Elizabeth tightened her grip on the folder and shifted it behind her back. The smile on her face faded as she quietly explained, "He's my classmate. He was just dropping off my graduation documents."

Spencer's expression grew even darker when he noticed how she avoided his gaze. "What kind of classmate is so considerate that he delivers things in person? Does he like you?"

Elizabeth froze for a moment, caught off guard by the assumption. "He was just doing me a favor. We're nothing more than classmates. I don't know who he likes, but it's definitely not me."

Spencer said nothing. His eyes fixed on her for a long moment before his voice turned frigid. "I don't care what your relationship is. You're not to see him again."

"But Mr. Cooper, I have the right to choose my own friends—" She instinctively tried to push back, but he cut her off before she could finish speaking. 

"You've lost

Spencer's birthday party blazed with lights. Everyone understood the importance of that night's event. It was an opportunity to curry favor with Spencer and tap into his powerful influence.

Glasses clinked, and laughter echoed throughout the venue as guests mingled and sipped their drinks. However, the man of the hour, Spencer, looked more and more displeased as time passed.

Ten more minutes dragged by before Spencer finally asked in a low voice, "Has she arrived yet?"

"No, Mr. Cooper. Ms. Farley still hasn't shown up," Peter answered respectfully from beside Spencer. Peter felt terrified the moment he saw Spencer's expression. He recognized that look. It meant that Spencer was far from happy.

Spencer muttered, "What is she doing? I told her not to be late. I was very clear."

Spencer swept his gaze across the venue, frowning. Almost everyone was present except for Elizabeth. Of all 

Yet, Courtney still chose to ask him a question they both already knew the answer to.

Spencer thought that Courtney might be testing just how much Elizabeth truly meant to him. If he admitted his relationship with Elizabeth now, he would only complicate things between himself and Courtney.

So he chose to deny it calmly. "I don't know her."

The lightness in Spencer's tone caused the group to erupt in a fit of laughter. Their eyes brimmed with mockery as they turned to look at Elizabeth.

Faced with such undisguised malice, the best thing Elizabeth could do for herself was to shut her eyes.

Amid the sneers and jeers, her phone buzzed a few times. When she unlocked it, she noticed that she had received a long message from Courtney.

It read, "Spencer never loved you. That's why he'll never acknowledge you or care about your feelings. Your four years of companionship meant nothing to him. No matter how well a kept woman is treated, she's still someone a man can discard easily. Women like you don't deserve to step into the light."

Elizabeth stared at the message in silence. Her thoughts drifted back to two years ago, when a few of her roommates had caught her and Spencer kissing outside the college gates.

She remembered how they went wild with excitement, bombarding her with endless questions about who Spencer was to her.

Before she could answer, Spencer pulled her into his arms and slowly uttered the words, "We're boyfriend and girlfriend."

Ever since then, Elizabeth had believed that they were lovers. It was only now that she finally understood that the entire relationship had been a delusion of her own making.

Spencer had always been waiting for Courtney to return. That place beside him had always been reserved for her and no one else.

Elizabeth was nothing more than a distraction he used to dull his pain. She was just a convenient stand-in while he waited for someone else. She was someone destined to be a momentary shadow in his life.

After returning home, Elizabeth discovered that everything that had happened at the gathering had been posted to the college forum.

Now, everyone at Solarys College was talking about her.

"Where did this pathetic clown come from? Spreading lies about Spencer, of all people. Does she even know her own worth? She's not even worthy to carry his shoes."

"Spencer is the crown prince of Durmkrem's elite circle. The woman he loves is Courtney Gallagher, a daughter of the prestigious Gallagher family. How could he possibly be involved with some peasant woman like Elizabeth? She's clearly delusional!"

"I heard that she's being kept by some creepy old man in his 50s, and when her classmates found out, she made up this story to cover it up. She's such a gold-digger and a disgrace to our college!"

As she read the endless thread of ridicule and insults online, Elizabeth felt as though a storm cloud had settled over her heart.

Her roommates spoke up for her in every way they could, but the overwhelming tide of condemnation quickly drowned out their voices.

No one cared about the truth.

There was nothing Elizabeth could do. So, she shut down all her social media and convinced herself repeatedly that it would all be over soon.

…

Days passed.

After finalizing her graduation, Elizabeth returned home to inform her now-recovered mother about her plans to study abroad.

She stayed so busy that days passed without a single glimpse of Spencer. When she finally returned to the villa, she found him waiting on the couch.

"Where have you been?" he asked. "I haven't seen you at all these past few days."

"School stuff," Elizabeth replied as she lowered her gaze and offered a vague excuse.

"School? Aren't you graduating soon? What could possibly be keeping you so busy?"

Not wanting him to know that she was planning to leave the country, she casually brushed it off by saying, "Just graduation stuff."

Spencer frowned, sensing something amiss. Just as he was about to press further, Elizabeth's phone rang. She answered it and turned to leave without another word.

Spencer caught the faint sound of a male voice on the other end of her call. His gaze darkened as he switched off his phone and followed her out.

The classmate came by at Mackenzie's request to deliver Elizabeth's visa and the official documents prepared by the college. After thanking him politely, Elizabeth turned around and met Spencer's threatening glare.

"Who is he? What did he want?" Spencer asked.

Elizabeth tightened her grip on the folder and shifted it behind her back. The smile on her face faded as she quietly explained, "He's my classmate. He was just dropping off my graduation documents."

Spencer's expression grew even darker when he noticed how she avoided his gaze. "What kind of classmate is so considerate that he delivers things in person? Does he like you?"

Elizabeth froze for a moment, caught off guard by the assumption. "He was just doing me a favor. We're nothing more than classmates. I don't know who he likes, but it's definitely not me."

Spencer said nothing. His eyes fixed on her for a long moment before his voice turned frigid. "I don't care what your relationship is. You're not to see him again."

"But Mr. Cooper, I have the right to choose my own friends—" She instinctively tried to push back, but he cut her off before she could finish speaking. 

"You've lost that so-called 'right' the moment you agreed to our arrangement. I don't tolerate disloyalty. If yo

Chapter 7