During my sophomore year of college, I sent a box of gifts to my boyfriend. He was happily video-chatting with me when he opened it. Suddenly, a roommate walking by his screen chimed in: "That stuff looks cheap. Why are you flexing that so hard?" My boyfriend turned his head and shot back playfully: "Oh, and that raggedy old little pouch you carry around isn't a treasure? You won't even let anyone touch it." The next second, my ex-boyfriend's face appeared in the camera frame. I was instantly transported back to my senior year of high school. I remembered the moment I was framed for stealing an exam answer key, losing my guaranteed college admission spot. The bad boy who had once sworn to be my ultimate protector had looked at me with impatience and said: "Do you know who her family is? Do you know who you are? Did you really have to provoke her?" 1 I froze for a second before I realized the face on the screen was Cole. I hadn't seen him in a few years, and he looked even better than before. He didn't need to pretend to be a broke kid in front of me anymore; he had reverted to being the rich heir, though he had shed some of his teenage arrogance and immaturity. The moment his eyes met mine through the screen, the hand holding his cigarette visibly trembled. Ash fell onto his hand. He quickly averted his gaze and let out a cold scoff: "This is it?" Liam's face instantly darkened. "If you don't have anything nice to say, get the hell out of the frame. My girlfriend is the best thing in the world." "The best? Who knows if she's just with you for your money." Cole leaned back against his headboard, his eyes dark and unreadable. Liam turned back to the camera, flashing me a brilliant smile. "Baby, what else do you want? Anything money can buy is no problem. You know I'm loaded." "Please, I'm begging you, let me spend some money on you." He continued to playfully whine at the camera. I looked down at the floor, not saying a word. Cole suddenly let out a cold laugh. "Isn't that what you've been waiting for this whole time? Hurry up and ask him." Liam only had endless patience and a good temper when it came to me. Normally, he couldn't stand anyone saying a bad word about me. He whipped around and kicked Cole's desk. "Did the Sterling family go bankrupt? Why are you so sensitive about money?" Finally, Liam frowned and delivered the killing blow: "Or is it that time of the month for you? Why are you being so passive-aggressive to my girlfriend today?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Cole's face turned black as thunder. His chest heaved, but he couldn't utter a single word. He stood up, his face icy, and slammed the dorm room door behind him. Liam acted like he hadn't noticed a thing, leaning back toward his desk and continuing our call. "I'm sorry, babe. I don't know what's wrong with him today. Don't let it ruin your mood. I'll take you to look at some apartments later." "My family's new development is finished. Do you want to go check it out? I specifically had them set aside the best units." He rambled on, simultaneously watching my expression with careful observation. If anyone saw the untouchable, highly-sought-after heir of the Miller family talking to a girl like this, their jaws would probably drop. I looked up and offered him a reassuring smile. "It's fine." "We can talk about the apartments later. I have to get to class soon." "Okay. Wait for me, I'll come pick you up right now." To be honest, when I moved to this city, I was mentally prepared to eventually run into Cole. But I never expected him to be roommates with Liam. Back when I was fighting tooth and nail to claw my way up, I always thought that if Cole saw me, I needed him to know that leaving him only made my life better. But seeing him now, I realized I felt absolutely nothing. 2 It started raining when I left my dorm. I stood under the awning, reading a research paper while waiting for Liam. "You've really moved up in the world, Chloe." "Where's Liam?" My gaze passed right through him, staring blankly into the distance. Cole suddenly reached out and pulled me under his umbrella. "Is it a crime for me to pick you up?" That single sentence yanked me from the pristine college campus right back to the damp, rundown trailer park of my youth. It was pouring rain. The power in the classroom had gone out. While the other students were celebrating getting out of school early, I was just glad I could start my delivery shift sooner and make a little extra cash. I didn't have a choice. I was an orphan; if I needed money, I had to earn it myself. The moment I stepped out into the rain, I was instantly soaked to the bone. Terrified of getting bad ratings, I took off my own raincoat and wrapped it around the delivery box on the back of my e-bike. Before I could even feel good about the money I was going to make, the e-bike skidded and crashed heavily onto the wet pavement. My leg was badly scraped. I struggled for a long time but couldn't manage to stand up. With no other option, I called my childhood friend, Ethan, to come get me. But the person who showed up wasn't Ethan; it was Cole. Back then, Cole was the quintessential bad boy. Covered in cheap, clinking jewelry, he looked like a walking hardware store as he ran through the storm to reach me. "Where's Ethan?" "Is it a crime for me to pick you up? I'm your best friend too, you know." He helped me pick up the fallen e-bike, then scooped me up into his arms. A faint scent of antiseptic enveloped me. I clung to his back, watching the rich kid clumsily try to start the e-bike, cursing the entire time. "Chloe, are you crazy? If you need money, just tell me. Delivering food in a storm like this... aren't you afraid of getting killed?" "If you die, Mr. Wilson is going to dramatically slit his throat in front of the whole class." Mr. Wilson was our homeroom teacher. He had always looked out for me. I lay against his back, feeling his body heat. Maybe I just found him annoying, or maybe my heart was beating too fast and scrambling my brain, but I reached out and covered his mouth. "Shut up." It was instantly quiet, leaving only the sound of the relentless rain and the pounding of a heartbeat. His warm breath hit my hand, making my ears turn bright red. I was always someone who prioritized efficiency, but suddenly, I wished time would just stop for a while. But now. Now, I wished time would fast-forward, so I could escape having to interact with him. "Chloe, I'm here." Liam arrived, and I practically sprinted toward him. He wrapped me in a tight hug before finally looking at Cole. Cole stood in the rain, looking inexplicably lonely. He gripped a small, embroidered pouch in his hand, his mouth opening and closing. Liam's gaze swept over him, and the grip on my hand tightened slightly. "Let's go." But Cole called out to him. "Do you know who gave me this pouch?" My body went a little stiff. Liam, however, turned around with a smile. "Does it matter who gave it to you?" "Aren't you just the guy who got dumped and is now desperately clinging to some raggedy pouch to reminisce?" Cole didn't get angry. "But when she gave it to me, she put a good luck charm inside. She prayed for it herself." "Liam, has your girlfriend ever given you anything like that?" The two men stared at each other in tense silence. Liam suddenly grabbed my arm, revealing the beaded bracelet on my wrist. "I couldn't bear to make my girlfriend do that kind of work, so I prayed for this one for her." Cole's pupils contracted violently. He gripped the pouch so tightly it crumpled. He opened his mouth, then closed it. I guessed he wanted to ask. He wanted to ask if the scar on my wrist had finally healed. 3 Years ago, the day I found out Cole was in the hospital after a car crash, I learned what it truly felt like to be scared out of my mind. Ethan brought me to the hospital, but I could only press my face against the glass window of the ICU. Cole was lying there, surrounded by beeping monitors, hooked up to a dozen tubes. The doctor was giving the Sterling family an update. "The patient's condition is extremely critical. Whether he wakes up or not depends entirely on tonight and tomorrow. If he doesn't wake up by tomorrow..." "The family needs to prepare for the worst." I covered my mouth, slowly sliding down the wall until I hit the floor. In that moment, staring at the sterile white walls, I thought about praying to a higher power for the first time in my life. For the first eighteen years of my life, I had been a staunch atheist. But this time, I wanted to beg the heavens, just to let me be lucky this one time. Let him live. I stayed outside his hospital room all night. The next day, Ethan took me to a famous local temple. It was said to be the most effective temple in the area, located at the very top of a seemingly endless mountain. Even though there was a cable car, barely anyone took it. People believed that climbing the mountain path on foot showed true sincerity. And only then would the heavens grant your wish. The mountain path was brutal. Ethan accompanied me quietly. I didn't dare stop or rest for a single second. By the time we reached the top, I was drenched in sweat. The moment I knelt before the altar, I offered up all the devotion I possessed. "Please, please let Cole wake up." A monk standing nearby handed me a good luck charm, offering a gentle smile. "Though the path is fraught with hardship, the end will bring fulfillment." I joyfully placed the charm inside the embroidered pouch I had made. On the way down the mountain, I practically ran the entire way. As a result, joy turned to disaster. I tripped and fell, tearing a deep gash into my arm. Right at that moment, the hospital called to say Cole had woken up. Clutching the pouch, crying and laughing simultaneously, I completely ignored my bleeding wrist and rushed back to the hospital. Cole had just woken from his coma and was still on a ventilator. His hands were moving frantically. I thought he was in pain and was about to call the doctor. But when the doctor arrived, Cole just pointed a weak finger at my wrist. "Hurts..." "Worry about yourself first." My anxiety made me snap at him like a firecracker, but he just offered a weak, good-natured smile. Later, when he was discharged from the hospital, I handed him the pouch containing the good luck charm. Because of the car crash, he had a long scar down his back. Because of him, I had a scar on my arm. "We have matching scars," I had said. Cole had simply gripped the pouch and pulled me into his arms. "Chloe, let's be together." The messy, chaotic stitches on that pouch held all my secret, teenage hopes and dreams. I said yes, and we began a secret, high school romance. Back then, I truly believed that Cole and I would have a perfect, happy ending. But now, the scar on my wrist was covered by a bracelet engraved with Liam's name. 4 After finishing an intense Calculus lecture, I felt energized and ready to go, but Liam had turned into a deflated puppy. He switched into his 'needy' persona, clinging to me and whining. "Babe, compared to you, I feel so stupid." I found it endearing, ruffling his hair to comfort him. "You're not stupid, you're not stupid. Tell me what part you didn't understand, I'll explain it." "No, let's go get food first." He grabbed my hand to lead me out, then stopped halfway down the hall. "I left my phone on the desk." "I'll go grab it. Wait here." He sprinted off, and I leaned against the wall to fill out an application form. There was a highly coveted internship opportunity available, and the competition in our department was fierce. Even though I was ranked first in my class, I couldn't afford to slack off. My temples started throbbing again. I instinctively reached into my bag. "Here." A lighter and a cigarette were placed into my hand. I pulled out a piece of candy instead. "I quit." Cole nodded, his eyes carrying an emotion I couldn't read. "Do you always have to push yourself this hard?" He had said those exact words to me before. We had gotten into a huge fight over it. Right before the SATs, I was pushing myself to the absolute limit. To stay awake and study, I had even started smoking. I was fiercely ambitious. I had to get into a top-tier university. That was the first step toward my dream. When Ethan, acting on his mom's orders, brought me food, he was shocked by how awful I looked. He didn't say much, just tossed me a bottle of vitamins. "Eat this before you study." I nodded and silently ate the food. My phone kept buzzing. It was a text from Cole. "Chloe, I miss you so much. Can I come see you?" Below the text was the address of a notoriously expensive, exclusive club. I hadn't planned on going, but it was his birthday today, and I caved. When I walked into the private VIP room, Cole immediately pulled me into a hug. "You haven't spent time with me in so long. Just stay with me tonight." "I can't. I have to be back by ten to finish practice tests. Once exams are over..." Before I could finish, a female voice cut me off. "Give it a rest. She's a self-made academic weapon. Why are you trying to distract her?" I knew the girl who spoke. It was Cole's childhood friend, Victoria. She looked me up and down with obvious disdain, letting out a cold scoff. "Tsk. Playing hard to get is fine, but don't overdo it. If you play your hand wrong, you'll be crying when it's too late." As soon as she finished speaking, the room erupted in laughter. Cole's face darkened, and he smashed his glass on the floor. "If any of you motherf***ers say one more passive-aggressive thing, I swear to God." "What my girlfriend does is none of your damn business." He threw a massive fit, and those 'friends' of his never dared to say another bad word about me. He even grabbed Victoria and forced her to apologize to me. Honestly, I knew his friends looked down on me. They all thought I was only with him for his money. But I didn't care what they thought. I only cared what Cole thought. As long as Cole believed in me and supported me, I wasn't afraid of anything. That night, Cole ended his birthday party early and personally walked me home. "Don't exhaust yourself. Get some sleep after you finish those practice tests." His eyes were sparkling, but he still sounded a little sheepish when he spoke. "Can you at least say 'Happy Birthday' to me?" "Happy Birthday. Here's your gift." It was a pair of boxing gloves. They had cost me a whole month's salary. Cole smiled so wide he couldn't close his mouth. "I love them." I buried my face in his jacket and took a deep breath, feeling all my exhaustion melt away. For the following weeks, he quietly took charge of bringing me three meals a day. One day, I was studying like a maniac and finally managed to carve out an hour to go see him. Instead, I overheard him complaining to Victoria. "Does she really need to push herself this hard?" "Wouldn't it be better to just stay by my side? I can give her whatever she wants. I seriously don't understand why she's being so difficult." I didn't hear what he said to Victoria after that. I just felt a sudden, sharp ache in my chest. But back then, I convinced myself he was just worried about me. I had no idea that this was just the beginning of the end. 5 Liam walked out of the classroom with his phone, smoothly pulling me into his arms without missing a beat. "Figured out what you want to eat?" His thumbs expertly massaged my temples. "Headache again? The family doctor prescribed some herbal medicine for you. I'll have them brew it and send it over later." I leaned against him and gently patted his hand. "I'm fine. Don't go through the trouble." He smiled and leaned in to kiss me. His movements were gentle, but laced with a deep possessiveness. "You're leaving soon for your internship. You need to focus on taking care of your health while you can." I squeezed his hand. "Okay. Just come with me to drop off this application form first." Cole, who had been standing in the shadows, suddenly moved. His face was dark. "You're letting her go work in the mountains?" The smile on Liam's face vanished completely. He shot Cole a freezing glare. "Whatever she wants to do, I support her." "Besides, she is my girlfriend. Cole, you're crossing the line." ... Cole stormed off with a dark expression. Liam and I went to his off-campus apartment. I knew he had definitely noticed the tension between Cole and me. He kept his head down, kissing me deeply. "Chloe, he doesn't deserve you." "Are you jealous?" Liam frowned, grabbing my hand as it wandered downwards. "Every single person who gets close to you makes me jealous." "That's why I'm going to hold onto you so tightly, and make sure I never make a single mistake." "That way, you'll stay with me forever and ever." He didn't bother hiding the possessiveness in his eyes anymore. At the height of our intimacy, I gripped the back of his neck. A faint flush appeared at the corners of Liam's eyes. "Chloe, only ever look at me. Promise me." "Chloe, let me stay by your side. I'll always support you. I will never be an obstacle to anything you want to do." I stared at him, and kissed him hard. Their breath mingling, Liam's rhythm grew erratic, his movements accelerating. Finally, he bit down on the soft flesh of my neck, pausing. The next day in class, Cole kept turning around to look at me. Following his gaze, Liam casually reached up and stroked the red mark on my neck. 6 Right after I finished my final seminar report, someone told me Liam and Cole were fighting. By the time I ran over, the two of them were already tangled in a brawl. "What happened?" "I don't know, it looked like Liam accidentally bumped into Cole's embroidered pouch, and then they just started swinging." "Stop fighting." The people around them managed to pull Cole back. I frantically checked Liam for injuries. "Are you okay?" I was so anxious I didn't even notice I had stepped directly on the pouch Cole had dropped. "Chloe!" He grabbed the hem of my shirt desperately. "Is he the only person you see now?" "Obviously? Who is he to me, and who are you to me? Why are you trying to start a fight with him?" The color drained from Cole's face, inch by inch. He crouched on the ground, helplessly clutching the pouch. "Chloe, listen to me..." I dragged Liam toward the campus clinic, leaving his words behind me. "Chloe, who am I to you?" Liam leaned his head on my shoulder, his eyes rimmed with red. I knew his stubborn, needy side was acting up again. "My boyfriend." Liam closed his eyes in deep satisfaction, looking like a cat that had just been petted exactly right. "The things you said to Cole today... he used to say those exact same things to you, didn't he?" Liam secretly traced circles on my palm with his finger, over and over. Nothing got past him. Cole had said those exact words to me once. 7 That year, as the SATs approached, I grew increasingly anxious. I desperately needed that golden ticket to a top university. I wanted a good future, and I needed a ladder to bridge the massive gap between me and Cole. He was a trust fund baby; I was an orphaned girl with dead parents. He held all the chips, while the only card I had to play was my academic ability. My life felt like a high-wire balancing act. I was pushing myself to the absolute limit. All I saw was a top-tier university. Cole came to find me every day, but I never spoke to him for more than three minutes at a time. Finally, one day, he lost his temper. "Chloe, why do you have to push yourself so hard?! Is it for the money? How much do you need? Can't I just give it to you?!" I stood there, my face deathly pale, slowly picking up the practice workbooks I had dropped on the floor, trying to piece together my crumbling dignity. If someone offered me that money now, I would take it without hesitation. But that's how teenagers are. When you think you're invincible, you're also the easiest to destroy. Before my frustrated tears could fall, Cole pulled me into a hug and apologized. "I'm sorry, Chloe, I'm just so worried. Do you have any idea how much weight you've lost lately? I'm genuinely terrified. Please, I'm begging you, just take it easy on yourself." "Stop pushing yourself so hard. I will always be your safety net." A teenage boy's promises look like a beautiful bouquet of flowers, but underneath, they are completely empty. And I almost fell for it, almost let myself become nothing more than fertilizer for those flowers. As much as Cole liked me, Victoria hated me. But she always maintained the facade of just being a "friend" who stayed quietly by Cole's side, so I couldn't really say anything. It wasn't until the day she fully exposed her malice that I nearly broke. During the final school-wide mock exams, I gripped my pen, calculating furiously. Looking at the familiar test format, my confidence slowly grew. By the time I finished the last question, I even felt a surge of pride. I thought I had that golden ticket secured. Our school had two guaranteed admission spots for top universities, and I was always ranked first in my grade. But just after finishing my last exam, I was called into the principal's office. For an absolutely absurd reason. "You're saying I stole the mock exam answer key? Are you insane?" I stood there, trembling uncontrollably. The principal slammed a document onto the desk without any explanation. "The security cameras caught you going into the records room." "Chloe, don't be stubborn." Then, he immediately switched to a different, patronizing tone. "Chloe, actually, given your academic ability, you don't even need this guaranteed admission spot to get into a top school. Why fight so hard for it here?" He tapped a bank card on the desk and held up five fingers. Fifty thousand dollars. "I didn't steal the exam." Victoria stepped out from the shadows, her eyes full of blatant malice. "Stop struggling. Don't you just study so hard for the money?" "This is more money than you'll see in your entire life." I gritted my teeth. "I didn't steal the exam, and I'm going to make you pay for this." Back then, I always thought right was right and wrong was wrong, so my first instinct was to expose her and demand justice. But there was no justice. The principal spoke first. "If you keep causing a scene, I can't guarantee you'll even be allowed to take the SATs this year." His eyes were freezing cold. I stood frozen in place. "My academic record has brought this school a lot of prestige." "Don't be ridiculous. Without Chloe, there will be an Emily, or an Ashley." "But finding a student like Victoria, whose family can donate ten million dollars with the snap of a finger, isn't easy." "Chloe, stop causing trouble. Just take the money and walk away. It's better for everyone." I didn't believe it, so I went to find Cole. He had said he was my safety net. He could demand justice for me, just like he had at the club that night. But he avoided my eyes. "Chloe, my family's company ran into some issues recently. Right now, Victoria is our main supplier. I can't treat her the way I used to." "It's just college. I can take you to study abroad with me. You can go wherever you want." He grabbed my shoulders, looking desperate, while I was on the verge of a total breakdown. "I don't need the guaranteed admission spot! But why are they framing me for stealing the exam?! I didn't do it!" I screamed at him, my voice hoarse. "I refuse to carry the stigma of being a thief!" Didn't he know? Did he know how many people were pointing fingers behind my back, saying the most horrific things about me? "Chloe, those people are just talking nonsense. Why do you care what they think?" "I need you to clear my name." The continuous breakdown in communication finally triggered Cole's rich-kid temper. He slammed his fist onto the table. "Do you know who her family is? Do you know who you are? Did you really have to provoke her?" The rain poured down on me. I involuntarily shivered. I almost... I almost actually believed I had a safety net.
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