Chapter 3

That was exactly when Matteo stayed by my side and helped me get through that period of time.

With no one else on my side, he was the only person who believed in me, constantly reminding me that I had done nothing wrong.

Looking back now, of course he believed me. After all, he was the one who did those things.

I admitted I was deeply moved at the time.

That was the turning point that brought us so much closer. I opened up to him about everything, and he was always there, offering comfort over and over again.

But now, the reality of it cut through me.

Matteo had written impatiently in the post, "Honestly, shouldn't she be thanking me for getting her that grad school slot? Instead, she acted all miserable all day long. I don't even know who she's trying to put on a show for.

"If I hadn't helped her out, what would she even be doing right now? Unemployed and relying on me for handouts?"

Someone in the comments section asked, "But what does that have to do with making her fall for you? It doesn't sound like she actually caught feelings because of that."

Matteo replied almost immediately, "Spot on. She was so obsessed with that whole drama that she didn't even realize I was only looking out for her because I wanted to date her.

"And more importantly, my whole objective from the start was to get my childhood friend's crush to stop liking my girlfriend. But even after her reputation went down the drain, the guy still wouldn't let her go. So, I had to pivot.

"If you ask me where that guy messed up, it's that he was way too cautious. He didn't dare make a real move—exactly how I used to be with my childhood friend.

"But I guess that's normal. That's just how a guy acts when he genuinely loves a woman. He was worried about my girlfriend being depressed, so he kept getting people to deliver gifts to her. Luckily, I intercepted every single one of them."

I had absolutely no idea Tatum had ever done any of that.

Then, Matteo's tone took a sharper turn. "But that wasn't going to cut it. My goal wasn't just to date her. I needed him to give up on her completely.

"At the time, my girlfriend couldn't handle the passive-aggressive bullying from her roommates and classmates anymore, so she wanted to move out of the dorms. To afford it, she took on a new tutoring gig.

"The kid she was tutoring came from an incredibly wealthy family. They treated her well and would even send a driver to pick her up from campus before every session.

"I didn't do much. I just made sure to walk past the pickup spot with my roommates one day right as she was getting into the luxury car.

"Moving out of the dorms out of nowhere, combined with getting into a luxury car? For a student on financial aid, it didn't take much for people to jump to conclusions.

"As soon as I got back that day, I posted about it anonymously on the school forum. The rumors spread like wildfire, and within hours, people were claiming she was a sugar baby.

"She had plenty of guys pursuing her, so I intentionally wrote that she loved leading people on. Between that and the previous scandal, she was already totally isolated. Her reputation completely tanked overnight."

When I read those words, my grip tightened around the phone to fight back the rising wave of nausea.

As graduation approached, I had thought I would finally escape the judging eyes and start fresh. But what I got instead was even more people insulting me.

During those days, no matter where I went, the people around me threw nothing but malicious, suggestive looks my way.

Moments I had desperately tried to bury came rushing back to my mind.

When I walked down the street, I would hear people whisper and point behind my back.

When I ate in the cafeteria, people would recognize me and pointedly move to another table.