Maya screamed and slapped me hard across the face.

“Wayne’s telling the truth! How could you hit him? I’m so disappointed in you!”

Some of the younger onlookers about our age immediately stepped in and started shoving me.

“Wow, look at this kid acting tough,” one of them spat. “All these people around and you still think you can bully someone?”

I clenched my teeth and let them push me to the floor without saying a word. Just then, a few police officers walked in, and the crowd quickly opened a path for them.

“Who called the police?”

I pushed myself up and dusted off my jeans.

“I did,” I said. “I saw Maya Summers steal that man’s wallet.”

The moment I spoke, Wayne rushed toward the officers, practically shoving his bleeding lip at them.

“Officers, I’d like to report him! He’s framing Maya on purpose!” he cried. “I spoke up for her, and he punched me! Everyone here saw it! Arrest him!”

I didn’t acknowledge a word he said. Instead, I held out my shattered phone to the police.

“He grabbed my phone and smashed it. Everyone here saw that, too.”

The same young guys who shoved me earlier immediately started yelling.

“You framed the girl first! Smashing your phone was nothing. If it were me, I’d have punched you straight in the face!”

“Exactly. Kids these days are messed up in the head. He can’t get the girl, so he destroys her life. Officers, take him in and teach him a lesson.”

I looked around coldly at every face there before finally letting my gaze settle on the actual victim—the middle-aged man with the gold chain. He had been watching the whole thing with amusement, not saying a single word.

When he noticed me staring, he stood up and motioned to one of his guys, who handed his phone to the police.

“I had the bar manager pull the security footage,” he said. “This girl spilled her drink on me on purpose and then took advantage of the distraction to steal my wallet.”

The moment he said that, the noisy crowd went dead silent.

That was exactly how it happened in my previous life, too. At first, I refused to believe Maya would ever steal anything and argued with everything I had. However, the guy then pulled out that same surveillance clip. It was HD footage, so there was no room for excuses.

The police turned to Maya. “Miss, you’ll need to come with us.”

Wayne tried to protest again, but the officers cut him off. “You’re coming too.”

In the end, the man with the gold chain and I followed them out and got into the patrol car as well.

Not long after we arrived at the station, our college tutor, Maya’s mother, and Wayne’s father all rushed in. The moment Wayne’s father heard he’d need to compensate me a few thousand dollars for my phone, he slapped Wayne hard across the face.

“I had to borrow money just to pay your tuition, and now you pull this? I swear, I could kill you!”

However, Wayne still looked defiant as he pointed at me, screaming, “Yeah, I broke his phone, so what? He punched me! That makes us even!”

I couldn’t help laughing. “My punch doesn’t even qualify as a minor injury. I’ll pay for your band-aids. Twenty dollars should cover it, but my phone cost three thousand dollars. You’re paying every cent.”

Across the room, Maya’s mother collapsed to her knees in front of the man with the gold chain, sobbing as she asked for mercy.

“Please, sir, I’m begging you not to press charges. It hasn’t been easy for her to make it into college. If she gets a criminal record, her whole future will be ruined.”

Watching her cry like that… honestly, I felt a pang in my chest.

Ever since freshman year, I had known how tough their situation was. Maya’s mother would secretly set up a little street stall near campus at night to make extra money for her tuition. I used to slip her cash more than once. When she got sick, I was the one who dragged her to the hospital, paid for her medicine, and made sure she got treated.

In my previous life, during those twenty-some years of cold, empty marriage with Maya, the only warmth I ever felt came from her mother. However, there was nothing I could do now. Unfortunately, she had raised a daughter like Maya.

What I didn’t expect was that instead of showing even a bit of remorse, Maya suddenly lunged at me when everyone was distracted. She punched and kicked wildly, and her nails raked three bloody scratches across my face.

“You happy now?” she yelled. “Is this what you wanted? Dylan, isn’t this all because you like me? This is you forcing me to be with you, isn’t it? Fine! I agree! From now on, I’m your girlfriend, okay? Are you satisfied? Will you leave us alone now?”

The officers immediately pulled her away.

The gold-chain guy looked down at her and said, “I wasn’t planning on pressing charges, but I never expect such a good mother to end up with a daughter like you. Let the police teach you a lesson.”

I snorted and turned to Wayne. “I want my case taken seriously, too. I expect the compensation within three days.”

After that, the gold-chain guy and I walked out of the station without looking back.

That day, I didn’t return to the dorm. Instead, I headed home and told my parents everything that happened.

My mom already knew I liked Maya. She had bought me nice clothes and bags to gift her, and she had even invited Maya over to our estate for dinner more than once.

After hearing the full story, Mom sighed. “People can hide their true colors. It’s better that you noticed it early.”

The next morning, I went back to campus for class. However, as soon as I walked into the lecture hall, I saw a crowd gathered around Maya, who was crying her eyes out. That was when I learned that the university had bailed her out the night before.

The moment I stepped in, everyone turned to look at me. A split second later, a backpack came flying straight at my head.

“Jeez! Having you in our class is a disgrace! Just because you’re rich, you think you can bully low-income students?”

Maya stood up weakly, pretending to stop the guy who threw the bag. “Don’t say that. Be careful, or he’ll call the cops again and get you arrested too. I can handle it, but Wayne got hurt because of me. I feel terrible.”

She reached out with shaking fingers to touch the bruising at the corner of Wayne’s mouth. She didn’t even glance at the three bloody scratch marks she had left on my face.

Then, she kept going, “A few days ago, when Dylan bought that phone, I heard him say it was a fake and that the seller refused to take it back. Now, he’s finally found a chance to make Wayne pay for a brand-new original one.”

The crowd erupted instantly. They circled me, shouting that I should apologize to the two of them. Someone even threw a cup of coffee straight at my head.

At that moment, the lecturer walked in and bellowed, “What’s going on here? Sit down! Class is starting!”

Everyone hurried back to their seats. I remained standing, looking straight at the lecturer.

“Sir, I’m not attending this class anymore. I’m dropping out.”

Under everyone’s shocked gazes, I turned and walked out of the hall.

My parents supported me completely. They immediately started the paperwork for me to study abroad.

Three days later, I received the compensation from Wayne’s father. The man even called to apologize personally.

I couldn’t help but sigh. Every parent loves their child, but sometimes, those children really don’t deserve it.

Right after I hung up, a new call from Maya popped up. The moment I answered, her pitiful voice came through.

“So you really dropped out? I was just a little harsh with my words. Did you really take it that seriously? Are you afraid I’m still mad at you? I’ve agreed to be your girlfriend, didn’t I? Anyway… the skincare set you bought me last time is almost used up. Buy me another one, and I’ll forgive you.”

Her shamelessness honestly made my stomach turn.

I spoke coldly into the phone. “You’re the one who said you wanted to be my girlfriend. I never said I wanted you. And from this moment on, we have nothing to do with each other—not even as collegemates. Don’t contact me again.”

After that, I hung up and blocked her number.

…

However, I never expected that they would dare to try to take away the dog I’d raised for years and sell it. Fortunately, I discovered their plan in time and stopped them.

Fine. If that was how they want it, I’d drag them all into hell.

Thanks to Maya's slander, dozens of students texted me to mock me, but I ignored all of them. That was until the third night, during the college talent showcase.

When Maya and Wayne were performing some cheesy love duet on stage, I stormed on and snatched the microphone from their hands.

Facing the entire student body and the college administrators, I said, “I’m reporting Maya Summers by name. She wasn’t working as a waitress at that bar; she was selling herself. And I’m also reporting Wayne Grey for gambling and for selling an animal.”