Chapter 124 Hypocritical Paternal Love

Chapter 124 Hypocritical Paternal Love

When Evie pushed open the dorm door, Katie was lying on her bed.

Seeing Evie walk in, Katie immediately sat up and craned her neck, as if checking the hallway outside.

After confirming something, she waved Evie over. "Come here for a sec."

Evie walked over, puzzled. "What's up?"

Katie grabbed Evie's wrist and pulled her toward the desk, listening carefully to the sounds in the hallway before lowering her voice. "You need to watch out for Sophie."

"Because of her boyfriend?" Evie's brow furrowed. "Don't worry. If she ever brings him back again, I'll report it straight to the RA."

Katie shook her head and glanced at the door again, her voice dropping even lower. "It's not just Tyler—it's Sophie herself. Haven't you noticed there are only three of us in this room?"

Evie thought about it. She was right.

The dorm had four beds, but only three of them were occupied.

Katie paused, then continued. "There used to be four of us. The girl who had your bed moved out less than a month into the semester. Sophie kept bringing Tyler back to spend the night every few days. That girl couldn't take it anymore, got into a fight with Sophie, and applied for a room transfer the next day."

"Why didn't she just report her?"

Katie let out a sigh. "Sophie's the illegitimate daughter of some big shot. Apparently she had a rough childhood, and her dad feels guilty about it, so he lets her get away with anything. We can't afford to cross her."

Katie sighed again, her expression growing more serious. "There was another girl too—the one who used to sleep in the bunk above me. She was basically forced to drop out. Sophie took photos of her with her phone while she was in the shower, then somehow those pictures ended up in some group chat. Later, someone posted them on the campus forum. That girl got harassed for two solid months before she couldn't take it anymore and took a leave of absence."

Katie glanced back at the door, lowering her voice even further. "I think she sent those photos to her boyfriend. And I think he's the one who leaked them to the group chat."

Evie was taken aback. She could tell Sophie wasn't exactly a good person, but she hadn't expected her to be this vile.

"Sophie claimed afterward that she'd left her phone in the wrong spot and accidentally took the pictures. But who's going to believe that? She didn't even bother with a real apology—just said 'sorry' and called it a day."

"So why haven't you switched rooms? Aren't you worried about getting photographed too?" Evie asked.

Katie gave a self-deprecating smile. "Switching dorms costs a ton of money I don't have. So I just try to come back only when I'm ready to sleep at night, and I avoid running into Sophie and her boyfriend as much as possible.

But you need to be careful. The way Sophie's boyfriend looks at you is seriously messed up."

Evie nodded slowly, her gaze darkening as she began forming her own plans.

"Thanks for the heads-up," Evie said.

"No problem…"

Before Katie could finish, the sound of the door opening came from the entrance.

Katie practically flew back to her bed, flipping onto it with movements so practiced they looked rehearsed.

The door swung open, and Sophie walked in, wearing that same sweet, practiced smile.

Sophie spotted Evie still standing by the desk and paused for a beat before her smile widened. "Evie, you're still up?"

"Just about to go to bed."

Sophie walked up to Evie. She smiled, her tone noticeably softer than before. "About what happened in the hallway earlier—that was my fault. I already talked to Tyler. He won't be coming back to the dorm anymore. Please don't take it to heart."

As Sophie spoke, she looked directly at Evie, the curve of her smile perfectly calibrated, like an expression she'd practiced in front of a mirror a hundred times.

Evie studied her, realizing this girl was more complicated than she'd thought. No matter what happened, she always put on this sincere, apologetic act.

Someone with a simpler personality might have fallen for it.

Evie nodded slightly. "Yeah. As long as it doesn't happen again."

Sophie smiled again and gave Evie's shoulder a light pat. "Get some rest. Good night."

"Good night."

Watching Sophie climb into bed, Evie's expression grew especially somber.

She didn't want to make enemies everywhere—she just wanted to study peacefully until graduation.

But if someone insisted on provoking her, Evie wasn't going to hold back.

...

The next afternoon, class ended early. When Evie walked out of the design building, daylight was still bright.

She was carrying her sketchbook and had just rounded the row of sycamore trees by the library when she spotted Thomas's car parked by the curb.

A dark business sedan. The window was halfway down, revealing a face she hadn't seen in a long time—and one she deeply despised.

Evie didn't stop walking. She kept moving forward as if she hadn't seen him.

Thomas pushed open the car door and stepped out, catching up to her in a few strides. In his hands were several luxury shopping bags, each logo more ostentatious than the last.

"Evie." He smiled warmly, like a father who deeply loved his child. "I brought you some things—a wedding gift. And also to congratulate you on getting into Parsons School of Design. I remember when you were little, your biggest dream was to go to Parsons. You finally made it."

Hearing this, Evie stopped and turned to face him.

She glanced down at the bags, then looked back up, her gaze devoid of anger—only the cold indifference that comes after deep disappointment.

"So you always knew my dream was Parsons. Have you forgotten how you blocked me and convinced me to turn down my acceptance letter? And now you're here to congratulate me? Congratulate me on what, exactly?"

Thomas's smile froze for a moment before quickly recovering.

He pushed the shopping bags toward Evie again. "Back then, I was just worried you'd struggle. I only wanted you to stay home and live comfortably like a princess. But things are different now. You're married, and your studies are on track."

Evie didn't take the bags. Her voice was icy. "So what? You think a few gifts can erase what you did? You want me to keep working for the Vance family?"

Thomas chuckled lightly, as if he hadn't caught the coldness in her tone, and continued on his own. "Vivian's about to get engaged—she's marrying Dimitri. Sure, the Orlov family has seen better days, but they're still a major family. And you married James. Both of the Vance daughters married into top-tier elite families. Our family is only going to grow stronger."

Evie laughed coldly. "My marriage to James has nothing to do with the Vance family. Stop dreaming."

But Thomas seemed prepared for this. His smile only deepened. "How could it have nothing to do with us? James's father, Michael Rockefeller, already came to me personally to discuss a partnership."

Thomas sighed theatrically. "I have two daughters—one marrying into the Orlov family, the other into the Rockefeller family. How did I get so lucky?"

Evie didn't want to listen anymore. This man was beyond saving.

But Thomas wasn't done yet.

He bent down and picked up the luxury bags again. "Oh, and one more thing—Ethan's getting married too. Raven's pregnant with his child. Our family's got three happy occasions all at once."

Evie's brow twitched slightly.

That was surprising. After the scene at the hospital last time, Evie had assumed Raven would get an abortion and break up with Ethan.

After all, Raven liked Jasper. Now that Jasper was single again, shouldn't she have gone after him?

Not that any of this had anything to do with her.

"Are you done?" Evie asked.

Then she bent down, picked up the shopping bags one by one from the ground, and shoved them all back into Thomas's hands with clean, decisive movements.

"I have nothing to do with the Vance family anymore. I don't want your gifts, I don't want your congratulations, and if you want to celebrate your daughter's wedding, go celebrate with her."

With that, Evie turned and walked back the way she came.

Thomas stood beneath the sycamore trees, holding the bags that had been shoved back into his hands, watching Evie's figure grow smaller and smaller. Slowly, his smile faded.

Meanwhile, forty feet away at the corner of a classroom building, Tyler was leaning against the wall, holding up his phone to take pictures.

Tyler glanced at the photo on his screen, and a sleazy grin spread across his face.

In the photo, a middle-aged man holding several large luxury shopping bags was pushing them toward Evie.

No context. No sound. Just a single frame.

In the image, Evie looked like she wasn't accepting them, but the bags were clearly being pushed into her hands—the frame frozen at that exact moment.

Tyler zoomed in on the photo, then slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"Evie, who do you think you are, acting all high and mighty? You'll play around with some old dude, but not me? I'm definitely going to have you!"