They Bet to Sleep With Me, I Split Them

Chapter 4

I stood at the library entrance and watched Lucian leave. The second he disappeared from sight, I couldn't hold it anymore. I covered my stomach and burst into laughter.

After I finally calmed down, I noticed a new friend request.

It was from Jace.

The moment I accepted it, he sent me a message with his usual icy attitude.

Jace: Where are you? When are you going to see Eric?

I ignored him. But when I walked out of the library, I found him waiting downstairs, leaning against a silver Porsche.

"I knew you'd come here," he said. "Let's go. I'll take you to Eric. He's at the football field."

I stayed where I was. Jace glanced at my new coat, his eyes full of contempt.

"Lucian bought you one coat and now you're completely won over? Don't be so easy to impress. Him feeling guilty for a moment doesn't mean he'll turn his back on his close friends for you."

I said, "That's not what happened."

Jace scoffed. "Then what is it? I've seen plenty of girls like you who chase money and attention. I'm warning you, don't overestimate yourself."

The cold wind swept past. I tucked my messy hair behind my ear and looked at him calmly.

"This coat isn't a gift. It's his apology. He asked why I kept wearing that awful hoodie and whether my mom never bought me clothes. I told him my mom died when I was three. Maybe he realized he had gone too far."

Jace went quiet. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but after seeing the tear marks on my face, he swallowed the words.

I started walking toward the football field, and Jace silently followed behind me. We hadn't even gone halfway when he suddenly walked ahead of me. He turned around, looked at me, and fell silent again.

Because I had been crying the whole way. My eyes were swollen red, and even the tip of my nose had turned pink. He stopped, and I stopped too, looking up at him.

"When I was little, my teacher asked us to write an essay called 'My Mom.' I didn't know what to write, so I wrote that I didn't have one. Later, when I argued with my classmates, they called me a motherless kid.

"I was so upset that I cried for a long time. My teacher comforted me and said they were just kids who didn't know better. She told me everything would be different when I grew up.

"But I never expected things to stay the same. When people bully me, all I can do is take it. I even have to help the person who hurt me prove he's innocent. Even after he threatened the exchange student spot I worked so hard for and said those horrible things to me."

I took a deep breath and wiped away my tears. "Maybe people really do find it easier to pick on someone who doesn't have a mother."

After saying that, I walked around Jace and continued toward the football field. His expression became complicated. After only a few steps, he suddenly grabbed my arm.

"Wait," he said.

I stopped and looked back at him.

"If you don't want to go today, then go back to the dorm."

I shook my head firmly. "I do want to go, because I'm honestly worried you'll take away my exchange student eligibility."

Jace said, "I was only trying to scare you. I wouldn't actually do that."

"I can't trust you."

I pushed him away and kept walking, tears still falling uncontrollably.

Jace hurried along beside me, completely flustered. "Stop crying. Wait, Charlotte, please stop crying. I, I admit I was wrong, okay?"

I wiped my tears away and picked up my pace. Suddenly, he stepped in front of me, pulled out a handkerchief, and clumsily tried to wipe my face.

"Alright, enough. Let's drop this. You don't have to go to Eric anymore. I won't bother you again. Can you please stop crying?"

I looked at him silently for a few seconds. Then I took off the brand-new three-thousand-dollar coat and tossed it into the trash can by the roadside. The cold autumn wind of Evermont City blew past, sending leaves swirling around my feet. I shivered.

"What are you doing?" Jace stared at me in disbelief. "Aren't you freezing?"

I lifted my hand and showed him the chilblains on my fingers.

"Of course I am. But I think I need to have some pride. I shouldn't accept things that were never meant for someone like me, even if it's for my mom. I hope you'll keep your promise and leave me alone."

With that, I turned and headed for the girls' dorm without looking back. I was pretty sure I looked heartbreakingly stubborn, my thin frame trembling with every step. But it wasn't from the cold. It was because my wallet was screaming.

That coat cost over $3,000! And I tossed it in the trash just to keep up the act. I swore, rich people were the worst!