I Traded Three Years of Love for One Perfect Revenge Chapter 03
That weekend, Aldercrest held a huge welcome gala for the incoming class.
Brielle showed up in an expensive custom designer gown, wearing the diamond pendant necklace Cole had given her.
She carried the latest iPhone and made sure everyone got a good look at it.
Students crowded around her, openly envious.
“Brielle, that’s the new iPhone, right? That thing costs well over a grand.”
“And that necklace has real diamonds too, right? Your boyfriend seriously spoils you.”
Brielle lowered her head with a bashful smile, stealing little glances at Cole beside her.
Cole stood with his shoulders back, soaking up every admiring look.
I had just left the library and was passing the event space with a thick textbook in my arms.
“Wait, isn’t that the first-year speaker?”
A girl in a designer skirt pointed at me and scoffed loudly.
“She’s dressed like that and she’s supposed to represent the first-year class?”
She pointed at my old, faded T-shirt.
It was the shirt I’d worn more than anything else throughout high school.
Several girls around her immediately joined in.
“Seriously. She doesn’t even come close to Brielle.”
“She’s Brielle’s roommate? Talk about a downgrade.”
“Some broke nobody trying to get attention at the welcome gala too?”
Then one of the guys joined in, laughing even louder.
“Yeah, I heard she’s always chasing after Brielle’s boyfriend.”
“Maybe she’s got a thing for him and she’s doing the whole pathetic-girl act just to get his attention.”
“Seriously, she has no shame.”
The group erupted in laughter.
Every eye turned toward me, full of contempt, mockery, and disdain.
Cole was standing less than six feet away.
He didn’t say a single word to defend me.
He replied casually, “We’re not close.”
Then he added, “She’s just someone I went to high school with.”
Brielle immediately moved closer and slipped her arm through his.
Then she put on a generous smile and waved the others off.
“Come on, don’t say that about her. Her family doesn’t have much. They can barely afford decent food.”
“Let’s not pick on her.”
The laughter only got louder.
This was the man I’d dated for three years, the same person who used to take off his coat for me in the dead of winter and swear he’d make me the happiest woman in the world.
Now he was tearing me down just to look good in front of a two-faced pick-me like Brielle.
Every tear I’d ever cried over him suddenly felt ridiculous.
I walked straight up to Cole.
“Cole, if you’re not going to tell them the truth, then I will.”
I raised my voice until everyone nearby could hear me.
“I’m not some girl with a crush on you.”
“I’m the ex-girlfriend who just dumped you.”
“I paid for the designer shirt you’re wearing with money I earned working.”
“And every cent in our joint account was money I saved myself.”
“Now I’m done with you.”
The entire room fell silent.
Cole went pale, then flushed red. He pointed at me but couldn’t get a word out for several seconds.
“What are you talking about?!”
Brielle’s expression changed too. She quickly let go of his arm.
I ignored their reactions, hugged my textbook against my chest, and strode straight through the crowd.