After getting a shot to bring down her fever, Eve Vaughn slept for the entire morning and didn’t wake up until noon.

She rubbed her aching forehead and struggled to open her eyes.

There was no one in the room. She pushed herself out of bed and started to walk out.

Just then, Mrs. Linton was coming upstairs with some medicine. "Oh my, Miss Vaughn, why are you up and about by yourself? I was just about to bring you your medicine."

"I’m sorry for the trouble, Mrs. Linton." Eve Vaughn looked at her apologetically.

Mrs. Linton helped her back to her room and had her sit down, saying with a smile, "Please don’t be so formal, Miss Vaughn. You’re Mr. Lawson’s guest. It’s my job to take good care of you."

That’s when Eve Vaughn remembered Mason Lawson. The scene from the previous night flashed through her mind, and her face grew hot for some reason.

Mrs. Linton looked at her thoughtfully and said, "Miss Vaughn, why is your face so red? Is your fever back?"

"N-No..." Eve Vaughn quickly snapped out of it and said awkwardly, "I’m feeling much better."

Mrs. Linton handed her the medicine and a glass of water. "Mr. Lawson has gone to his office. He told me to make sure you take your medicine on time."

After Eve Vaughn took the medicine, Mrs. Linton brought in some freshly made porridge. After finishing the porridge, she felt much of her strength return.

After Mrs. Linton left, she realized she was wearing a man’s shirt. Her thoughts fell into turmoil. If this keeps up, she thought, something is bound to happen.

Fortunately, by afternoon, her fever had completely subsided.

Eve Vaughn asked Mrs. Linton to bring her own clothes. After changing, she hand-washed Mason Lawson’s shirt and hung it out to dry on the balcony.

"Mrs. Linton, I must be going now. I’m so sorry to have bothered you for so long. Thank you for taking care of me, and please thank Mr. Lawson for me as well."

Mrs. Linton quickly said, "Miss Vaughn, you should wait for Mr. Lawson to get back and tell him yourself. If you just leave like this, he’ll blame me for not looking after you properly."

"But I have something at the university that I have to take care of today."

Since Eve Vaughn had given an excuse, Mrs. Linton didn’t feel right forcing her to stay and could only let her leave.

...

That afternoon, Eve Vaughn completed her re-enrollment paperwork and returned to her old dorm room.

Before she left the registrar’s office, an administrator reminded her, "You’re the only one in the clinical medicine department who still hasn’t paid tuition. It must be paid by next week."

Eve Vaughn’s heart sank, but she quickly agreed.

When she returned, her three roommates were gone, most likely in class.

Eve Vaughn made her bed, then called Mia Kendall back. She had over a dozen missed calls from Mia Kendall on her phone.

She hadn’t answered the phone yesterday because she didn’t know what to tell Mia Kendall. Knowing Mia Kendall’s personality, she was sure her friend would have come out to find her.

Now that she was safely settled, Eve Vaughn finally dared to call her best friend to let her know she was all right.

"Evie, you had me worried sick! Why didn’t you answer my calls?" Mia Kendall said indignantly. "My mom kicked you out, didn’t she?"

Eve Vaughn didn’t want to worsen the relationship between Mia and Mrs. Kendall, so she said, "No, I just felt it might be a little inconvenient to stay at your place."

"Don’t lie to me! I know it was my mom!" Mia Kendall ranted, "She’s always been an opportunist, only looking out for herself. I should have just stayed with you. After you left last night, I had a huge fight with her and moved back to the dorms. And you know what? I left home in the middle of the night in the pouring rain, and not a single person called me or came looking for me."

Eve Vaughn wanted to try to comfort her, but the Kendall family’s situation was just too much of a mess.

You could even say that no one in the Kendall family actually cared about Mia. Everyone saw her as the burdensome stepchild Mrs. Kendall had brought into the Kendall family.

Eve Vaughn asked with concern, "By the way, that brother of yours... he hasn’t been giving you any trouble recently, has he?"

Mia said dismissively, "You mean Eric Kendall? He’s too busy chasing women all day to find time to mess with me. You have no idea how scared my mom is of him. The second he comes home, she scoops up Baby Kendall and hides in her room, just to stay out of his way."

Baby Kendall was the nickname of Mia’s younger brother, and he was the apple of Mrs. Kendall’s eye.

Eve Vaughn’s heart ached for her best friend—a girl who hid all her pain and grievances behind a cheerful facade.

After hanging up with Mia, Eve Vaughn was lost in thought.

She was thinking about how she had completely burned her bridges with her uncle’s family. They definitely won’t pay my tuition now, she thought, and they probably won’t cover Mom’s medical expenses either. I have to figure out a way to get my father’s entire inheritance back, and fast.

But right now, she didn’t even have the money to hire a lawyer.

Eve Vaughn touched the four-leaf clover necklace around her neck. It was a tenth-birthday gift from her father, her very first luxury item.

Although it broke her heart, she needed to survive. She went to a luxury goods store and sold the necklace.

At least the money could cover her tuition and her mother’s medical bills for the time being. If there was any money left over, she could hire a lawyer to help her sue her aunt and uncle.

...

When Mason Lawson returned to the Sovereign Pearl that evening, Mrs. Linton immediately told him that Eve Vaughn had left in the afternoon.

"Mr. Lawson, I really couldn’t get Miss Vaughn to stay. She said she had something urgent to attend to at the university."

Mason Lawson said coldly, "Let her be."

Mrs. Linton sensed that he was a little displeased, so she added, "By the way, Miss Vaughn asked me to thank you for letting her stay. She also washed your shirt. It’s drying on the balcony."

Mason Lawson’s expression remained impassive as he asked quietly, "Has her fever gone down?"

Mrs. Linton answered truthfully, "It was gone when she left."

"Alright. You can go and get some rest."

After dismissing Mrs. Linton, Mason returned to his bedroom.

For some reason, the house suddenly felt a little empty.

In the "Bros Before Hos" group chat, Eric Kendall had started sending messages again.

Mason Lawson opened it impatiently. It was another photo.

In the picture, Eve Vaughn was standing at a counter, apparently talking to a salesperson.

Eric Kendall commented, "Julian Lawson’s ex-girlfriend has fallen so low she’s selling her own jewelry."

Mason Lawson irritably tossed his phone aside. He couldn’t tell if Eric Kendall was obsessed with Eve Vaughn, or if he was the one getting fixated on her. Why did she keep popping up everywhere?

Just then, his phone rang. It was a call from Hamilton Hale.

"You saw the photo Eric Kendall posted in the group chat, right? What’s this all about? Wasn’t she running a high fever when I stopped by this morning?" he asked, his tone full of gossipy curiosity.

Mason Lawson rubbed the bridge of his nose. "How should I know? Eric Kendall’s the one who sent the picture, go ask him."

Hamilton Hale retorted, "Your woman—Mason Lawson’s woman—has fallen so low she’s selling her jewelry, and you’re not going to say anything about it?"