Riches in Disguise

"You bitch! You think you can escape? All the money Joshua used to buy you gifts, he tricked out of me! Hand over everything he gave you!"

Sophia took out all her anger on Lina. She yanked her by the hair, then kicked and punched her mercilessly. Not only did Sophia take all of Lina's valuable possessions, but she even tore her dress, leaving her barely covered.

Meanwhile, Joshua was once again dragged back into the group and beaten.

Tom and Roger, worried things might get out of control, tried to step in and stop them. However, they were accidentally knocked down by the frenzied students and were left lying on the ground.

Chaos engulfed the entire scene.

I walked past them leisurely. When I reached the villa's front gates, I took out my phone and made a call to Sophia. "If you want to fight, take it outside. Don't dirty my place."

"Yes, Mr. White," Sophia said. She was still sitting on top of Lina and slapping her relentlessly. After ending the call, she pinched Lina's arm a few more times for good measure before standing up, seemingly satisfied with her work.

Before long, she called in a group of temporary workers who promptly threw Joshua and the others out of the villa.

I noticed Joshua's face was covered in blood, and one of his arms appeared broken.

When I turned around, I spotted Lina cowering behind a car. She was trembling as she clutched her torn clothes tightly around herself, sobbing uncontrollably. She looked utterly pitiful.

Seeing some of the men leering at her with unpleasant intentions, I walked over to block their view. Then, I tossed my jacket to her.

Despite feeling annoyed at the sight of her, I couldn't just stand by and let her be harassed. We were too far from the city, and if something happened to her here, her life would be over.

Lina pulled on my jacket and was finally able to stand. She looked at me like she wanted to say something, but I didn't give her the chance. Without a word, I turned and headed back to the villa.

In the front courtyard, Sophia sat slumped on the ground, tears streaming down her face.

"Watering the flowers?" I teased as I approached.

Sophia quickly wiped her tears and scrambled to her feet. "Mr. White, I'm sorry! I know I messed up this time..."noveldrama

"Save it for Vincent," I interrupted. I wasn't here to hear her apologies. "I just came here to tell you I'm letting this slide this time. Make sure it doesn't happen again."

Upon hearing this, Sophia started crying again. After a while, she finally asked, "Mr. White, could I get an advance on three months' salary?"

"No," I turned her down without hesitation.

"I know you're having it hard, but you're in this whole mess because you trusted the wrong person. You need to go through this hardship so you don't make the same mistake again."

Sophia's blunder had been so foolish that if she didn't face the consequences, she wouldn't learn.

She lowered her head in disappointment.

I patted her on the shoulder. "Take some time to reflect on yourself. I'm heading back to the university."

As I returned to the dormitory building and walked up the stairs, I could hear curses against Joshua echoing from every hallway.

By the time I reached the door to my room, I could already hear Zack and Louis angrily shouting inside.

"That bastard fooled us completely! I've got nothing left, not a single penny! I thought I could at least get some money back tonight, but it looks like that's not happening!"

"Damn it! They say a man with nothing to lose isn't afraid of anything. Now I get it. He's broke, and his family back home is dirt poor too. Even if we beat him to death, there's no way we're getting our money back. What the hell are we going to do?"