Chapter 3

Hilary nearly lost it the second we stepped inside. "What? This bag costs 30,000 dollars? Are you kidding me?" she exclaimed.

The sales staff were throwing her sharp looks. If it weren't for me and my diamond-tier membership, they'd have tossed her out on the spot.

I turned to the sales associate and said, "I'll take the first and fifth one. And please show me what else you have."

Hilary was stunned by the way I was flexing my insane wealth, her eyes glued to me with pure, burning envy.

She looked around at all those luxury items she'd never even had a shot at, then shamelessly clung to my arm, acting all needy. "Sophie, can I get something too?"

I played the generous heiress to perfection. "You want something? Knock yourself out. Pick whatever catches your eye."

That extravagant, gullible attitude was exactly what Hilary was hoping for. She lit up, practically squealing, "Thank you, Sophie! You're so much more sophisticated than your mom."

Honestly, her brain must be on vacation. She started talking trash about me right to my face, totally shameless.

I watched her flip from timid to downright arrogant, making a show of it as she bossed the sales associate around. "I want everything she picked out, too."

The sales associate looked really troubled. "Sorry, ma'am, but your sizes are different, and many of these styles are one-size-only."

Hilary's face went sour. She shot daggers at the sales associate, but wouldn't dare mouth off at me. "What are you implying? That I'm bigger than her?" She was fuming, but had to hold it in.

The sales associate looked completely drained, apologizing again and again, and scrambled to find a few pieces that might actually fit her.

Hilary acted so picky, grumbling loudly about how this one was ugly and that one was weird, yet in the end, she scooped up all the clothes and made a beeline for the checkout.

The sales associate stood there with the card reader, while Hilary glanced at me, her eyes full of hope, obviously waiting for me to pay.

I just kept my cool and told the sales associate to hand the card reader over to Hilary. "Why are you staring at me, Ms. Ryan? Come on. Your turn to pay."

Hilary's smile went stiff, her face caught between embarrassment and disbelief. "Sophie, you can't be serious. What do you mean by that?"

I blinked at her, playing the innocent rich girl. "Ms. Ryan, you came here just to keep me company today, right? So, shouldn't you be treating me?"

"Or..." I arched my brow, sizing her up with a teasing grin. "Were you really here to keep me company, or were you just hoping I'd play sugar daddy and swipe my card for you all afternoon?"

Hilary looked totally flustered after I shot her down, her face falling. "Sophie, it's not like that, really. But since you're loaded, maybe you could..."

I didn't even let her finish. "No way."

Hilary's face flushed bright red. She wanted to bail and tell the sales associate to forget the whole purchase, but when she caught that associate shooting her a look that said, "Are you really chickening out now?", she pretty much crumbled on the spot.

She spent forever messing with her phone, totally frazzled, but in the end, she just gritted her teeth and paid for everything, trying to save face.

After the payment went through, she looked ready to pass out, her face practically sheet-white. I peeked at her phone and couldn't help but notice she had some instant loan app open.

So she couldn't get William to bail her out in time, but she was desperate to keep her dignity. Guess she'd rather take out a high-interest loan than admit she couldn't afford it.