Chapter 2

"Look at Catherine, still pretending she's something special. I bet everything she's wearing isn't even worth 80 dollars!" one of the girls snickered.

"Yeah, she's just a broke poser. Her days of faking it as some rich girl are over," another girl chimed in, her voice thick with sarcasm.

The guys jumped in, smirking. "Where would a girl like her get that kind of cash? She's obviously just clinging to some sugar daddy!"

My parents always taught me, "Never bother with petty people who are beneath you, jealous of you, or try to bring you down.

"Some things don't need to be explained—just do your best, and time will prove everything for you."

I'd always kept that lesson close to my heart. With class about to start, I turned and walked away without saying a word.

Jacob was totally thrown by how I reacted. He probably thought I'd break down, beg him to stay, or just slink off with my tail between my legs.

But instead, I walked away, calm and confident, not the least bit flustered.

That only made him feel even more humiliated. He started cursing at me, his words getting nastier and nastier. "Catherine, quit acting all innocent! Playing hard to get doesn't work on me!"

Listening to him scream his head off behind me just made me feel utterly disgusted.

When I got back to the dorm that night, my roommates were all hyped up, talking about some fan meet-up with the hottest actor in the country, Everett.

The meet-up was happening right in our city.

"Oh my god, I'm dying to see Everett in person!" one of them squealed.

When I walked in, one of my roommates deliberately raised her voice. "I wish I could get Everett's real autograph—unlike someone who just shows off with fake ones and acts like they're all that."

When I first started college, I was unpacking my suitcase and found a signed photo that my brother, Everett, had secretly slipped in there.

To everyone else, Everett was this cool, untouchable movie star. But in reality, he was obsessed with doting on his little sister—me.

Ever since we were kids, he'd always spoiled me rotten.

We were close. Even though I always pretended to be annoyed with him, I was actually super proud of him.

When my roommate saw it, she got super excited and asked if it was really signed. She even said the signature looked legit.

I told her the truth—it was real.

She was all jealous back then, but now she was turning around and calling it a knockoff.

I just snorted. People really were something else.

"I'm so nervous. I don't even know if we'll be able to snag tickets for the fan meet-up tomorrow," one of them said, practically bouncing with excitement.

While they kept chattering away, I quietly opened my bag and pulled out a fancy envelope.

It was a front-row ticket to the fan meet-up, sent to me by the organizers because I was Everett's family.

My roommates kept throwing shade at me. "Oh, please, doesn't matter how much you like Everett—if you can't afford a ticket, you just can't go."

"Exactly, pretending to be rich when you're not must be rough!" another one snickered.

"Everett has such strong morals. He'd want his fans to buy tickets with honest money, not with cash they got from doing things they shouldn't," the third one added, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Listening to their chatter, I saw Everett's brows knit on the other end of the video call, his voice stern. "Catherine, are they talking about you?"

His voice carried a trace of anger. "Tell me what's been happening lately. I'll get a lawyer and take legal action against them."

I just laughed. "Everett, you can't expect a mad dog to understand human words."

Why should I bother stooping to the level of animals?

Everett's eyes were filled with worry and affection, but his tone was bossy and left no room for argument. "Catherine, I'll have my team clear my schedule for the next few days. Since you've got the Labor Day holiday coming up, I'll take you abroad to unwind for a few days."

As soon as I heard we were going on a trip, I couldn't help but act cute and coo at him. "Yay, going out with you is my absolute favorite, my dear brother!"

Through my headphones, I could hear my roommates making exaggerated gagging noises. "Ugh, I wonder which guy she's talking to this time."

"Who else? Must be her sugar daddy. So shameless," another one sneered.

The day before the Labor Day holiday, I only had morning classes.

After class, I lugged my suitcase out the door around noon.

This time, I was going abroad with my parents, too.

Since their villa was close to the airport, I told them to head straight there, and I'd grab a cab myself.

But my father was worried about me, so he sent his driver to pick me up.

The Rolls-Royce parked at the school gate was impossible to miss. Everyone was whispering, trying to guess which rich girl or sugar baby it was there to pick up.

With everyone watching, I, currently the school's hottest topic, got into the car without a second thought.

"Catherine is so shameless! Just a few days ago, she was pretending to be all pure and innocent, and now she's climbing right into her sugar daddy's car!" someone sneered.

Photos of me in my cute little dress getting into that luxury car went viral on the school forum once again.

Scrolling through the forum, I just smirked. Some people were just brainless, and spreading rumors was the only thing they were good at.

My parents noticed me laughing at my phone and peeked over, curious.

When they saw what was on the screen, my father's expression grew heavy.

"Catherine, even though the truth speaks for itself, never forget that public opinion can be terrifying," he said.

My mother pulled me into a hug. "I won't allow my precious daughter to be wronged like this."

"We taught you not to stoop to the level of petty people, but that doesn't mean you should just let them hurt you," she added, her voice firm.

My mother's expression turned sharp, that fierce, take-charge look from her business days flashing across her face. "Leave this to me. I'll handle it," she declared.

Watching the rumors spiral out of control, I realized things were getting out of hand.

However, I didn't want to drag my family into this. I was determined to handle it myself.

The day I returned to campus, I bumped into Jacob right at the school gate. He had his arm wrapped tightly around Jennifer Lawson, an animation major, just like me, making a show of it for everyone to see.

Jennifer shot me a triumphant look, like she was staking her claim and daring me to challenge her.

"Well, well, if it isn't the girl who's always pretending to be something she's not—the broke wannabe," she sneered.

Right after her sharp, nasty words, Jacob chimed in, his voice full of contempt.

"Wearing that? Who knows which guy she's been trying to seduce this time," he scoffed.

Back when Jennifer was chasing after Jacob, he was busy chasing after me instead.

But after Jacob and I fell out, he wasted no time getting together with Jennifer.

Back then, everyone on campus said there were two campus queens in the freshman animation major—both rich and gorgeous.

One was me, and the other was Jennifer.