Chapter 4

The days after the "bet" revelation were a blur of numb pain.

I severed all ties with Caleb, Leo, and Julian.

Blocked their numbers, avoided their usual hangouts, erased them from my life as much as possible.

My family's financial situation continued to worsen.

The whispers followed me everywhere, the pitying looks, the smug satisfaction of those who had always envied the Thompsons.

I felt utterly alone.

Then Nate appeared.

He was new, an outsider to our suffocatingly small elite world.

He was a student at the local community college, working part-time at a coffee shop I started frequenting to avoid familiar faces.

He was quiet, observant, with kind eyes.

He didn' t know about the Thompsons' fall, or if he did, he didn' t care.

He just saw me, Ava.

He' d offer a smile, a sympathetic word when I looked particularly down.

He listened without judgment when I vaguely spoke of "tough times."

Slowly, a fragile friendship bloomed.

Nate was a breath of fresh air, untainted by the poison of my old life.

He was supportive, understanding, and he asked for nothing in return.

One rainy afternoon, as I was sketching idly in my notebook at the coffee shop, he sat down opposite me.

"That's really good," he said, nodding at my drawing.

I blushed, unused to genuine compliments.

"Thanks."

We talked for hours that day, about everything and nothing.

He told me about his aspirations, his struggles, his own feelings of being an outsider.

For the first time in a long time, I didn't feel like a charity case or a target.

Our friendship deepened into something more.

It was gentle, easy, a stark contrast to the drama and manipulation of my past.

Nate became my boyfriend, my confidant, my rock.

He helped me find a small apartment when my parents had to sell our house.

He gave me rides when my car was repossessed.

He believed in me when I started selling my sketches online to make ends meet.

With Nate, I felt a semblance of peace, a flicker of hope for a future free from the shadows of the New England elite.

I was starting to heal, or so I thought.

One evening, we were at a local art fair where I had a small booth.

Nate was proudly showing off my work to a potential buyer.

Suddenly, a familiar voice cut through the crowd.

"Well, look who it is. Ava Thompson, slumming it with the common folk."

Julian.

He stood there, flanked by Caleb and Leo, their expressions a mixture of surprise and disdain.

My stomach clenched.

Nate stepped in front of me protectively. "Can I help you?"

Julian' s eyes raked over Nate, then landed on me, a possessive glint in their depths.

"So this is the famous boyfriend," Julian said, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Quite the step down, wouldn't you say, Ava?"

Caleb smirked. "Didn't take you long to replace us, did it?"

Leo just looked at Nate with open curiosity, then back at me, a strange, almost pained expression on his face.

The peace I had found with Nate felt suddenly fragile, threatened by the ghosts of my past.