Chapter 3

Faced with Chloe's relentless delusions, I felt utterly helpless.

She hadn't broken any obvious laws, so calling the police felt futile. She hadn't physically assaulted me, so I couldn't hit her back. My head was splitting, and I had no idea how to make it stop.

To make matters worse, the very next morning, Chloe’s mother, Brenda, showed up right outside my dorm building.

The moment she spotted me, she rushed forward and slapped me across the face before I could even react.

Her bitter, pinched face contorted in rage as she jabbed a finger into my nose, screaming:

"Dylan, you two-timing scumbag! How dare you cheat on my daughter and buy expensive gifts for other women!"

"From this day on, every penny you have belongs to Chloe! You hand your cards over to her!"

Her sheer absurdity pushed me past my breaking point. I gave a cold, humorless laugh. "It's my money. I'll spend it on whoever I want. Who do you think you are?!"

Brenda held her head high. "I'm your future mother-in-law!"

"Enough!" I roared.

Being pushed around over and over had completely destroyed my patience. I didn't care about being polite anymore.

"Brenda, listen to me clearly: there is no future mother-in-law, and there is no fiancé! It's all in your twisted heads! I never agreed to any of this!"

"Now get the hell out of my face!"

Brenda trembled with fury. Instead of backing down, she dropped straight onto the concrete, thrashing her arms and wailing like a banshee:

"Help! Everyone come look at this monster!"

"This heartless scoundrel ruined my daughter, and now he refuses to take responsibility! He's cheating on her with other sluts! Someone help us!"

Within moments, a thick crowd of students surrounded us. Seeing Brenda sobbing and beating her chest on the ground, their knee-jerk sympathy kicked in. Harsh accusations began flying at me from every direction.

My chest felt like it was about to burst with rage. I couldn't believe someone could twist reality so brazenly!

Surrounded by judgmental stares and angry questions, anything I said was useless. In situations like this, society always assumed the crying woman was the victim. No matter how much I explained, nobody believed a single word.

Brenda played her trump card: "What mother would make up lies about her own daughter's honor?!"

That single line sealed my fate in the eyes of the crowd. Everyone immediately took her side.

The commotion grew so out of hand that campus security had to intervene, and I was dragged into my academic advisor's office.

I frantically explained the truth to her, hoping she would back me up and clear my name. But my advisor didn't believe me at all. Instead, she fixed me with a stern, cold glare:

"I don't care about the details. What matters is that you shut this scandal down right now. The university's reputation is on the line!"

"If the school's image is tarnished and the administration gets involved, I can't guarantee you'll be allowed to graduate. You might find your remaining years here very unpleasant."

"Worse, this could affect your roommates. If they find out they can't graduate on time because of your personal drama..."

I stared at her, stunned.

Faced with her blatant, cold-blooded threat, fury burned through me, but an even heavier wave of helplessness washed over it.

An academic advisor held immense power over a student's standing. I still had three years of college left. If she decided to sabotage my academic record every semester, my life would become a living hell.

If I couldn't get my degree, my entire college career would be ruined. And I couldn't bear the thought of dragging my innocent roommates down with me.

At that moment, the only way out seemed to be caving—apologizing to Brenda and Chloe, and publicly playing along with their delusional engagement.

I clenched my fists until my knuckles turned white, trapped in absolute agony.