Chapter 3
"Alright, Rodolfo, just come up. Room 402."
"Yes, Miss," he replied.
I hung up and gave Georgina a quick chin lift. "Go open the door."
Georgina was frozen in place, like someone had nailed her to the floor.
"I... I..." she stammered.
"What's wrong? Scared?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Who says I'm scared?" Georgina shot up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, stormed to the door, and yanked it open.
Standing outside was a middle-aged man in a sharp suit, his hair neatly combed.
It was the same Rodolfo from the picture.
He was holding a fancy thermos in his hand.
When he saw Georgina open the door, he froze for a moment, then nodded politely.
"Excuse me, is Miss Jocelyn in this room?" he asked.
Georgina was completely dumbfounded.
Her mouth hung open as she looked from Rodolfo to me, all the color draining from her face.
I stood up and walked over to the door.
"Rodolfo, thanks for coming all this way," I said.
When Rodolfo saw me, he immediately put on a respectful smile and handed me the thermos.
He said, "No trouble at all, Miss. Mrs. Rutledge was worried you might not be eating well at school, so she made you some luxury health delicacy and asked me to bring it over.
"She also wanted me to ask if you'd like to come home this weekend. Mr. Rutledge just bought a new yacht and wants to take you out on the water."
luxury health delicacy?
Yacht?
Those two words hit the tiny dorm room like a couple of bombs.
Georgina and Emily were both staring at me, their eyes wide and unblinking.
They stared at the thermos in my hand like it was holding something straight out of a fantasy, not just luxury health delicacy.
I took the thermos and said to Rodolfo, "Could you wait a moment?"
Then I turned around and held my phone out to Georgina, the confession wall post still up on the screen.
"Got anything to say now, Georgina?" I asked.
Georgina's lips trembled like a leaf in the wind.
She looked at me, then at Rodolfo standing by the door, her eyes full of fear and regret.
"I... I... Jocelyn... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... I just..." she stammered.
"You were just jealous of me, weren't you?" I finished for her.
Georgina immediately looked down, unable to even meet my gaze.
I scoffed. "Jealousy doesn't give you the right to spread rumors and ruin my name."
I turned to Rodolfo at the door. "Rodolfo, could you help me with something?"
"Just say the word, Miss," he replied.
"She posted lies about me on the school forum, seriously damaging my reputation. I'd like our legal team to send her a letter from our lawyers," I said.
"Yes, Miss, I'll take care of it right away," Rodolfo replied.
He pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
His voice wasn't loud, but every word was crystal clear to everyone in the dorm.
He said, "Hello, is that the legal department? This is Rodolfo. Miss Rutledge was slandered at school, and we need you to send a legal notice... Yes, the culprit is her roommate, named... Miss, what's this student's name?"
Rodolfo looked over at Georgina.
Georgina dropped to the floor with a loud thud, her legs just giving out beneath her.
Her face was drained of all color, and she was shaking so hard it looked like she might fall apart.
"No, Jocelyn, I messed up. I really did. Please don't sue me! I promise, I'll never do it again!" she sobbed.
She crawled over, crying, trying to cling to my leg, but I pulled away from her in disgust.
Emily was frozen in place, standing off to the side, not knowing what to do.
I looked down at Georgina, my gaze icy and unforgiving.
"Now you know you messed up? Too late," I said. "Did it ever cross your mind how much those vicious things you posted would hurt me?
"When you were hiding behind your screen, typing out all those nasty things, did you ever think about the consequences?
"When you enjoyed spreading rumors and watched me become the talk of the whole school, did you ever think it would come to this?"
Every word I said hit Georgina like a sledgehammer, crushing her spirit.
Her sobs grew louder, so intense she could barely breathe.
"I... I just wasn't thinking straight... I was jealous of you, okay? Jealous that you're prettier, that your grades are always better... I..." Georgina stammered。
"So you thought you'd bring me down?" I cut her off。
Georgina was speechless, just kept shaking her head, her face a mess of tears and snot.
Looking at Georgina in such a pathetic mess, I didn't feel a shred of satisfaction. All I felt was disgust.
"If an apology could fix everything, then what would we need the cops for?" I said, my voice icy.