My Boyfriend Played Mind Games, So I Played Them Better Chapter 09

My Boyfriend Played Mind Games, So I Played Them Better Chapter 09

I made that decision with only a few thousand dollars to my name.

Once I narrowed down my list of schools, I practically moved into the library and worked to secure the most generous scholarship package I could.

Everything went smoothly at first.

Then I ran into Mia at the library.

After that, she started popping up wherever I went like an NPC with a daily respawn timer.

I bought a water bottle with a fingerprint lock specifically because of her.

You could never be too careful.

Mia stared at the bottle for a moment, then took a deep breath.

“Ivy, can we talk?”

“Sure.”

I followed her outside the library.

She pulled a photograph from her bag and held it out to me.

The girl in the center of the group stood straight-backed, her expression distant.

It was my high school graduation photo.

“I spent a good chunk of my allowance tracking this down,” Mia said.

She had first noticed me because of my supposed relationship with Julian.

By then, Julian had already graduated and left the country.

But stories about us, along with a few photographs, were still circulating among the students.

“You were pretty, had the perfect boyfriend, and got the best grades. Your life looked way too easy.”

“It didn’t seem fair. Nobody’s life should be that perfect. The rest of us needed you to have at

least one flaw so we could feel better about ourselves.”

“But then you got into an elite university, and somehow people liked you even more.”

“So that’s why you followed me to Alderidge and went after my boyfriend?”

Mia bit her lip.

“At first, yes. But not anymore.

“Ethan was rich and good-looking, but the second you dumped him, I stopped finding him

attractive.”

“Once I realized that, I stayed up all night trying to make sense of it. I’d mistaken wanting to be like you for jealousy.”

“Whenever I heard something about you, I thought I resented you. Really, I wanted the life you

seemed to have.”

“I just wanted to become someone like you.”

Mia was only a freshman. She was still painfully naive about how the world worked.

But I wasn’t going to explain that to her.

My parents had always treated my brother like he mattered more.

A friend had betrayed me and turned everyone against me.

I was fake and petty, always scheming behind people’s backs.

I was so desperate for money that I would use anyone if I had to.

No life was as perfect as it looked.

I didn’t owe Mia my pain just to make her feel better about her own life.

“Mia, you’re you, and I’m me. Once you understand that, you’ll be fine.”

I never saw her again after that day.

In time, I received an acceptance letter from my first-choice school, along with the scholarship I’d worked for.

The only problem was that the scholarship didn’t cover my living expenses, and I still needed to provide proof of sufficient funds for my student visa.

I pulled up my parents’ humbets but couldn’t make myself call.

If they found out I planned to leave the country, they’d probably refuse to help and start setting me up with men of their choice.

In the end, I called Julian.

Vivienne answered his phone.

She sounded perfectly cordial again.

“Ivy, Julian and I are having our engagement party. Would you like to come?”