Lisette tugged at the corner of her lips, her expression chilly as she headed straight to her desk.
Behind her, the three girls were left blinking in place.
What just happened?
Why was Lisette acting so off?
Wasn’t she usually the one to whip out fancy gifts the second she got back?
Why was she giving off such cold vibes now?
The three exchanged confused glances.
When Lisette finished organizing her class notes and was about to leave, they finally couldn’t help but stop her.
“Lisette, you’re not gonna rest a bit after coming back?”
“Yeah,” she replied half-heartedly, obviously not in the mood to chitchat.
“Aw, don’t be like that!”
Bella hooked her arm around Lisette’s, flashing a sweet smile.
“We’ve got a free afternoon, haven’t hung out in ages – let’s go do something fun!”
Lucy added in her usual soft tone, “You remember that skincare place you brought us to last time?
I passed by it last week, they’ve got this new full-body treatment that looks amazing.
We should go together.”
Clara, who always liked to live a bit fancy, chimed in, “And after the spa, we could grab dinner!
There’s this new Japanese place near Westfield Mall – super authentic.”
All three were talking over each other, acting like they weren’t letting Lisette leave without plans.
Lisette gave them a long, frosty stare.
This kind of scenario?
Way too familiar.
In that last life of hers, it happened all the time.
Back then, she didn’t think much of it.
Hanging out, eating out – it felt perfectly normal between friends.
When Scarlett was still around in Veridia, the two of them pretty much went wild every day.
But there was one huge difference.
Scarlett liked buying things in pairs – one for herself, one for Lisette.
Her line was “Besties deserve to be spoiled!”
But these three?
Apart from a single lipstick on her birthday, never once had they treated her.
Not even a plate of pasta.
Every shopping spree, spa day, dinner, vacation – guess who paid.
Always her.
Lisette never cared about the money.
If it made her friends happy, she was cool with it.
But did they ever appreciate it?
Nah.
They couldn’t even be bothered to keep her desk clean – dumped their trash there like it was nothing.
Looking back now, all three of them clearly just saw her as an easy target – a walking ATM they could leech off of without blinking.
So this time, Lisette gave them a cool smile.
“Sure.”
Their eyes lit up like Christmas morning.
Then she added, “As long as you’re paying.”
“What, cat got your tongues?” Lisette raised an eyebrow.
“Too hard?”
Her eyes swept over their stunned faces one by one.
“Come on.
I’ve covered every single outing so far.
Whenever you spot something cute to buy, I pay.
Don’t you think it’s about time one of you returned the favor?”
Silence.
Total silence.
Under Lisette’s piercing stare, Clara finally opened her mouth.
“Lisette, it’s not that we don’t want to treat you, but…
those places are kinda expensive.
We’re on tight budgets…”
Lisette scoffed, “So you knew they were pricey, but still recommended them?”
Bella blurted out without thinking, “Well yeah, I mean – you’ve got money, don’t you?”
“Oh?” Lisette chuckled, fully unamused.
“So because I have money, I should be responsible for all your over-the-top spending?
Really?
Help me out here – what exactly are you to me?
“And really, why should I bankroll your endless shopping cravings?
If you can afford it, go ahead and buy it.
If you can’t, then hustle until you can.
We’re all adults here – shouldn’t be that hard to figure out, right?”
Bella’s face flushed deep red, lips pressed tight as she held back a response.
Clara looked like a walking palette, her expression shifting between red and pale.
Trying to ease the awkwardness, Lucy gave a soft smile, her voice as delicate and sugary as usual.
“Lisette, don’t be mad.
Bella didn’t mean anything, she just talks without thinking sometimes -”
“Spare me.”
Lisette shot her a glance, clearly done with the conversation.
“Let me give y’all a friendly reminder – get your stuff off my bed.
Pronto.
My bed, my desk, my cabinet – even if I’m not using them, they’re still mine.
“And if you dare toss trash on my desk again, don’t blame me for snapping.”
Without waiting for a reply, Lisette grabbed her books and headed out, no emotion on her face.
The three roommates stood frozen where they were.
The second the door clicked shut again, it was like someone flipped a switch.
Bella exploded.
“Who does she think she is, acting all high and mighty?”
Clara’s eyes narrowed, jealousy flickering underneath.
“Some people are just born lucky-silver spoon and all.
Designer clothes, flashy cars, VIP treatment from professors.
Doesn’t matter when she shows up, nobody dares say anything.”
Lucy looked worried.
“Do you think she’s going to make our lives hard after this?”
It’s not like this is her personal kingdom,” Bella huffed.
“She can’t rule the whole campus.”
Lucy shot her a side-eye.
“She probably wouldn’t even be mad if you didn’t toss your food box on her desk yesterday.”
“So what if I did?”
The moment, meant for mutual complaining about Lisette, quickly turned on Bella.
She snapped, “Don’t act so innocent.
You’ve dumped way more trash than I ever did.
And now you’re trying to point fingers at me?
Real classy.”
“You – !”
Lucy’s face turned sour at the insult, ready to fight back.
Clara, seeing the argument about to escalate, quickly stepped in.
“Enough already.
This isn’t helping.
What I don’t get is – what happened to Lisette?
She’s like…
sharper now…
and cold.
Totally not the same as before.”
Bella furrowed her brows.
“Exactly.
She used to bring us gifts every time she came back.
This time?
Not even a keychain.”
Lucy murmured, “Maybe her family’s bankrupt?”
None of them knew Lisette was actually the heiress of the Cavendish family, the most powerful in Veridia.
To them, she was just another rich student.
“You know how it is with rich folks – up one day, down the next.
Maybe that’s why she’s suddenly so stingy.”
Clara felt a strange sense of relief at the idea.
“Makes sense.
Otherwise, why the ‘you treat me’ deal?”
Compared to Clara and Lucy, Bella came from a more privileged background.
As the spoiled only child, she had never been so publicly rebuffed before, especially not by someone like Lisette.
She was fuming.
To her, Lisette was Public Enemy No.
1.
“If she really is broke,” Bella sneered, “I’ll be the first one cheering.
The way she dresses now – it’s obviously just trying to fake it till she makes it and lure some big investor.
That’s how scammy startups work – looking rich on the outside, burning inside.
Her whole family probably made their fortune ripping people off!”
Bang!
The door burst open.
Lisette stood there.
The three froze mid-sentence.