On Christmas Day, my dad gave me a golden apple.

My roommates gasped in envy and immediately demanded I treat them to a meal.

I smiled and agreed. I told them to head out first and that I'd join them shortly.

When I came out of the bathroom, the dorm was empty. Sharon Everton's laptop was still glowing.

I walked over to shut it down.

That's when a WhatsApp group named 'Anti-Gold Digger Alliance' popped up on the screen.

[No wonder she didn't come back last night. Bet she spent the whole night escorting again just to get that golden apple!]

[A designer bag the day before, a golden apple today. With how many men she's serving every day, I wonder how wrecked she is down there.]

[We have to hit her with a big bill today. Her money's dirty anyway. Spending it for her is basically doing a good deed!]

There were four people in the dorm. Three of them were in that group chat. There was no doubt that they were talking about me.

The friends I'd treated with genuine kindness all this time turned out to be ungrateful snakes.

The messages in the WhatsApp group kept coming.

My fingers trembled with anger as I scrolled up and read every insult they'd thrown at me.

I noticed the group was created last September. The very first message was from Sharon Everton.

[Did you guys notice? Our roommate, Esther Lane, got picked up by different men in different luxury cars two days in a row. Also, everything she wears is designer.]

[I heard even before coming to college that some girls become escorts for money. Never thought we'd have one in our own dorm.]

[We should stay away from her. Don't want to catch whatever she's got.]

No wonder the way they looked at me when I first moved in had always felt off.

Back then, I thought I was just being paranoid. To get closer to them, I'd often buy them gifts and treat them to meals.

Now I realized that in their eyes, I was just a personal ATM.

Right then, my phone rang.

Sharon's cheerful voice came through.

"Esther, why aren't you here yet? We've been waiting forever!"

I suppressed my anger and said calmly, "You guys go ahead."

Her tone turned even more chirpy. "Alright then, don't mind if we do!"

It wasn't the first time this happened. Whenever I was late, they'd order first and leave me to cover the bill after they were done eating.

I'd heard of the restaurant they went to today. The minimum spend was 1,500 bucks.

I'd like to see how they planned to pay for that.

An hour later, the three of them pushed the door open and marched in angrily.

Sharon snapped, "Esther Lane! If you were in the dorm, why didn't you answer our calls?"

Mary Carlson added, "The restaurant owner almost reported us to the police because we couldn't pay!"

I looked at them in disappointment.

"But you made it back just fine, didn't you?"

Sharon clenched her jaw. "The bill was 4,500 bucks. We each took out a 1,500 loan online just to pay for it."

She displayed her bank account number front of my face.

"Whatever. I won't argue about you being late and embarrassing us. Just pay us back."

I snorted. "You went out to eat. Why should I pay?"

She froze. "What do you mean? You said you'd treat us!"

I grabbed her laptop, flipped the screen toward them, and said coldly, "I only treat my friends to meals. Do people who insult and badmouth me behind my back count as friends?"

Under my cold stare, Mary and Celine lowered their heads. They felt too guilty to meet my eyes.

Sharon snatched the laptop away. "What are you doing snooping through my computer? How rude!"

"If you didn't do anything shady, why would you be afraid? Weren't we right? Weren't those jewelry, bags, and that golden apple from men you'd slept with?"

I told her the truth. "My dad bought them."

She laughed sarcastically. "Your sugar daddy, you mean? Stop pretending. I've seen your enrollment form. Both your parents' names were blank.

"You're obviously an orphan!"

My father was a well-known businessman in the capital. Since I was kidnapped as a child, I kept his name and my mom's name off my enrollment form for my own safety.

"You only see the filth in others because it's what you have inside. Even if I didn't list my parents' names, that doesn't give you the right to slander me.

"I demand an apology!" I exclaimed.

Sharon scoffed.

"You're the one doing disgusting things, and you're scared people talk? Apologize to you? In your dreams.

"If you hadn't been throwing money at us all this time, we wouldn't even be friends with a gold-digger like you who sells her body!

"Now transfer the money to us, or you'll regret it!"

These people were hopeless. Even saying another word to them felt like I was lowering my standards.

I stood up from my bed and looked down at her. "From now on, I won't spend another cent on you."

"And we're not friends anymore. I'm applying to switch dorms tomorrow."

Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it. That's the difference between people and animals.

I walked out of the dorm directly.

I heard Mary and Celine's panicked voices behind me.

"Sharon, you said she'd definitely pay us back for the meal! That's why we took the online loans with you! What do we do now?

"If my parents find out I spent 1,500 bucks on one meal, they'll kill me!"

Sharon watched me leave and said furiously, "Don't worry. I'll make her pay for this one way or another!"

That was an empty threat.

As long as I refused, she wouldn't get a single dollar from me.

That night, I stayed at the apartment my dad, David Lane, bought for me.

The next day, I went to college as usual. The moment I walked onto campus, I noticed many people were stealing glances at me.

Whispers followed me everywhere.

"I can't believe she's that kind of person."

"The more innocent they look, the wilder they are."

"That coat she's wearing? It's Chanel's latest. The rumors on the campus forum must be true."

I retrieved my phone to check the campus forum. My entire body was shaking from anger.

Sharon actually spread dirty rumors about me on the campus forum.

[A Golden Apple on Christmas Day Exposed Our Fake Friendship!]

She accused me of flaunting wealth with a golden apple on Christmas Day and scamming them out of an expensive meal.

They said I accepted rides to and from campus every day from different men. Even the clothes I had on and the expensive stuff I owned were gifts I received in exchange for selling my body.

Enraged, I immediately contacted the campus counselor, Gary Jackson.

In his office, he criticized me sternly, "Esther, your personal behavior has seriously damaged the college's reputation.

"I'm issuing you a formal warning. Watch your conduct!"

I stared at him in disbelief.

"Mr. Jackson, you're mistaken! I'm the victim here! She's spreading false rumors about me online. Why are you blaming me instead of questioning her?"

Gary glanced at me and said, "Rumors don't come out of nowhere. If you hadn't behaved inappropriately, nobody would've spread those rumors about you!"

Sharon smirked beside him.

"Mr. Jackson, you're right. She behaved inappropriately first. She even refused to pay me back for a meal. I only exposed her because I was angry.

"If she pays me 4,500 bucks, I'll delete the post immediately."

I argued, "They chose to eat there. Why should I pay?"

Gary cut me off. "That's enough. Esther, transfer the money to Sharon right now and apologize to her.

"And Sharon, delete your post on the campus forum. This ends right here, right now. Nobody is allowed to bring it up again."

Sharon looked at me with a victorious smile on her face.

That explained why Sharon was able to see my enrollment information. They were working together.

I said furiously, "Why should I apologize to her? You're a counselor. A student came to you for help, but you can't even discern right from wrong. You've failed at your job. You're unworthy of being a counselor!"

Gary glared at me coldly. "You can judge me when you're in my position, if ever. Right now, you're a student, and you need to obey my orders!"

"Tomorrow, Mr. Lane is donating 1.5 million in scholarship funds to the college. I'll punish anyone who stirs up trouble during his visit."

His words reminded me that my dad would be coming to make a donation tomorrow.

Sharon and the others' families weren't well off. I was worried that helping them directly would hurt their pride.

That's why I asked my dad to provide financial aid to poor students on campus under his company's name. They each received 1,500 bucks every semester.

Now, I was certain they no longer needed this money.

Seeing how Sharon and Gary gave each other knowing looks, I knew I wouldn't get justice here.

I said coldly, "I won't transfer her any money. If she doesn't delete that post, I'll file a report at the police station for slandering me!"

With that, I turned around and walked out of the office to call my dad.

Soon after my call ended, I saw that the post disappeared, but it was replaced with something misleading.

[I'm just a migrant worker's child. I can't afford to offend someone backed by powerful men. Just pretend you didn't see what I said earlier.]

Instantly, people rallied behind her.

[What's wrong with being a migrant worker's child? A few generations ago, everyone came from a similar background.]

[Stay strong, Sharon! We're all migrant workers' children, and we've got your back!]

[Esther is a toxic girl. Expel her!]

I clenched my fists and switched off my phone.

I returned to the dorm to pack up and move to my apartment outside, but I saw Sharon and the others throwing my belongings into the hallway.

I quickly stepped forward to protect my stuff. I started yelling at them.

"What are you doing? Who let you touch my stuff?" I demanded.

Sharon clapped her hands and looked at me.

"You stink of filth. We couldn't stand it any longer. Didn't you want to move out? We're giving you a hand."

I glared at her angrily.

Sharon smirked. "Not happy? Why don't you run along and complain to your old and ugly sugar daddies?

"Tell them to come. Let's see if they can stop so many of us on campus."

I glanced at my stuff on the floor and then at the hallway camera.

"Let's see if you can still be this arrogant tomorrow!"

I gathered my stuff and left the campus.

The next day, all students and lecturers gathered and waited for the donation ceremony to begin. The donation would come from my father.

Just as I was about to sit down, Sharon blocked me.

"Do you know what day it is? Why would someone like you even dare show up here?"

I couldn't be bothered to argue with her. Once my dad arrived, he'd stand up for me.

I reached out and shoved her aside. "Move!"

After being pushed away, she turned to the crowd and shouted, "It's a big day for our college's scholarship recipients. Each one of us has it hard in life and needs financial aid.

"She's a shameless gold-digger who showed up here in designer brands. It'll only affect our college's reputation. Let's work together and kick her out!"

Thanks to Sharon's post on the campus forum yesterday, many people already despise me. Now that they heard her egging them on, they immediately started throwing bottles and trash at me.

"You're not welcome here. Get out!"

"Get out!"

I raised my hands to block the incoming debris while backing away one step at a time.

Amidst the chaos, Sharon grabbed my hair and started dragging me outside.

"Wretch, I know what you're thinking.

"Don't even think about complaining to the school management! Hurry up and get lost!"

My scalp hurt intensely. I reached out and grabbed Sharon. We started throwing punches.

The students around us saw this, and someone immediately stepped forward to help Sharon by pinning me down and beating me up. I felt pain all over my body.

That was when I heard a furious roar.

"Let go of my daughter!"