Chapter 3

After asking Ezra to reach out to the Clarks, I let the matter drop.

However, the class group chat suddenly blew up. It was all because Florence had casually posted a photo on her social media feed, showing her getting a prenatal checkup, along with the caption. "My baby and baby daddy, you both have to do your best!"

I hadn't left our old class group chat, so naturally, I could see everyone hooting and hollering in the group, pressing her to spill who the baby daddy was. Florence merely replied with a coy blush emoji, leaving everyone hanging.

Right on cue, her lackey immediately dropped a bombshell in the group chat. "Isn't it obvious? It has to be the heir of the Clark family, Lucas Clark!"

"What? Her baby daddy's Mr. Clark?"

A flood of congratulations immediately filled the chat.

At that moment, someone casually mentioned. "Hold on, didn't what's-her-name from your dorm move out back then?"

Florence replied in a heartbeat. "Ugh, don't even get me started. Someone just can't stand to see me succeed. She isolated me on the very first day of orientation and moved out, terrified that I'd end up living the good life.

"However, I guess I should thank her. If she hadn't left, I wouldn't have met Lucas! I wonder if she regrets it now."

The group chat went dead for a few seconds before blowing up again.

"Wait, what? That actually happened? Sounds like someone's salty as hell!"

"What a terrible person. Florence was pretty unlucky to end up with a roommate who's this jealous."

I didn't send anything in the group chat. The very next second, my phone vibrated with a direct message from a former classmate. "I think you should swallow your pride and apologize, Cleo. It's not like she's a difficult person…"

I clicked into the group chat. Not only were they spreading rumors that I was working as an escort, but they had also attached embarrassing photos of me.

I chuckled. Swallow my pride and apologize? I had done that in my previous life, yet where did it get me? It got her hands clamped around my throat, choking the life out of me.

I ignored them and went to class as usual. It was a lab session, held jointly for both classes.

The experiment was on testing metal hardness, using a newly acquired microhardness tester worth tens of millions of dollars that the faculty had just bought.

As luck would have it, I was paired up with Florence.

Sitting in the back row, she played with her phone. I paid her no mind, starting the experiment on my own.

However, when I returned to the lab that afternoon, a crowd had gathered around our station. I walked over to take a look, only to see our professor, James Parker, standing there with a grim expression. Holding the damaged metal probe, he demanded, "Where's Cleo?"

I walked over and was about to respond when Florence beat me to the punch. "None of us even touched that thing, Mr. Parker."

The rest of our group chimed in as well.

"That's right, Mr. Parker. This has nothing to do with us. Cleo was the only one operating the probe the entire time."

"If anyone's getting disciplined or has to pay for the damages, it should just be her. This is worth millions of dollars. That's no pocket change!"

After hearing that, Florence gasped and walked up to me to advise me. "Hurry up and own up to your mistake, Cleo! We'll all chip in to help you pay it back. If not, how are you going to cough up such a huge amount of money?"

Holding Mr. Parker's gaze, I said, "In that case, let's check the surveillance footage."

However, to my horror, the footage showed me smashing the probe after everyone else had left.

I panicked, looked up, and wanted to explain myself, yet Mr. Parker had already pulled up the compensation bill. "Cleo, now that the probe's damaged, the entire machine can no longer be used. In total, you owe the faculty… 1.24 million dollars."

I sucked in a sharp breath.

Right after saying that, Mr. Parker turned and left.

Florence, on the other hand, leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Do you not have the money? Beg me, and I'll give it to you."

Ignoring her, I tried to find evidence to clear my name, but she picked up a cup of coffee and poured it onto her shoe right in front of me. "Lick it once, and I'll give you ten grand. Lick it all up, and you'll have 1.24 million. It'll be much faster than going out to work for it."

Florence held up her phone, its screen glowing on a transfer interface. "What are you waiting for? Everyone's watching."

I lowered my head and looked at the coffee stain on her shoe without saying a word.