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?"

Watching Tiana scream hysterically, I sighed.

I had initially wanted to make things less awkward for both of us, keeping this private so we wouldn’t become a laughingstock. However, since she was determined to make a scene, I no longer cared.

"Yes, Matt is my fiancé. We've met each other's families," I said calmly. "And no, I’m not the one on a scholarship. He is. I've been the one supporting him financially all this time. Those designer clothes you’re wearing? They were bought with my money."

Gasps echoed around us as my classmates’ faces shifted to disbelief.

After all, Matt was the most admired guy in the entire college. No one could have guessed that someone who seemed as rich and invincible as a trust-fund baby was actually the one being financially supported.

Still, Tiana rushed over and grabbed my collar, not believing a word of it. "What the hell are you talking about? Are you slandering your own benefactor now? Without him, you'd probably still be feeding pigs in some backwater town!"

I shook her off impatiently and pulled out my phone, showing the proof of all the money I had transferred to Matt and the donations I’d made. "Believe me now?"

Tiana stared hard at the phone, her eyes scanning the screen, seeing the total amount of transfers, which added up to millions. Not only that, but there were also chat logs between me and Matt.

I continued, my voice steady, "Honestly, I had no idea Matt would go behind my back like this. Maybe you were just an innocent pawn in all of this. I won’t hold this against you. But after today, I’m breaking off the engagement with him, and I won’t be supporting him financially anymore. There’s no place for someone like that in my family–"

"Will you stop with the act already?" Tiana cut me off, her voice cracking with fury. "Photoshop, really? You went that far? And you even found someone using the same profile picture as Matt! Were they in on this little roleplay of yours?"

Her eyes were wild as she spoke. "Matt must be the unluckiest guy in the world to be stuck with a leech like you! You say you supported him through college, huh? Well, guess what? I’ve known Matt since high school, and he’s always been a rich kid!

"Your lies aren’t even convincing!" she sneered.

Then, without hesitation, she pulled out her phone and called security.

"Did I forget to mention that Matt’s family is one of the board members here at this university? You’ve really done it now. Don’t blame me when things get rough."

Seconds later, several security guards arrived, and Tiana ordered them to drag me away.

One of the guards pinned me to the ground. My cheek scraped against the pavement, and a trickle of blood appeared almost instantly.

My classmates watched, finally realizing the gravity of the situation.

"So Lily really is the other woman, huh? Who would’ve thought? All this time she’s been pretending to be some rich heiress," someone muttered.

"I guess she met her match with Tiana. If not for this, she might’ve kept us fooled."

"But look at her clothes. They’re way more expensive than anything Tiana’s wearing. Maybe Matt actually did spoil her with things?"

“Tiana, won’t Matt be mad if he finds out you’re doing this?”

The moment that question left someone’s mouth, Tiana flew into a rage.

She yelled at the guards, “This shameless leech! Hit her as hard as you can!”

She spat on my face, grabbing a fistful of my hair and slamming my head onto the ground as she taunted, "You think Matt’s going to choose you?"

With a cold smirk, she added, "You’re not the first shameless girl I’ve taken care of."

I was too stunned to speak, utterly speechless at the cruelty unfolding before me. I had never seen someone so evil in my life.

With a flick of her wrist, Tiana signaled to the guards, who immediately understood. One after the other, they came at me, fists and feet flying.

I instinctively curled up on the ground, shielding my head as best I could, but the sharp pain wracking my body made it harder to endure with every blow.

Seeing my desperate attempts to protect myself, Tiana scoffed. "This woman really thinks she’s something, trying to seduce anyone she meets? Strip her clothes off! Let’s see how shameless she really is! And why not let you boys have your fun before we sell her off?"

Her words sent the guards into a frenzy, and they came at me, trying to tear my clothes off. Meanwhile, my classmates whipped out their phones, eager to capture the scene like it was some sick entertainment.

I clutched my collar tightly, desperately trying to keep my clothes on. Just as I felt hands closing in, Matt’s voice suddenly boomed from the distance:

“What the hell is going on here?”