Chapter 4

With those worries out of the way, everything went smoothly for Adrian.

He kept working through practice problems. While preparing for the competition, he was either in the study room or sitting on a bench in the hospital hallway, working on his plans.

He filled page after page with drafts. His eyes were full of ambition and hope for the future.

Watching him work so hard made me feel proud.

So that day, I took him to a luxury mall downtown and bought him plenty of new clothes.

"Please wrap up this charcoal-gray designer suit."

"Please bring out these Oxford shoes in his size."

Adrian was already handsome. Once he put on a perfectly fitted business suit, he looked even more like a young executive. I happily swiped my card.

This was exactly how a future Holt Group executive should look. Meanwhile, Isabelle kept causing trouble everywhere she went.

She kept trying to create little romantic scenes in the cafeteria and library, but Adrian avoided her every time with a cold look.

Instead of thinking about what she had done wrong, Isabelle became even more convinced of the story she had made up in her own head.

"Damian must have threatened Adrian. Adrian is only pushing me away because he wants to protect me!" she told her best friend in the dorm, completely lost in her own fantasy.

Adrian and I were busy preparing for the competition, so we had no time to deal with her.

Adrian left campus one day early to attend the competition and take part in the closed-door final rounds out of town.

After Isabelle didn't see Adrian on campus for five days in a row, she started to panic.

That afternoon, our whole department had a large lecture.

The professor had just finished teaching and was about to assign the final project when Isabelle suddenly stood up from her seat. Her eyes were red, and she looked heartbroken.

"Professor, everyone, I have to expose this cruel man for who he really is today!"

The whole classroom erupted. Everyone turned to look at me.

Isabelle pointed at me in the back row and accused me with a pained expression.

"Damian used his family's money to force me to get back together with him, so he brutally targeted innocent Adrian! He forced Adrian to sign a withdrawal agreement and then kicked him out of school! Adrian hasn't been to class for five days. Even all his things have been cleared out of his dorm! Damian has driven him into a corner!"

The classroom instantly exploded with angry whispers.

Everyone started talking about me.

"That's way too far. Does being rich mean you can destroy someone's future?"

"That's disgusting. I knew rich kids like him were bad. They think they can get away with anything."

Isabelle looked pleased when she saw everyone turning against me.

She turned to the professor and spoke like she was fighting for justice. "Professor, are students from ordinary families supposed to let rich kids bully us like this? I demand that the school punish Damian. Give him a serious disciplinary record and expel him! Adrian deserves justice!"

I sat in the back row, casually spinning a limited-edition fountain pen between my fingers as I sneered at her.

Isabelle really was hopelessly stupid.

She thought she had taken the moral high ground and backed me into a corner.

With the whole class ready to turn against me, the classroom's back door suddenly swung open.

Adrian stood in the doorway, holding the certificate for winning the competition's top prize.

His calm, cold voice cut through the silent classroom. "What justice are you going to give me?"