She Lost Her Spot. I Lost My Patience

"Verify?" I laughed. "How did the university verify it? Was it just based on Ophelia's proclamation alone?"

"Of course not!" Samuel pushed his glasses up and said proudly, "Ophelia's father, Tristan Keaton, personally called the headmaster and confirmed that he'd provided funding as well as Ophelia's enrolment. Would Mr. Keaton lie?"

My heart sank when I heard my father's name.

Tristan had spoken as if he hadn't done anything earlier over the phone. Yet, here Samuel was stating that Tristan himself had personally vouched for Ophelia.

What was going on here? Did Tristan… Lie to me? I gazed at Aubrey, who was clutching the hem of my shirt. Her face was pale, and she was trembling slightly.

I quickly shoved the errant thoughts from my mind. It wasn't the time to spiral out right now. Regardless, I couldn't let Aubrey suffer like this.

I took out my phone and called the university's board of directors right away.

"No matter who you are, you've not only destroyed my sister's application papers, but you've also destroyed your chance to continue studying here," I said to Ophelia.

"I'm calling the university's board right now so they can take over the reins here. Let's see whether your so-called funding can outweigh the uni's rules itself!"

Ophelia's and Samuel's expressions shifted in an instant. They clearly never expected someone 'ordinary' like me to have the university board's contact number.

The board of directors was composed of very influential and powerful people. Ordinary people had no means of accessing them.

Cold sweat erupted on Samuel's forehead. He wanted to snatch my phone away, but he didn't dare to in the end.

Meanwhile, Ophelia was outraged and shocked. She'd gotten used to getting her way in uni by using her identity as the Keaton family's heiress. She'd never experienced such retaliation before.

"How dare you?" Ophelia screeched. "How dare a lowlife like you threaten me? Just you wait and see!"

She glared at me before calling someone on her phone. The moment the call went through, she began wailing over the phone.

"Mom, I'm being bullied on campus! Hurry up and come help me! I'm right in the teacher's office! Two pathetic losers are trying to steal my spot in the student exchange programme—you have to help me!"

Ophelia then hung up the call. She placed both hands on her waist, head held high as if suddenly regaining her pride.

"Just you wait. My mother's on her way here right now! I'm going to make both of you get on your knees and beg me for mercy!"

Samuel looked uneasy. He glanced at Ophelia, then at Aubrey and me. He seemed to want to interject, but he didn't have the courage to.

I gazed coldly at Ophelia, the trust I had for Tristan starting to crumble. If Ophelia really had nothing to do with my family, then why was she so arrogant about it? If she didn't have someone behind her back in this, I'd eat my own hat!

Aubrey tugged at my shirt and said softly, "Aster, why don't we just let this go? I don't want to cause you trouble."

I patted her hand and said firmly, "You didn't do anything wrong, nor is this troublesome. No one can take away what's rightfully ours!"

Just then, a bejeweled woman in glamorous clothing ran into the office.