Chapter 3

After Bella's birthday party, Lucas had turned up the heat in his pursuit. Every morning, he showed up downstairs right on time with a fancy breakfast. He skipped his professional courses to sit through my boring general education classes with me. When I dozed off, he secretly drew a little pig in my palm. On the fake birthday I'd casually mentioned, he presented me with a diamond necklace in front of my roommate. Natalie's eyes nearly popped out of her head. She dragged me onto the balcony, her face full of concern. "Sienna, tell me the truth. Are you actually falling for him?" My fingers traced the diamond necklace at my neck as I gave her a reassuring smile. "Of course not," I replied. "Then why are you accepting such expensive gifts from him?" she pressed, her voice pitching higher with anxiety. "Anything given by people like him will have to be paid back with interest eventually. What are you going to pay him back with?" I patted her shoulder and said, "Don't worry. He's the one who's going to regret this." The next day, Natalie and I were eating in the cafeteria when Bella and her friends walked past our table. With a deliberate flick of her wrist, Bella tipped her tray, sending a stream of scalding hot spicy soup right at me. Even though I dodged quickly, some of the liquid still splashed onto my arm. Natalie shrieked in alarm and frantically grabbed a few napkins to help me wipe it off. Bella looked down at me with a condescending glare. "Oops, sorry. My hand slipped," she said. Her gaze swept over my T-shirt and added, "That shirt looks like something you got at a street market for 30 bucks, right? I'll give you 300. That should be enough for you to buy ten of them." I was so furious at her words. That clueless fool had just ruined the plainest T-shirt I owned. It was the one I'd painstakingly picked from my entire wardrobe of designer pieces. This shirt cost more than what she was wearing. Bella pulled 300 dollars from her wallet and tossed them in front of me like she was tipping a beggar. All because of Dad's plan, I was forced to swallow my pride and take the humiliation. Just then, a figure rushed over. Lucas shoved Bella aside so hard that she stumbled backward several steps. His face was filled with concern as he scanned me from head to toe. "Are you okay? Did you get burned? How bad is it?" he asked. He turned to Bella and snapped, "Are you insane? Apologize to Sienna now." Tears immediately welled up in Bella's eyes. "Lucas, I didn't mean to." "I said, apologize now," he repeated. Intimidated by his tone, Bella reluctantly muttered, "I'm sorry." No sooner had the word left her mouth than Lucas scooped me up into a princess carry. Under the stares of the entire cafeteria, he strode toward the campus clinic. "I'm sorry, Sienna. I failed to protect you." I lowered my eyes, and my shoulders shook as I tried to hold back my emotions. "It's not your fault," I replied. My voice came out choked with tears. Lucas held me tighter. "Trust me. No one will ever dare bully you again," he reassured me. I leaned against his chest. The strong cologne mixed with the smell of spicy soup was absolutely nauseating. I'd actually gotten hurt today playing their game. I wondered what Dad would say if he found out about it. Fortunately, the evaluation period was almost over.