At graduation, I invited my classmates to attend my engagement party, but what I didn’t expect was the total meltdown one of my classmates had when she saw my engagement photos. She strutted over, full of herself, and demanded that I take off my dress so she could use it to polish her shoes.

I blinked in confusion, thinking she must have lost her mind. I laughed and suggested she head over to the campus clinic to get checked out. Instead, she exploded, pointing a finger right in my face as she started yelling.

“You leech! How dare you wear something so expensive?” she screamed. “You’ve been spending all of my boyfriend’s money on your filthy clothes! Have you no shame? Get down on your knees and apologize, or I guarantee you'll regret it. Who knows where you'll end up tomorrow? Maybe in the hands of some trafficker?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Who would’ve thought that my fiancé, whose tuition fees I paid for, had the nerve to keep a secret mistress behind my back?

"Oh my God, Lily’s getting engaged so soon! And we didn’t even know who your boyfriend was. You really do know how to keep a secret!"

“What’s the big deal? Lily’s from a wealthy family. She dresses like us to keep things low-key, but look at her outfit. That’s straight off the Milan runway!”

“Our college sure is something else. We’ve got two rich girls in one class. Lily, you’ve been hiding this whole time. Let us cozy up to you!”

The whole group burst into laughter after that comment, except for one person—Tiana Zeller. Her eyes were practically on fire, glaring at me.

With a snide tone, she spat out, "Rich girl? Who knows where she got all her stuff from? No wonder you’ve been keeping to yourself, Lily. I guess you’ve found your golden ticket, huh?"

Her words were sharp, and the meaning behind them was clear. Everyone in the room noticed, and several people frowned in discomfort. However, Tiana didn’t stop. She just kept going.

“Listen, you might want to think twice before trying to climb the social ladder. People with real money aren’t stupid. We care about family connections. We don’t like gold diggers who’ll do anything to get ahead.

“Besides, it’s not easy being with some rich old guy. They’ve all got wives back home. Being the side chick won’t get you anywhere.”

She might as well have pointed directly at my face as she said it.

One of my friends couldn’t stand it any longer and defended me. "Tiana, why are you being so bitter? When she’s rich, she’s with a sugar daddy, but when you’re rich, it’s different? Hypocrite much?"

Tiana’s face turned red with rage. She clenched her fists, ready to lash out, but I didn’t want to ruin the mood. It was our graduation ceremony, after all, and I didn’t want my drama to make things awkward for everyone.

Hence, I forced a smile and explained, “I’m not with a sugar daddy. My fiancé is just a fellow student…”

Tiana cut me off with an exaggerated laugh, “Oh, bagged yourself a rich heir, did you? Do you even know how that world works? They don’t have girlfriends, only flings.”

“If you don’t know what you’re talking about, don’t make stuff up. You’re the one making baseless accusations. Or maybe it’s because you’ve got your own dirty secrets.”

The atmosphere grew tense. Everyone exchanged uneasy glances until our class president stepped in to diffuse the situation. She took my engagement photo and looked at it admiringly.

“Is this your fiancé? He’s so handsome!”

"Wait a second, isn’t that Matt Thompson, our student council president? You two make such a perfect match!"

The gossip floodgates opened. Everyone crowded around, eager to see the engagement photo. However, Tiana shoved people aside and snatched the photo out of the class president’s hands. The second she looked at it, her face turned pale.

Without warning, she ripped the photo to shreds and threw the pieces on the ground, stomping on them in anger.

Tiana and I had never gotten along. She always flaunted her wealth around campus, while I preferred to stay humble and keep a low profile. People constantly compared the two of us, and she hated it. The fact that she couldn’t outshine me made her spread rumors to drag me down.

I had let it go before for the sake of keeping peace, but bullying me to my face like that? I wasn’t about to stay quiet.

“What’s your problem? If you’re losing your mind, go to a doctor. I’m not a therapist. I can’t help you.”

Tiana, even more furious now, jabbed her finger at me and screamed, “You’re the one with the problem! I’ll tell you what’s going on—that’s my boyfriend!

"So that's who you are—a charity case my boyfriend's been supporting all this time! How dare you flaunt yourself, spending his money like that! You leech! If you don’t shut up, I’ll have you shipped off to a shabby slum where you belong!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her words. Seeing that I wasn’t scared and instead looked confident, Tiana’s face twisted in anger.

She raised her voice, shouting, “The guy in the photo is my boyfriend! Lily is just some student whose scholarship my boyfriend funded! I never thought she’d be so shameless as to claim my boyfriend is her fiancé!”

Her loud, shrill voice gave me a headache, and I snapped, “What nonsense are you spouting? He’s my fiancé! When did he become your boyfriend? Stop dreaming. You owe me an apology, or else–”

Tiana cut me off with a sneer. “You? A pathetic scholarship girl, asking your sponsor to apologize? Know your place!”

Then, she proudly pulled out a photo from her phone. “This is a picture of me and my boyfriend in the Maldives. How are you going to deny it now?”

I stared at the picture, stunned. Tiana’s boyfriend looked exactly like my fiancé.

Our classmates started giving me puzzled looks, and I was so shocked I couldn’t say a word. Could two people really look this much alike?

I racked my brain, but no, Matt didn’t have any brothers. And even if he did, what were the odds of something this coincidental happening?

Tiana’s smug face stared back at me, and at that moment, it felt like I’d been struck by lightning. There was only one explanation: that was Matt. Matt, who was supposedly in a committed relationship with me, was also involved with Tiana.

I couldn’t wrap my head around how someone who needed my financial support to even finish college could betray me like that.

As the realization hit me, I felt my blood rush to my head. I wanted to call Matt right then and there and demand an explanation.

Seeing my pale face and trembling hands, Tiana laughed even louder. “Lily, I was trying to be nice and spare you the embarrassment, but you really don’t know how to take a hint! I’ve known my boyfriend since we were kids! Don’t you think I know him better than anyone? Why do you think he always kept his distance from you at school? It’s because of me! I’m the real girlfriend!

“And what’s this about being engaged? Have you lost your mind? He’s from a rich family! Do you really think he’d marry someone like you, who needs financial aid and scholarship to get through college?

“He’s just been playing around with you. Did you really think you’d become some rich guy’s wife? Ha! Whatever you’ve spent of my boyfriend’s money, you better pay it all back today!”

After finishing her rant at me, Tiana turned to the other students and added, “Do you understand now? That ‘perfect student’ you all talk about is nothing but an ungrateful scholarship girl and a shameless homewrecker!”

Shocked, everyone exchanged confused glances and murmured among themselves.

“I mean, how could someone pretend to be a rich heiress?”

“Do you think Lily’s actually a homewrecker? That’s way too much…”

Her words ignited the fire, and a few of Tiana’s friends jumped in, hurling insults at me.

“What are you trying to pull, acting like some rich girl in front of us? Now we know the truth!”

“You’re always acting all modest and humble, but you’re just a poor girl!”

“There’s nothing wrong with being on financial aid, but spending someone else’s money like it’s your own and talking about being engaged? That’s just disgusting!”

With each cruel comment, my fists clenched tighter. My face was burning with embarrassment.

Tiana walked up to me and tugged at my clothes, sneering before spitting out, “You can drop the act now. Go ahead. Get on your knees and apologize. If you do a good job, maybe I’ll help you keep this from my boyfriend and stop you from getting expelled.”

“With just a word from me, you might still get your diploma. At least then you could fool some dumb rich guy later on," Tiana sneered.

"I’m marrying into his family soon, and every penny you’ve spent of his is technically mine. I can make sure you end up begging on the streets, saddled with so much debt you’ll never pay it off.

"Even if you worked as an escort at nightclubs, you wouldn’t make enough to clear it. It doesn’t matter how pretty you are—your heart’s pitch black. No rich family would ever want someone like you. Even a butcher wouldn’t."

Tiana stood in front of me, arms crossed, waiting for me to fall to my knees and beg for forgiveness. However, I didn’t move an inch. I wasn’t stupid enough to be scared by her threats.

Besides, before my engagement to Matt, my family had thoroughly investigated his background. To me, Matt was like an open book. The fact that this situation was happening just showed how well he had hidden his true self.

As such, even when I found out Matt wasn’t just cheating on me but also parading around town pretending to be some rich heir, I didn’t overreact. After all, I had the dignity of someone born into wealth. My status spoke for itself.

I quickly regained my composure and said calmly, “A photo doesn’t prove anything. Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding.

“There are tons of people who look alike in this world, Tiana. I don’t need to lie to you, and you don’t need to come at me so aggressively. You should know your own boyfriend better than anyone.”

Maybe it was the grace in my tone or the way I carried myself, but standing next to Tiana, I seemed every bit the wealthy heiress while she looked out of place.

My classmates, watching from the sidelines, started chiming in to ease the tension.

"Yeah, a picture doesn’t really prove anything. It could just be a misunderstanding. There are plenty of people who look alike. She wouldn’t lie about something like this."

"And come on, Lily is an heiress. I saw her wearing a watch worth millions before. What rich guy would spend that much money on a girl he's just ‘funding’?"

"Tiana, be reasonable. Maybe you’re mistaken. We’re all classmates. Don’t you think you’re being a bit harsh?"

The more my classmates spoke, the more furious Tiana became. Her face was turning red, and she was practically grinding her teeth, on the verge of an outburst.

"Are you all stupid? She’s nothing but a shameless homewrecker! My boyfriend bought her everything she’s wearing right now! Do you know how much money he’s spent on her?"

The others shrugged, nodding half-heartedly, clearly not buying Tiana’s story, which only made her angrier.

She suddenly snapped, screaming at me, "You vixen! You’ve got some nerve! My boyfriend helped pay your tuition, and now you’re going behind my back, seducing him as his mistress? Believe it or not, I will rip you to pieces right here,!"

Tiana’s shouting attracted the attention of everyone around us. Curious faces turned our way, eager to hear the drama unfold.

By then, I’d had enough. "Tiana, I’ve told you—this is a misunderstanding. If you really think I’ve stolen your boyfriend, go and ask him yourself. Stop making a scene here!"

Tiana was shaking with rage. She stomped her foot, then dramatically dumped the contents of her bag onto the floor—Matt’s diploma, photos of the two of them together, and even pulled up their chat history on her phone.

"This is no misunderstanding!" she screamed, waving the evidence in my face. "This is my boyfriend, Lily! Do you really think your little act will fool everyone?"