Riches in Disguise novel Chapter 2

I really couldn't understand it. Even though I was poor, I hadn't done anything to provoke them. Where did all these hostilities come from?

Lina was still shouting downstairs. It was loud enough for the entire dorm building to hear.

Zack snickered. "You might as well go down. What's the point in hiding?"

Louis took it a step further, yanking the door open and calling out to the crowd in the hallway. "William is right here in the dorm, acting like a coward and too scared to come down!"

Laughter echoed through the hallway, and I forced myself to act like I didn't care at all. With their mocking eyes on me, I walked downstairs, step by step, until I stood before Lina.

I stood still and hadn't looked up. Then, a plastic bag hit me hard.

"William, this is all the junk you gave me. I'm returning it to you! Don't bother me again, got it?"

I looked down at the pile on the ground. Not all the gifts I'd given her were there.

The expensive things like necklaces, phones, shoes, and bags remained with her.

The only things tossed back at me were the ones I had made for her myself. Among them was the moon lamp, which I spent an entire month creating.

I tried to stay calm, but when I looked up, my vision blurred for a second.

This was the first time I had loved someone with all my heart. Were all those sweet moments fake?

I couldn't accept it.

"Fine, if we're breaking up, that's the conclusion. But Lina, just tell me one thing, did you stop loving me, or did you never love me at all?"

Lina's eyes flickered with hesitation for a moment.

But before she could answer, I heard Joshua's voice behind me, mocking me with a high-pitched, whiny tone. "Lina, did you stop loving me, or did you never love me at all?"

Laughter exploded from the crowd, stabbing into me like knives.

I was the one who got dumped. I was the one who got cheated on. I was the victim here, not the villain! Why was I the one being laughed at?

I just didn't get it.

As soon as Lina saw Joshua, she immediately clung to him, and her tone toward me turned even more cutting.

"William, stop pretending you were ever sincere! You were lying to me from the start, acting like you were some rich kid. But your dad's just a fruit vendor. You make me sick!"

The crowd's laughter grew louder, people pointing at me as they whispered.

I couldn't hear them anymore and didn't want to. I knelt, picked up the things I'd made, and headed back upstairs.

When I returned to the dorm, I hoped for peace, but Zack and Louis weren't about to let it go. They kept laughing at me, taunting me with endless insults.

I finally had enough and slammed my fist onto the table. "Say one more word and see what happens."

After a long pause, Zack scoffed. "You got dumped, and you're still trying to act though."

Finally, they shut up.

This was my first time going through a breakup. Even though I tried to force myself not to care, I couldn't suppress the sadness inside.

Mom called me in the afternoon, but I didn't answer. She called again in the evening, and I still didn't pick up.

By the next day, Mom showed up at school during a class break to see me.

I rushed over to her. "Mom, what are you doing here?"