Chapter 3
With no afternoon classes, I headed to a bank downtown.
I had two cards under my name.
One was a supplementary card my dad gave me, with my monthly allowance deposited into it.
The other was left to me by my mom.
As soon as I stepped into the private banking suite, my phone rang. It was the bank manager.
"Ma'am, your father just called and froze your supplementary credit card ending in 8888," the manager informed me.
I wasn't surprised at all.
This was my dad's classic move. He figured if he cut off my allowance, I'd fall in line and do whatever he wanted.
"Got it," I replied.
"What about the other card?" I asked.
The manager's tone turned even more respectful. "Ma'am, the gold card your mother left you has the highest level of access. No one but you is authorized to manage it. The current balance is..."
He rattled off a long string of numbers.
It was enough to keep me set for life.
"Alright, thanks," I said.
After hanging up, I transferred a large sum from the gold card to my regular debit card.
As I walked out of the bank, I got a text from my second-oldest brother.
[Ann, Dad cut off your card. If you're out of cash, come home and admit you were wrong. Don't keep pretending you're fine out there.]
What a nag.
That night, Nora sent me a message on WhatsApp.
[Ann, please don't be upset with Dad and your brothers. They're really worried about you. Where are you right now? Want me to ask Ryan to come pick you up and bring you home?]
She even attached a photo to her message.
It was our living room, Dad, my brothers, and Nora all together, enjoying some fruit. Nora was cozied up next to Dad, her smile bright and carefree.
On the coffee table sat an open gift box, showing off the newest gaming console.
That was the one my oldest brother had promised to buy for me a few days ago.
Now, Nora was the one enjoying it.
I smirked and texted back: [Thanks a lot.]
The next day, I went to class as usual.
But the moment I stepped into the classroom, the vibe was totally off.
Everyone was giving me weird looks, like I was suddenly the center of attention.
My deskmate, a girl I got along with pretty well, leaned in hesitantly.
"Ann, have you seen the post on the school forum?" she asked.
I pulled out my phone and opened the forum.
A trending post with a highlighted headline caught my eye.
[Breaking news. Ann got jealous when Campus Heartthrob Ryan helped the new transfer student, broke up with him in front of everyone, and packed up to leave home that very night.]
The post spilled all the juicy details about what went down during the school anniversary night.
It made me out to be a jealous, petty, and overly dramatic villainess.
Nora was cast as the sweet, innocent, and fragile girl everyone wanted to protect.
Ryan, meanwhile, was painted as a loyal 'good guy' willing to upset his girlfriend to help a friend's daughter.
The post also included a few photos.
One showed Nora backstage, tears streaming down her face, looking delicate and heartbroken like a damsel in distress.
Another had Ryan, full of worry, frantically making a call.
And the last one was a shot of me with my back turned, walking away, looking cold and emotionless.
The angle was perfect. It made me look like a total ice queen.
The comments had already piled up to hundreds of replies.
[I always thought Ann was such a phony. Turns out she's even worse when nobody's watching.]
[Man, Ryan has the worst luck ever, stuck with a girlfriend like that.]
[Poor Nora, just got here and already getting bullied.]
[Hey, I heard she's living with Ann's family. That's brutal. She's definitely gonna get picked on now.]
My deskmate asked me cautiously, "Ann, maybe you should go explain yourself? You can't just let them gossip about you behind your back."
My nails dug deep into my palm. For a split second, I wanted to track down the jerk who posted that and shut their lying mouth for good.
But in the end, all that rage fizzled out, leaving me feeling numb and empty.
I put my phone away, my voice calm.
I said, "There's nothing to explain.
"What the truth is doesn't matter.
"They only believe what they want to believe."
It was obvious who had posted it.
Who else but Nora would have those "perfectly timed" photos?