He Thought I Was Poor, I’m the Heiress

Chapter 3 Forced to Kneel

But Vanessa stepped in front of me and blocked my path.

She was several inches taller than I was, so she looked down at me with a smile on her lips and something vicious in her eyes.

"What's the rush?" she asked. "I'm not done settling the score with you."

"You're insane," I said. "You shoved me, and I let it go. What else is there to settle?"

I almost laughed at how ridiculous she sounded.

I did not want to waste another word on her, so I stepped around her and kept walking.

Vanessa signaled with her eyes. Her friends immediately blocked my way.

"How dare you! I'm not happy today—so neither are you leaving!"

Vanessa picked up the microphone. Her voice rang through the hall, carrying clearly to every company booth.

"Listen up, representatives," she said. "Anyone who accepts Nora Sutton's internship résumé will be crossing both the Whitmore family and the Clarke family. You wouldn't want to jeopardize your relationship with Rivergate Capital Group over one girl, would you?"

The entire hall fell silent.

The students near me edged away from me one by one, afraid of being dragged into the mess.

I looked at the academic advisor, Mark.

A conflicted look crossed his face.

If the department's internship placement rate dropped, he'd lose his bonus. But more than that, he couldn't afford to offend the Whitmore family.

"Nora," he said, forcing out a strained smile. "Don't be so stubborn. Just apologize to Vanessa, and this will all be over. Don't let a little thing ruin your graduation."

Vanessa crossed her arms and lifted her chin. Her tone was casual, as if she were disciplining an unruly dog.

"You have two options," she said. "First, get on your knees and pick up every scrap of paper from the floor. Then stand in front of everyone and admit that you were never good enough for Evan. Tell them you were reaching above your station. Do that, and I'll let this go."

She smiled.

"Second, you withdraw from Fairbridge University. Or better yet—I'll have my father call the board and get you expelled."

Mark's face went pale.

The crowd was growing. More and more people gathered to watch.

Mark looked utterly exasperated.

"Nora, why do you have to be so stubborn?" he snapped. "Just apologize! This could have been over in two seconds, but you had to make it a spectacle. Now, even I can't help you anymore."

He sighed and kept pushing.

"Your parents get up at three in the morning to fish. They work themselves to the bone just to put you through college. If you can't graduate, how are you going to face them? If you still want your diploma, go kneel and admit you were wrong."

I stood in the middle of the crowd and nearly laughed out loud.

I looked at him and said, "Mr. Ellis, you can't even handle something like this? Then what exactly does the university pay you for?"

That hit a nerve.

His face turned deep red, and he jabbed a finger at me.

"Don't you dare get mouthy with me," he snapped. "I'm trying to help you, and this is how you talk to me? So what if your family sells fish? At the end of the day, you're still seafood vendors. What makes you think you can go up against the Whitmore family? Face reality."

Someone had brought Vanessa a chair.

She sat down and crossed her legs.

Evan stood beside her with one hand resting on the back of her chair. The way he looked at me made my chest tighten. He looked at me as if I were no one to him.

"While I'm still in a decent mood, get over here and kneel," she said. "Don't wait until my patience runs out—then even your parents on their knees won't save you."

The job fair had started, but no one dared speak—all afraid of the Clarke and Whitmore families.

I vaguely remembered my father mentioning the Whitmore family once. A small-time operation. I didn't think much of it.

I'd spent the last few years focused on my studies, not on social games.

The whispers around me grew louder.

"The fish-market princess really has some nerve. She actually dared to steal Vanessa's boyfriend."

"Graduation is right around the corner. She's finished now. Some people are just born with that kind of fate."

"Didn't you hear Vanessa? They're not from the same world. A fish-market girl trying to climb the social ladder? What a joke."

The murmurs around me grew even louder. Some students started blaming me for the job fair delay. A few even egged her on to force me to kneel.

Vanessa's satisfaction grew with every word. Then she gave another sharp glance to the side.

Two girls approached, grabbed my shoulders, and tried to push me down.

I struggled against them.

"Anyone who lays a hand on me today," I said through clenched teeth, "will regret it."