?


    Rachel dragged me to the small garden bench outside the hospital.


    She plopped down with a sigh and patted the spot next to her, "Have a seat."


    I reluctantly took the far edge, keen on keeping a buffer zone between us.


    She nced my way.


    "Mnie, you''re infuriatingly beautiful, even with a wig."


    Her randomment threw me off, and I didn''t quite know how to respond.


    But she didn''t seem to expect a reply, instead, she gazed up at the sky.


    "Reminds me of our first day at college, kinda overcast, but oddlyforting. Mnie, I was the first person at school to meet Clyde. The very first, no one knew him before I did."


    There was a hint of pride in her voice, a sparkle in her eyes.


    Back in our dorm, she always seemed a bit out of ce, and I hardly knew anything about her.


    Just that her family wasn''t well-off, she relied on schrships and student loans, even signing up for work-study programs from day one.


    But what I didn''t realize was that she and Clyde had shared a train ride to college on their first day.


    Clyde probably didn''t even remember, but he had helped a girl struggling with her luggage on the tform, and that girl fell hard for him.


    "We really hit it off,ing from simr backgrounds, both doing work-study in the cafeteria, both tutoring to make ends meet. He was always so cheerful and charming, always carried himself with such grace, despite everything. I thought we were alike."


    Her tone suddenly turned cold, her gaze turning sharp as she looked at me.


    "But then you showed up, and everything changed."Text ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Indeed, I was smitten with Clyde at first sight and had my dad sponsor him. But likewise, my dad sponsored Rachel.


    Since we were roommates, I, of


    course, pulled some strings for her. But she never saw it as me looking out for her; to her, it felt like a p in the face.


    ?n?


    "How is it fair that you throw around skin care products worth hundreds, while my monthly allowance is barely there?"


    "You waste food and treats like they''re nothing, tossing them aside, treating me like a dog!"


    Her anger boiled over, and she stood up, pointing usingly at me.


    "You had your damned dad sponsor Clyde, just to steal him from me, knowing full well I had nothing!"


    "You want to see me broken,


    unwanted, but guess what, I worked hard, I got my own sponsor, I don''t have to worry about loans or living expenses anymore, I don''t have to eat your leftovers!"


    I shook my head at her twisted expression.


    "Rachel, thepany sponsoring you, it''s a jewelry design studio, right?"


    "How did you know?"


    "It belongs to my grandmother."


    I said tly, "I knew about your pride, so I didn''t let my dad sponsor you directly." The Crawford family had a reputation for supporting students in need every year.


    But for publicity and to maintain a good image, those students often had toe forward, something I knew Rachel would never agree to due to her pride. So, I had my dad make


    2 discreet donation in the


    name of my grandmother''s studio to Rachel and another ssmate.


    Rachel was clearly stunned, disbelievinglyughing as she looked at me.


    "So what? You think your scraps of charity are some act of mercy? Always ying the saint, that petty cash means nothing to me." She furiously removed her earrings and threw them in myp.


    "Clyde just gave these to me, worth eighty thousand, easily covers whatever your family donated. I don''t owe you anything!"