If Lily and the others had bothered to look into how Claire was kicked out of The James Family, they would have known she left with absolutely nothing.

However, no one was going to explain that to them.

Everyone just assumed Claire was sitting on a massive, secret nest egg.

Claire never bothered clarifying those rumors, nor did she care how others perceived her.

After class ended, she didn’t linger, quickly packing up her things to head back to the dorm.

Before she left, Ethan stopped her.

“Call me if you run into any trouble.”

“OK.” Claire gave him a quick hand gesture.

In her mind, there was zero chance she’d actually need to call him.

Felix’s mom seemed intensely enthusiastic, but she definitely wasn’t a bad person.

Besides, her son was a student at The Cabinda University. If she dared pull anything shady, wouldn’t she worry about her son’s reputation being ruined and getting expelled?

So it was highly likely she genuinely just wanted to thank them. A nice meal would clear the emotional debt and give the woman peace of mind.

Judging by Felix’s lifestyle, they certainly weren’t struggling to pay for dinner.

“You really care about Claire, don’t you, Class President?” Macy Wade remarked casually, standing next to Ethan.

Ethan glanced at her. “Isn’t it perfectly normal to look out for a classmate?”

Why did Macy always make it sound like there was some scandalous secret going on?

“Maybe I’m just overthinking it,” Macy said, lowering her gaze.

She honestly felt a guy as outstanding as the class president shouldn’t waste his time barking up the wrong tree.

“I’m not trying to cause trouble, President, but I heard Claire already has a boyfriend.”

“If you act like this, her boyfriend might get the wrong idea.”

Ethan frowned. “You guys are just listening to baseless rumors. She doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

Macy seriously thought the president was being stubbornly delusional.

She had seen the guy with her own eyes-how could it be fake?

Claire and her boyfriend seemed totally solid.

Her boyfriend was gorgeous and clearly loaded.

Any girl with half a brain would never let a man like that go easily.

The class president was doomed from the start.

She just had no idea where he got the absurd notion that Claire was single.

Did Claire lie to him directly?

If she had a boyfriend but was

her classmates that was conet

pretending to be single in front ofet

out of line:

Macy couldn’t bear watching the president get played, but she didn’t know how to snap him out of it.

Because he clearly looked like the type who wouldn’t listen to reason.

“But doesn’t Claire date someone outside of school? He even drove here to pick her up. We all saw when we got back from military training.”

“How do you know that was her boyfriend?” Ethan had no idea who had started that ridiculous rumor.

He only knew that everyone was suddenly parroting it.

Macy’s eyes flickered. “Everyone is saying it.”

“Then it’s just a game of telephone.”

Ethan’s absolute certainty left Macy incredibly frustrated.

She couldn’t understand what kind of spell Claire had cast on him.

“Well, I guess I wouldn’t know,” Macy said, failing to convince him.

“That man is Claire’s relative. I’d appreciate it if you all stopped spreading nonsense.”

Ethan thought Macy was the one being stubbornly delusional.

The moment Macy heard “relative,” she instantly knew it was a lie.

People always used “cousin” or

“relative” as a cover up. Who knewet

what they were actually going behind closed doors?

“If you say he’s just a relative, then sure.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Macy put on an expression of wanting to say more but holding back.

However, Ethan paid her no further attention, grabbed his things, and walked out. Macy was left standing there, completely out of options.

Claire went back, quickly freshened up, and waited for her two roommates so they could head out together.