SINFULLY YOURS

Chapter 48: Chapter 48. What To Do

Chapter 48. What To Do

The school’s website?

What the hell is she talking about? Rosa thought, her forehead squeezed with a tight frown, her hands visibly vibrating as she clenched against the handle of her travel bag. What’s going on with the school’s website?

She tried to remain stoic, trying to act like she wasn’t inquisitive. She saw Mrs. Lee standing at a distance, smirking at her, folding her arms.

”Don’t fight it, Rosa,” she said. ”I know you’re inquisitive. You want to know. It’s written all over you clearly. So stop trying to be a prideful young lady and just check it out. It’s actually vital you know about it, because whatever your decision is, it will clearly affect your stay in the school.” She said, ”I don’t want to give you a spoiler and say more on the details, so why don’t you just check it out?”

Rosa’s eyelids fluttered uncontrollably. Then she scoffed and shook her head.

You can’t get to me, she thought to herself.

She let go of the handle of her bag, dipped her hand in the pockets of her denim shorts, and took out her phone, swiping through it rapidly with a heavy frown, trying to act like nothing in the world could bother her. She swiped straight to the website, let out a soft breath, and then checked it.

The first thing she saw was the heavy price inscribed in a very large golden 3D block format in the heading of the newsletter. She almost choked, but she managed to regain herself.

The announcement was stipulating that there was a hike in the price of fees as an elite school, since it was currently undergoing a renovation to become even larger and obtain a better standard amongst the top leagues of university. And this project was proudly sponsored by the Lee family.

She felt something heavy make a deep dive from her chest straight into her belly. The price she saw made her feel like there was a strong grip against her throat, restricting her airway. She slowly rubbed her hand against her neck.

A whole freaking $600,000!!!!!!

What the fuck?!!!

The hike was too much, definitely too much. She had already begun to calculate her expenses. If she was to save enough for three months, she would have been able to pay the previous fee of $150,000, but a whole freaking six hundred thousand?

She swallowed hard, the lump in her throat tighter than anything she had ever felt. Her eyelids fluttered as she gripped the phone tightly, suddenly finding it hard to look away from the screen. Her hands shook.

There was no two ways about it. Seeing that it was sponsored by the Lee family, she could only think of one thing. It must have been on purpose. She did it on purpose to sabotage her, to leave her with no choice. Even after one month apart, she was still after her life. What more did she want? Why can’t she just leave her alone?

She closed her eyes and looked down at the ground after switching off her phone, tightening her jaw together, squeezing her eyes tight. You can do it, Rosa. Don’t give her a reaction. Then she breathed out and quickly lifted her head to look at Mrs. Lee, staring her in the face.

She saw the look on Mrs. Lee’s face, that satisfaction, the glint in her eyes, the puff of her cheeks, that smile that said, I got you cornered. Now let me see what you’re going to do.

She scoffed and then shook her head. ”I see what’s going on here,” she said softly.

”Oh really?” Mrs. Lee asked. ”Do you? Do tell.”

Rosa’s expression became sharp. She saw the confusion in Mrs. Lee’s face, like she hadn’t expected the change in demeanor.

”I don’t care what you think,” Rosa said. ”I can still support myself.”

Mrs. Lee blinked.

PFFT.

She scoffed. ”Oh really? Jokes on you. Because I can see the worry in your eyes. No matter how much you try to fight things, it is so clear and evident that you have not gotten to that level. In fact, from this point onward, I don’t think I can categorize you as a student worthy enough to, you know, still attend a school such as this, because there is no one to help you. You have no one to support you, and you really cannot stand up for yourself to raise that amount of money even in three years, Rosa. Let’s face the facts,” she said, ”Which brings me to the point that I am still in charge of your fees,” she said. ”So at this point you literally have nothing to worry about, except for one thing. I could decide not to pay your bills and stay casually to the side watching as you’re kicked out of school, never to return on any account again.”

Rosa mashed her teeth together. Her eyelids blinked rapidly as she looked away, turning to look towards the side, avoiding the looks of other passersby who were casually watching the interaction between the both of them.

Yeah, this is definitely not a nice time for this, Rosa thought to herself, breathing hard, feeling the sharp palpitation in her chest. The air suddenly felt so thick.

”I could still foot things for you though,” Mrs. Lee continued. ”I could support you, finish the rest of your education in school, see that you get a very good job. The Lee family has a lot of enterprises and industries under their name. So things could actually go really well for you.”

Rosa scoffed and shook her head. ”And why the hell would you do that for me?” she asked.

Mrs. Lee smiled. ”Of course, I love the way you think,” she said. ”Nothing comes easy, and nothing in this life is for free. Which is why to achieve all of this, I’m just going to need a little favor. You do know that you owe the Lees a lot.”

Rosa stared at her, her face faltering for a little bit before clamping her teeth together to regain that stoic expression. She glared at Mrs. Lee with her fist clenched tightly to her side, feeling the warmth of her legs against her knuckles. She breathed out.

”I don’t care. I don’t owe you shit,” she said all of a sudden.

Mrs. Lee raised both of her eyebrows.

”I’m not doing shit for you,” Rosa added. Then she turned around, grabbed the handle of her bag, and continued walking away.

”That pride will lead to your downfall,” Mrs. Lee called out.

Rosa froze. The rage had overwhelmed her so bad she couldn’t stop. She swung around, glaring at her. ”Then I would rather die a proud person than do anything for you,” she said.

Mrs. Lee chuckled. She saw the disbelief in her expression. Her eyes widened. She clearly hadn’t expected Rosa to talk back at her like that and say her word. Her lips widened to the side as she chuckled.

”Wow, interesting,” she said. ”You have really grown balls, huh?”

”Obviously,” Rosa snapped. ”Are you scared?”

”Why would I be?” Mrs. Lee countered. She folded her arms, smirking at her. ”I am still the one in power. I’m still the one calling the shots.”

”You wish,” Rosa replied. She chuckled.

”Are you sure?” Mrs. Lee asked. ”You really should have a lot of evidence for that confidence you are throwing back at me right now. I mean, for you to be so confident, you should have some backup, right? Some high-ranking power standing behind you to support you when the whole world lands on your head.”

Rosa flinched. Her eyelids fluttered.

”Or have you forgotten that your scholarship support was funded and registered under the Lee Foster Foundation?”

Rosa bit against her bottom lip, her lips shaking as she tried to clamp it down but failed, eyelids fluttering uncontrollably.

”To reclaim the registration with your original name, Rosa, you know how much that costs? Literally thousands of dollars. It means you are under our care. Your funding for the entire school is basically our decision to make and not yours. To reclaim ownership of it is going to cost you a heavy sum, which you can’t even make in your entire life. Literally can never even be your net worth. So what the hell do you want to do about that?”