Lily wrapped her arms around Emma, gently patting her back.
"It's okay, Em. Forget about Josh, that fake rich boy. Honestly, it's a blessing in disguise—you just can't see it yet."
Emma was about to tell Lily about Jason deleting her from his contacts when suddenly her phone buzzed.
Her heart jumped. She snatched it up instantly, praying it was Jason reaching out.
But when she saw the screen, her expression froze. It wasn't Jason.
It was Josh.
Against her better judgment, she answered. Lily leaned in, ready to unleash a storm of insults on him.
But Josh's cold voice came first:
"Emma, I forgot to mention earlier. You need to transfer back all the money I sent you."
Lily blinked in disbelief, then exploded:
"Are you kidding me? Who asks for money back after giving it to their girlfriend? That's the most shameless thing I've ever heard. What, broke already? Stop pretending to be rich when you're just a wannabe."
Josh's voice, at first calm, suddenly snapped.
"Lily, shut the hell up. This has nothing to do with you. Say one more word and I'll make sure you regret it."
The sharp edge in his tone sent a chill through the room. Lily, usually quick-witted and sharp-tongued, froze for a moment. For the first time, she realized this wasn't just some spoiled kid—he could be dangerous.
Josh's voice turned cold again.
"Emma, either you pay me back, or I'll sue you. And when I do, everyone at your college will know. You'll pay the money and lose your reputation."
Emma's voice cracked with fury.
"I'm not paying you back! Why should I? You slept with me, and now you want your money back too? That was a gift—you can't sue me for that."
Josh let out a bitter laugh.
"A gift? Take a look at the transfers, Emma. Not a single one says '222' or '1212' or any of that romantic crap. All my transfers are clean numbers—100, 500, 2000. You really think I was gifting you? That was money I lent you. And if you want, I'll prove it in court."
Emma's stomach dropped. She opened her banking app and scrolled through the transactions. He was right. All the amounts were neat, round numbers—no silly couple codes, no affectionate notes.
Josh continued, almost smug:
"So here's the deal: pay me back and we move on. Don't pay me, and I'll drag you through the mud. Your call."
Emma's hands trembled. In her world, a boyfriend's transfers had always been gifts. Who would ever think of them as loans?
Lily jumped in, her voice shaking but defiant:
"Don't listen to him, Emma. That's money he gave you while you were dating. He has no right to take it back."
But another friend, Hannah, who had been quietly listening, interjected more cautiously:
"Actually… it depends. If the transfers had messages like 'Happy Birthday' or 'Love You,' then yeah, they'd be gifts. But if the notes are blank or say things like 'this is for you' or 'here's the money you asked for,' then he might have a case. Judges sometimes side with the sender in those situations."
Emma's face drained of color. She scrolled further back, her chest tightening. Sure enough, there were no affectionate remarks. Some transfers even had notes like 'here's what you asked for' or 'take care of it'.
Her world crumbled. All this time, she thought Josh had been spoiling her, investing in her like a future wife. But it had all been a setup—he had been calculating from the start, ready to pull the rug out from under her.
The total was over $5,000. For Emma, who came from a modest family, that was no small sum. She had already spent most of it on skincare, clothes, and little luxuries. There was no way she could pay him back now.
Her thoughts, almost instinctively, drifted back to Jason. She opened their old chat history and scrolled through the red envelopes and transfers he had sent her before.
Every single one carried warmth:
$333 with the note "Happy Birthday, my girl."
$12.12 with "A little luck for you today, love you always."
$555 with "Magpie Bridge—Happy Valentine's, can't wait to see you tonight."
Her eyes blurred with tears. Compared to Josh's cold, calculated transactions, Jason's love had been genuine, pure, and thoughtful.
And yet… she had pushed him away.
Now, when she needed him most, he was gone.
Emma couldn't help but recall everything Jason had done for her over the years.
Every Valentine's Day, every birthday, every random day when he decided to turn ordinary moments into something unforgettable—Jason always went the extra mile.
He took her to watch the sunrise from the highest hill in town.
He wrote her long, handwritten letters when everyone else just sent texts.
He folded hundreds of little origami stars and left them in a jar for her to find.
He planned surprise weekend trips.
He even taught her how to ride a bike along the beach just so they could laugh in the ocean breeze together.
Compared to that… this mess with Josh was humiliating. The difference between true love and fake love was like night and day. Tears streamed down Emma's cheeks again.
[Emma's Favorability +9]
Lily, sitting by her side, glanced toward Samantha and asked:
"Samantha, you're in the law program, right? Can't you ask someone about this? Like… does Emma really have to pay Josh back?"
Although Samantha didn't particularly like Emma's spoiled attitude most days, they were still roommates. So she texted a senior she knew in the law department to get some clarity.
"Hey, I've got a question," Samantha began, "one of my roommates got a bunch of money transfers from her boyfriend, but after they broke up, now the guy's demanding it all back. He's even threatening to sue."
She laid out the situation exactly.
On the other end, her law-senior sister sounded almost speechless:
"Wait, he sent transfers with notes like 'this is the money you asked for'? And no cute amounts like $555 or $1212? That's… wow. That's ridiculously calculated. Honestly, I don't know how your roommate didn't see through that. What kind of taste in men does she have?"
Samantha stayed neutral. "So… legally, does she really have to pay him back? Would she lose in court?"
"Almost definitely," the senior replied flatly.
"If the amounts aren't symbolic, and if the notes literally say things like 'this is what you wanted money for,' then it's basically impossible to argue they were gifts. If he sues, she'll lose. Best case is to pay him back and cut him off. This kind of guy will drain her dry if she sticks around."
Samantha added quietly, "She's… already slept with him a few times. At this point, she's lost both money and dignity."
Her senior fell silent for a long moment, then sighed. "That's rough. But honestly, it sounds like she's just been too sheltered. Transfers like that were obvious traps. Sometimes, people really need to learn the hard way."
When Samantha relayed the verdict back to the dorm, she spoke with a resigned shrug:
"My senior said there's basically no chance of winning. Legally, you have to return the money."
Emma collapsed into tears. "But I—I already spent it all! What do I do?"
Lily quickly hugged her, trying to console her:
"Don't panic, Emma. Josh just wants his money back, right? You still have Jason. He's doing well now, didn't he just buy a Rolex? Covering thirty grand shouldn't be hard for him at all."
But Samantha frowned. "Hold on. Don't you think it's way too shameless to drag Jason into this? That's not his responsibility."
Before Lily could argue back, Emma sobbed harder, her voice breaking:
"Jason… deleted me. He doesn't answer me anymore. He cut me off completely."
That stopped everyone cold.
Lily blinked in shock. "Wait, what? Jason? The guy who literally worshipped the ground you walked on? No way he would delete you just like that."
She hugged Emma tighter and whispered:
"He's just mad, that's all. He'll add you back when he cools down. Jason loves you too much to let this go. Just apologize a little, show some weakness, and he'll forgive you."
But Emma shook her head violently, tears soaking Lily's shoulder.
"I already did. I texted him over and over, begged him to forgive me. He ignored every single one."
Samantha and Hannah exchanged a glance.
They had never thought they'd see this day—Jason, the guy who had given Emma every ounce of his heart, finally cutting her out of his life.
If Emma had been scammed by Josh, they might have pitied her.
But being abandoned by Jason? That felt like justice.
The two of them had no sympathy left.
All they felt was: She deserved it.