chapter 5:Rich, Reckless, and Ruthless

VALENTINA’S POV

If Blackwood University had taught me anything, it was that money could buy designer clothes, expensive cars, and apparently, the right to behave like an absolute idiot.

“Tell me again why we're going to this party,” I begged Chloe.

“Because you're twenty-one, beautiful, and behaving like a retired librarian.”

“I'm a student.”

“Tonight, you're a student who needs to see alcohol, handsome men, and questionable decisions.”

I stared at her.

“I'm drinking soda.”

“Fine. Drink your soda and judge everybody. That's your talent.”

An hour later, we arrived at a massive fraternity house filled with music, flashing lights, and students who looked as if their parents had funded their entire wardrobes.

Inside, a boy was dancing on a table while his friends screamed. Two girls were arguing over the same guy, and someone had already spilled a drink on an expensive-looking sofa.

Welcome to America, I thought.

Then a girl in a sparkling silver dress looked me up and down.

“Is that what you're wearing?”

I glanced at my burgundy dress. “Yes. Why?”

She exchanged a look with her friends.

“Nothing. I just thought the scholarship programme provided clothing allowances.”

Her friends burst into laughter.

Chloe immediately stepped forward. “And I thought your parents provided manners. Looks like we were both disappointed.”

The girls gasped.

I grabbed Chloe's arm before she started a campus war.

“Let's go.”

But the silver-dressed girl wasn't finished.

“Careful, sweetheart. Girls like you should know their place here.”

I turned back.

“Girls like me?”

“Poor girls who think good grades make them equal to everyone else.”

I smiled politely.

“And girls like you are proof that money can't purchase intelligence.”

Somebody nearby shouted, “DAMN!”

The girl went red.

Chloe dragged me away, laughing so hard she nearly dropped her drink.

“Valentina Reyes! You just declared war on the entire rich-girl population!”

“I answered a question.”

“You insulted her bloodline!”

“Then her bloodline should behave better.”

We were still laughing when I noticed Adrian Blackwood across the room.

He stood beside Mason, dressed in black, looking devastatingly handsome and irritatingly comfortable in a world where everybody seemed desperate for his attention.

Unfortunately, he was looking straight at me.

And smiling.

That was never a good sign.

ADRIAN’S POV

I had been at the party for twenty minutes when I saw Valentina verbally destroy Madison Pierce.

I nearly choked on my drink.

“Your scholarship girl has claws,” Mason remarked.

“She isn't my anything.”

“Of course. You just watch her like she's the final exam you forgot to study for.”

I ignored him.

Valentina looked different tonight. Her burgundy dress fitted her beautifully, and her brown hair framed her face. For the first time, I wondered what she looked like when she wasn't hiding behind those oversized sweaters.

Then some idiot approached her.

Daniel Brooks.

Engineering student. Decent-looking. Annoyingly friendly.

He offered her a drink, and she laughed at something he said.

My mood immediately deteriorated.

“Careful,” Mason said. “Your jealousy is showing.”

“I'm not jealous.”

“Then why are you crushing that plastic cup?”

I looked down.

The cup was practically folded in half.

I threw it into the bin.

“Shut up.”

Before Mason could respond, Seraphina appeared beside me.

“Your little scholarship project looks comfortable.”

I turned.

“Don't start.”

She smiled sweetly. “I'm only concerned. Imagine coming from nothing and thinking you belong among people like us.”

I stared at her.

“People like us?”

She shrugged.

“Adrian, be serious. She's not your type.”

I looked toward Valentina again.

“Maybe that's why I'm interested.”

Seraphina's smile vanished.

For once, I enjoyed making her uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, she was about to make everyone else uncomfortable too.

VALENTINA’S POV

Daniel had just asked whether I'd like to dance when somebody deliberately bumped into me.

A sticky red drink splashed across my dress.

“Oh, my God!” the girl exclaimed, laughing. “I'm so clumsy.”

I looked down at the stain.

Madison Pierce.

The same girl who had mocked my clothes earlier.

“Are you blind?” I demanded.

Her friends began laughing.

“Relax, scholarship girl. It's just a dress.”

“Then you won't mind paying for it.”

She looked me over.

“With what? Your student allowance?”

The laughter grew louder.

My cheeks burned, but I refused to cry. I had endured worse humiliation than a stained dress.

Madison leaned closer.

“Here's some advice. Stay away from Adrian. He gets bored easily, and girls like you don't recover well from rejection.”

I met her eyes.

“Here's some advice for you. Find a personality before you start giving life lessons.”

Her smile disappeared.

She shoved my shoulder.

Daniel immediately stepped between us.

“That's enough, Madison.”

She rolled her eyes. “Nobody asked you, Daniel.”

Then she lifted her phone and snapped a picture of me.

“Look at the poor girl pretending to be rich!”

Something inside me snapped.

I reached for her phone, but she pulled it away.

“Delete that picture.”

“Make me.”

Before I could respond, a familiar voice cut through the noise.

“Madison, give her the phone.”

Adrian stood behind us.

His expression was cold.

Madison immediately changed her attitude.

“Adrian! We were only joking.”

“Then explain the joke.”

Nobody answered.

He held out his hand.

“Phone.”

Madison hesitated before surrendering it.

Adrian deleted the picture and returned the device.

“Try humiliating someone else for entertainment, and you'll discover how quickly your friends disappear when nobody wants to be associated with you.”

The crowd went silent.

I stared at him, surprised.

Then he turned to me.

“Are you okay?”

I looked at the stain on my dress.

“Wonderful. I've always wanted to look like a bottle of ketchup exploded on me.”

Mason burst out laughing behind him.

Even Adrian's mouth twitched.

Then he leaned closer.

“Come outside. You need to clean that.”

I stepped back.

“I can manage without your assistance.”

“Of course you can. You manage to insult everyone without assistance too.”

“Then we're both talented.”

I walked away before he could answer.

ADRIAN’S POV

I watched Valentina disappear into the crowd.

Mason appeared beside me.

“You defended her.”

“I defended common decency.”

“Right. And I'm the next president.”

I ignored him.

Across the room, Seraphina was watching me with an expression that promised trouble.

My phone vibrated.

A message from an unknown number appeared.

UNKNOWN: Your scholarship girl should watch her back. Some people don't appreciate outsiders stealing what belongs to them.

I frowned and looked toward the hallway where Valentina had disappeared.

For the first time that night, the party didn't seem entertaining.

Something was happening around her, and I didn't like it.

Not because I cared.

At least, that was what I told myself.

VALENTINA’S POV

Back in our hostel, Chloe helped me clean the stain while loudly insulting every rich student she had ever met.

My phone buzzed.

Someone had uploaded the photograph of me at the party.

The caption read:

SCHOLARSHIP GIRL TRIES TO FIT IN WITH THE BILLIONAIRES. EPIC FAIL.

Comments flooded in.

I stared at the screen, my throat tightening.

Then I remembered Madison's face.

Adrian's warning.

And the anonymous message I'd received about my competition proposal.

This wasn't just ordinary campus drama anymore.

Someone wanted me embarrassed, frightened, and eventually gone.

I locked my phone.

“Valentina?” Chloe asked softly.

I lifted my head.

“I'm fine.”

But I wasn't going to let them see me break.

If these rich kids thought they could bully me out of Blackwood University, they had chosen the wrong girl.

End of Chapter Five.