Chapter 2
The moment I mentioned Matthew's name, the whole place went quiet.
Pretty much everyone at this college knew about Matthew. He was a campus legend—two years older than me, ridiculously good-looking, and top of his class.
When I first started here, he was already off studying abroad. For a lot of girls, he was the unattainable crush, the guy they all secretly dreamed about.
Actually, his family lived right next door to mine. We basically grew up together, so tossing his name out as my shield wasn't really a big deal.
Without waiting for Jackson's reaction, I went upstairs.
The crowd broke up, looking a little let down.
My roommates trailed after me. I had no clue how Jackson had won them over—even when we got back to the dorm, they still tried to talk me into it.
"Shelley, I really think Jackson's a catch."
"Yeah, Shelley. You don't even know Matthew, and there are so many girls after him. Why get hung up on him?"
I cut them off, my voice cold. "Sorry, but I'm a sucker for good looks."
"Come on, Shelley, good looks aren't everything," Selena Shaw hissed. "Jackson's a straight-A student. If you date him, he might even help you get into grad school."
"I'm not even thinking about grad school," I said, rolling my eyes. Getting more degrees was just about landing a better job, and honestly, I didn't need that.
It was just something I said in passing, but somehow Jackson heard about it almost immediately.
He messaged me on WhatsApp, where our chat was still stuck on that essay-length confession he'd sent after I turned him down.
He asked: [You're not planning to go to grad school?]
[Mm-hmm,] I replied half-heartedly, wondering which of my roommates had spilled the beans.
He jumped right into lecture mode. [Honestly, I think you should go for grad school.]
I didn't bother replying. No way was I sticking around for another one of his rants.
But Jackson just kept going. [Grad school's the best way to get cultured and level up your whole vibe. When you have kids someday, they'll want a mom with real depth.]
I shot back coldly: [No worries. I'll have my future husband snipped—no kids for me.] For the first time, I wanted to chuck my phone out the window.
WhatsApp stayed quiet for a while, and I thought maybe Jackson had finally given up. But nope—fifteen minutes later, he hit me with another essay-length rant.
It read: [Shelley, I've been thinking, and I really feel like I need to correct your perspective. I get that you don't want to go for grad school—it's tough, sure. But I think having kids is your duty as a woman. You can't just be selfish and...]
He kept going for paragraphs, but I couldn't be bothered to read the rest. I muted him instantly—leaving him unblocked was the last shred of courtesy I had left.
Jackson figured out pretty fast that I'd muted him. The next morning, right before my 8 a.m. class, he came over and said, "Shelley, did I say something wrong yesterday? I'm really sorry. Please don't shut me out."
Then he dropped a bag onto my desk, and inside was a pickled egg.
I remembered those eggs—they were a cheap little treat from the campus cafeteria, just fifty cents each. A student could only grab one at a time.
"Here, I saved this for you this morning," he said, looking way too pleased with himself.
The egg's juice seeped through the plastic bag, leaving a greasy spot on the desk and smelling quite funky.
I grabbed a napkin, wrapped the bag up, and handed it back to him while pointing at the sign by the door. "No food allowed in the classroom. You should probably go eat somewhere else. Besides, I've already had breakfast."
"So, I'll take that as you forgiving me. Don't block me again, alright?" he said, totally ignoring how grossed out I looked.
I didn't bother with him. As soon as the teacher walked in, I zoned in on the class.
During the break, a delivery guy called me outside, saying I had a package.
I figured it was some snacks I'd ordered online and opened the package right there in front of everyone.
To my surprise, I found a bracelet inside.
"Whoa, Shelley, you've gotta be loaded. This is the newest Swarovski bracelet. It's so pretty," said a classmate who recognized it right away, her voice dripping with envy.
"Thanks, it's probably a gift from a friend. I wouldn't spend that kind of money on myself," I said, keeping it low-key. Honestly, I had no idea who sent it, and they didn't even give me a heads-up.
Jackson spotted it too and came over, sounding annoyed. "Why'd you get something like that?"
"Anything wrong?" I asked.
He shot me a snarky look. "No, I just think as a student, you shouldn't be wearing such an expensive bracelet. It gives people the wrong idea."
"It's not a big deal," the girl next to me jumped in before I could say anything. "A Swarovski bracelet is like a hundred bucks—if we save up, it's totally okay to splurge on ourselves sometimes."
Jackson's face turned sour, and he started lecturing again. "Students should act like students. You ought to save your parents' money instead of wasting it on junk just to feed your vanity."
The girl who spoke up for me looked ready to argue, but I stopped her. I glanced at Jackson and said, "You save your money, and we'll spend ours. It's not like it affects you."
As I got pissed, Jackson switched to a softer tone, trying to explain himself. "Shelley, you misunderstood me. I just mean, if you've got extra allowance, why not save it up?
"Who knows, maybe one day we'll end up together and could use it to get our own place. It's way better than blowing it on a bracelet."
I shot him a grin. "Thanks for the thought, but the odds of us ending up together are like one in a million. I'd rather spend my cash on the other 999,999 things."