My boyfriend, John Yeo, and my best friend, Cici James, betrayed me together, and there were rumors that I was being kept on the Internet.

***

Since the last time Stephen Shepard drove me to school, someone took a photo of me getting out of his car and posted it on the school forum.

In that photo, I was smiling at my brother, who handed me the Chanel bag my dad bought for me.

The forum erupted into chaos, with everyone fervently discussing my alleged promiscuity.

My roommate told me about this, and I looked at those crazy speculations.

[How can someone like this get into a top university?]

[Which department is she from? She's so good at playing.]

[She's got a good catch, at least he's not an old man.]

[She's a pretty girl; why is she so materialistic.]

Among the comments, someone suddenly exposed my identity.

[Isn't this Sonia Shepard, the school beauty of our university? She has a boyfriend at school, but I didn't expect her to do such dirty things.]

This comment was immediately pushed to the top when it came out.

It immediately received over 999 likes.

I looked at my roommate's probing eyes and said firmly, "Rumors, all rumors. That's my brother, my own brother."

"Who's the damn gossip-monger spreading such lies? When I find him/her, I'll make him/her pay dearly!"

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I couldn't swallow this insult. I wanted to discuss a solution with Cici James.

Cici was my best friend and my closest friend. We went to the same high school and now the same university.

We even made a pact to work at the same company.

She knew that I had an elder brother, so I asked her to help me post a clarification on the forum. After all, she was also a famous person in our school, the goddess of the IT department.

Thinking about the solution, I started to walk faster.

When I went to her dormitory to look for her, it was obvious that they were discussing my matter because as soon as I entered, they suddenly fell silent.

"Cici, have you seen the post? It's my brother, but people on the forum say that a man is keeping me. You have to help me clarify this," I said.

Cici was playing with her phone and looked up at me when she heard my words. "Sonia, the truth will prevail; don't waste your time on their petty disputes."

Hearing her words, I was shocked and confused, "But they're slandering my reputation, and I can't even imagine how John will perceive me when he comes across this news."

"He won't doubt you no matter what if he loves you," Cici said lightly.

I looked at her with some incredulity, and she spoke again in a gentle and warm voice. "Sonia, you've never cared about what others think of you at school. Why are you so worked up this time?"

I couldn't say a word in response. It seemed like what she said was right, but I also felt a bit strange in some way.

"Cici, that's my brother. Can you tell?"

She opened the post, enlarged the photo, looked at it carefully, and then looked up with a troubled expression, saying, "To be honest, I can't tell who is in this photo either. I haven't seen your elder brother for a long time. But I definitely believe you."

This photo was quite interesting. My face was clearly visible, and my brother's face was slightly turned to the side.

"You should go back soon. Tomorrow we still have an interview at InterReach Media," Cici said.

"Alright then, Cici. See you tomorrow," I spoke.

As I walked out of her dormitory, I heard people in Cici's dormitory speaking loudly.

"Pretending to be high and mighty," One of them said.

"She really thinks she's the campus belle. I think she is a joke."

"Even her best friend doesn't want to help her, let alone clarify."

"She can only fool people with her looks. Otherwise, why would the talented John in our department be interested in her?"

I kept hearing those sentences off and on, but I didn't catch Cici defending me at all.

I was so furious that my face flushed red, biting down on my lip to keep the tears at bay. Cici remained silent, did that signify her agreement with this? I was torn between walking in and confronting her or not.

A message from WhatsApp came.

John: [Let's break up, Sonia.]

I called, but no one answered.

I called again, but still no answer.

I called again, and he hung up.

Just as I was leaving, I saw Cici coming out, with makeup on.

I called out to her.

She looked at me, surprised, and said, "Why haven't you left yet, Sonia? I'm going out to buy something."

"John just broke up with me. Can you accompany me?" I said, feeling a bit painful.

"Really? It just shows that he doesn't truly appreciate you." At that moment, her phone rang, and she glanced at it and hung up. She patted me nervously.

"I have to go, Sonia; come back quickly," after saying that, she walked away quickly, utterly disregarding my plea for company.

I didn't know if it was just my imagination, but when she heard that I broke up, she seemed to have a hint of satisfaction on her face.

I had been with John for nearly three years. John was recognized as a talented person in the IT department, and he was handsome and favored by many girls.

I accidentally met John in my sophomore year when I went to the computer department to find Cici. He led me to find Cici.

Since then, he had often asked me to have meals together and to go to the library with me.

Finally, he confessed to me on a starry night.

He had his own pride. Although he came from a poor family, he worked very hard and looked down on those rich second-generation who were only superficial. So, I never had a suitable opportunity to reveal my family situation to him. I originally planned to tell him after graduation.

But his strong character was something I really admire about him.

Now, he broke up with me without even listening to my explanation.

My tears couldn't be controlled and flowed out.

This damn day.

That night, no matter how I contacted John, he didn't respond.