Chapter 4
Days later, a phone call shattered my peaceful life once more:
“Ms. Daisy, Mr. Trevor has run up a tab here more than three times, totaling over fifty thousand dollars. When can you come settle his bill?”
I raised an eyebrow:
“What does his bill have to do with me? Didn’t you know he’s been kicked out of my family’s home?”
The person on the other end sounded surprised:
“But he said to just call you directly for the money, and that you’d definitely pay…”
I rubbed my temples:
“And you just take his word for it? Do you have any critical thinking skills? He was just some hanger-on my dad found for me. Why would he have any right to spend my money?”
The call was abruptly disconnected.
I immediately sent a message to all the shops I was familiar with: Trevor’s bills have nothing to do with me. Do not harass me.
Within minutes, Trevor’s call came in.
The moment I answered, he immediately launched into an indignant tirade:
“Chloe, are you insane?! Why won’t you pay my bills?! I’m giving you an out here, don’t be ungrateful!”
An out?
As if I needed one.
“Are we close? And besides, why would a man of your principles ever spend a woman’s money? I’m just looking out for your reputation, aren’t I?”
From the other end of the line, Chloe’s voice suddenly chimed in:
“Is it settled? Those shops are calling me now, demanding payment! Where are we going to get all that money?!”
No wonder he’d blown through so much money in just a few days.
So he was trying to impress his little girlfriend. Pathetic.
Trevor’s voice got frantic:
“I don’t care what game you’re playing! I’m ordering you to pay those bills right now! Chloe’s been crying hysterically because of all the debt collectors! You need to buy her some jewelry and go apologize to her immediately!”
Jewelry too?
How about a good slap across the face instead?
Chloe was still putting on her pathetic act on the other end:
“It’s okay, Trevor. I know Daisy hates me, and I can understand if she doesn’t care about me. It’s all my fault for dragging you into this.”
Trevor sighed again.
His voice held a tenderness I’d never heard directed at me.
I didn’t want to watch their pathetic little love drama unfold, so I clicked my tongue:
“Anything else?”
My cold indifference made Trevor’s heart skip a beat.
He sensed something was off with me, and he knew it wasn’t a good sign.
“Playing hard to get has its limits, Daisy. You’re just going to make me hate you even more.”
I honestly laughed out loud.
“Then do me a favor and hate me for the rest of your life. And never contact me again. You make me sick.”
He tried to speak, but I just hung up.
Seconds later, another call came in.
I was about to hang up, but then I saw the name on the screen.
I immediately changed my mind:
“Hello?”
“Is this Trevor’s guardian? His tuition hasn’t been paid, and the deadline is fast approaching. Is he still attending classes this semester?”
It was an administrator from a top university.
Trevor’s tuition used to be covered by my dad.
Even though our family paid for all his living expenses—food, rent, everything—my dad still sent him a regular allowance.
It wasn’t that he didn’t have money.
He just wanted to use the tuition as leverage to make me beg.
What a joke. If he didn’t attend school, the only future he’d be ruining was his own.
What did that have to do with me?
“Actually, we’ve already decided to have him withdrawn. Sorry for the trouble.”
The administrator sounded surprised. Trevor was, after all, a promising student.
She admitted she’d called Trevor before, but he’d just haughtily declared:
“Get the money from the Davis family. If they don’t pay the tuition, I’m not going.”
At the time, she thought it was just idle threats. Now, it seemed he was serious about dropping out.
The withdrawal paperwork was processed quickly.
Meanwhile, Trevor, the clueless idiot, proudly dragged Chloe along on the first day of classes, ready to register.
But the admissions officer stared at him for a long moment before finally speaking:
“Didn’t you already withdraw?”
Trevor froze on the spot.
When Trevor was sent packing from the university, looking like a whipped dog, I was having breakfast with Julian, our arms linked.