Riches in Disguise novel Chapter 5

Joshua's expression instantly darkened.

He clearly hadn't expected me to know anything about Spring Harvest Agro-Tech, but when Zack and Louis turned their curious gazes toward him, he quickly tried to regain his composure.

"You don't know anything! Sure, the company's owner's last name is White on paper, but my dad owns over thirty percent of the shares."

"Please don't talk like you understand when you have no clue! You're just embarrassing yourself!" Joshua snapped before storming out of the dorm room, not daring to stay a second longer.

Watching him leave in such a hurry, I couldn't help but find it amusing.

"But Joshua, this is just the beginning of your downfall," I thought.

Over the next few days, Joshua was in a constant rush, barely spending any time in the dorm. And even when he did come back, he was glued to his phone, biting his nails as he furiously sent messages.

Zack and Louis tried to talk to him and even invited him out for drinks, but he turned them down every time.

I knew exactly what was going on.

Two days ago, the foundation sent out the student stipends, but Joshua hasn't received a dime since I cut off his funding. Of course, suddenly losing his financial support had him panicking.

With him too busy worrying about his lack of money, I finally had the peace of mind to focus on my startup project.

Dad had always been there for me, supporting my studies and life, and I wasn't about to let him down.

That evening, I returned to the dorm with my laptop and found Zack and Louis huddled around Joshua, trying to console him. His eyes were red like he'd just finished crying.

As I walked in, Zack suddenly piped up. "Look at William—he's got nothing, broke as hell, and he's still doing just fine!"

"Exactly!" Louis agreed to it.

"If someone like William can make it, what are you even worried about? It is just your family that cut off your allowance, and we can lend you some money to get you through this rough patch. You can sort things out with them later."

After hearing this, Joshua's eyes lit up, and he immediately looked at them. "Really? You guys are willing to lend me the money?"

Zack and Louis, who had been talking big, started to hesitate when it came down to actually lending the money.

"I don't have that much left myself," Zack mumbled.

"I could lend you a thousand dollars, but you've got to promise you'll pay me back by next week, or I'll be starving," Louis offered.

Joshua slapped their shoulders with a confident grin. "Don't worry! My parents just wanted me to learn to be independent, so they froze my card for a while. It'll get unfrozen once I talk to them in a few days. Not only will I pay you back the money, but I'll even throw in some interest."

As soon as they heard there'd be interest, they quickly transferred one thousand dollars to Joshua without hesitation.

I watched the whole scene unfold, opened my mouth to say something, but then decided against it. They were completely brainwashed by Joshua.

Even if I told them the truth now, they'd just accuse me of being jealous and trying to sabotage him.

I could already picture the whole mess, with them attacking each other later. So, whatever. Let them go ahead and play their game of brotherhood.

The next day, I had just taken a seat in the back row for class when I noticed Joshua walking around the classroom, phone in hand, borrowing money from everyone.

I couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Didn't Zack and Louis just lend him two thousand dollars last night?

"Sorry, guys. I'll pay you back in a couple of days. My mom froze my card, and it is Lina's birthday today. I need to scrape together some cash to buy her a gift, or she'll definitely throw a fit," Joshua said.

I froze for a moment and glanced at the date, realizing it was indeed Lina's birthday today.