you."
“Your life means nothing to me.”
“But for a year as roommates, here’s my advice: if you still want cash for your family? Hit up your stream’s top donor—MaseratiBro.”
With that, I walked away, leaving her trembling.
Olivia was expelled.
To avoid disownment from her family, repay Ethan and support her brother, she took my “advice,” meeting MaseratiBro in person.
She then vanished from my life.
Her social media account suspended on a post from that meetup with MaseratiBro a decade ago.
Ten years later, one day Jason picked me up from work, when we planned my 30th birthday with our parents.
Titled a PhD, he now was managing a tech company, riding on the crest of success.
I’d completed an MBA abroad,becoming a finance director at a global firm.
As our parents neared retirement, we’d bought their a dream home for their retired life.
Passing the police station,we saw a vice raid.
“Word is they busted a shady streaming ring, tied to illegal trades,”Jason asked a bystander and explained to me.
I spotted her—Olivia, who was there cuffed amidst the group.
Heavy makeup couldn’t hide her aged face, once youthful in my memory.
Her wavy hair echoed her old tycoon’s-wife look,but her exposed outfit and fallen veil screamed ruin.
“She looks…”Jason frowned.
“It's none of our business. I’m starving and Mom and Dad are waiting for us”
“Go ahead.”
I shut the window without glancing back, leaving my past life’s misery behind.
