Chapter 2

I thought Travis might be dumb.

He'd rather see his mom run herself ragged than take any help from anyone just to maintain fake pride, pretending he was above it all.

But my parents didn't even hesitate.

My father said, "We've helped so many kids already. What's one more?"

That was how Travis's life had improved.

So, why would I fall in love with him? Hell no!

Annoyed, I dragged my roommate to leave, but Travis blocked me again.

"Vivi, just tell me what you like..." Travis said.

I didn't even let him finish. I reached out and cut him off. "I like money."

While Travis was still stunned, I grabbed my roommate and hurried off. We only stopped when we were somewhere with no one else around.

My roommate, Tina, still out of breath, finally managed to speak. "That's the campus heartthrob! Why did you avoid him? He might not be as loaded as you, but he's good-looking and gets top grades!"

I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down.

Then, I asked, "Do you know what kind of man is the scariest?"

Tina just stared at her, totally lost. "What?" she asked.

I said through clenched teeth, "A poor man."

Seriously! Why would I ditch my family's fortune just to end up with some broke guy?

Other heiresses might be obsessed with love, but not me. I was obsessed with money, plain and simple.

I hated stories where rich girls fell for poor guys and ended up having their fortune stolen by men from humble backgrounds.

I really wanted to scold them. That was money! Why wouldn't they hold it themselves?

Why would they hand their money to some pathetic men? Sure, they might be handsome. But with money, those heiresses could find much better men instead of those losers who were drooling over their wealth.

The next time I ran into Travis was at a fancy Michelin-starred restaurant.

My childhood friend, Oliver, had just returned from abroad, so we booked the place.

But the instant I spotted Travis, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Oliver noticed my weird expression. He tugged at my sleeve and smirked. "Hey, what's that top student doing here? Did you come here just to see him?"

I jolted and replied, "What nonsense were you talking about?"

Oliver raised an eyebrow at her reaction and grinned.

He teased, "What's wrong? Didn't you always say he was handsome?"

I was annoyed and shot back, "That was an objective fact."

Just because I didn't like him didn't mean I couldn't check him. I didn't bother him or anything.

The comments laughed.

[Childhood friend just spilled the tea!]

[Girl, just admit you like him and go for Travis already!]

Like hell I would.

Noticing that I zone out, Oliver smirked and gave her cheek a playful pinch.

"What's got you spacing out?" he teased.

I was boiling inside, nowhere to let out my frustration, so I just glared at him.

"Mind your own damn business!" I shot back.

I felt like just turning around and leaving. Honestly, I didn't want to see Travis at all.

If those random comments before my eyes were actually true, then Travis would be just as crazy as those people.

But it seemed like he was in his work uniform. He must be here for his shift.

If he were working, he wouldn't have time to mess with me anyway.

But I was wrong. Once we were seated, Travis came to us.

"Good evening, here's today's menu," Travis said, handing us the menus.

Oliver and I grew up together. He knew me very well, like 98% of the way.

He'd already picked up on my weird mood, and the second he smirked, I just knew he was about to mess around.

Sure enough, the next moment, Oliver threw his arm around my shoulders.

"Babe, what do you wanna eat?" he said with a playful grin.

As soon as he said that, Travis shot me a look of pure disbelief. Then, he turned and left as if he had been humiliated.

But he moved so fast that he bumped right into a waiter carrying a tray, and the whole tray went flying, splashing food all over a customer at the next table.

The woman at the next table scowled and shouted, "Get your manager over here!"

Travis just stood there, head down, totally zoned out, not saying a word.

I watched the mess unfold, her head pounding harder than ever. I tugged at Oliver, just wanting to get out of there immediately.

With everyone staring, Travis dropped to one knee, his eyes slightly red and his jaw tight as if he were holding back tears.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am. Please, let me help you clean this up," he said.

With his head bowed and that submissive, heartbreakingly gentle look, he was honestly way too irresistible for his own good.

[Whoa! Our boy's heart just shattered!]

[Guys never kneel unless it's serious. He's really pulling out all the stops just to tug at the heroine's heartstrings!]

[Trust a genius like our male lead to have a whole strategy for winning her over!]

[Verity, just say yes already!]

[Wait, this plot's all wrong! Shouldn't the female lead throw the money at the woman and save our boy from embarrassment?]

Throw money at the woman? Did they think I had lost my mind?

Seriously, what guy would actually feel proud getting rescued by a girl flashing her cash?

I watched the comments pop up, thinking they were getting more and more ridiculous.

I couldn't help but sneak a glance at Travis.

Sure enough, even with his head down, he kept stealing glances my way.

Wow, what a useless man.

The woman at the next table wouldn't back down, insisting that Travis pay up for the mess.

"Do you even know how much this dress costs? It's 25 thousand dollars!" she snapped.

The woman was so furious it looked like steam was about to shoot out of her ears.

"Pay up, now!" she barked.

Travis looked completely lost, head down as he walked over to me.

He stopped in front of her, giving her that sad puppy look, and said quietly, "Verity... can you lend me some money?"

My eyelid twitched. It felt like I had been haunted by a ghost.