Chapter 242

Chapter 242

William replied, "Do we really have to go in? Charlotte still has over an hour's drive ahead, and school's starting for her too."

"Cleo wants us to walk her in. Come on, get out of the car." Penelope urged.

William had no choice but to get out. Through the car window, I looked over at Cleo. Her eyes were still fixed in our direction, and I knew her target wasn't her parents — it was Edward.

Seeing both parents out of the car, Cleo tried to sound casual. "Mom, Dad, aren't Charlotte and Edward coming too?"

"Let the young couple have some time to themselves. Isn't it enough that William and I are walking you in?" Penelope said, looking puzzled.

"No, no, that's not what I meant. I just... I'd love for Charlotte and Edward to walk me in, too. Once I'm in college, Charlotte and I won't be able to see each other every day anymore."

At this point, Penelope was clearly losing her patience. "Cleo, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Seeing Penelope getting annoyed, Cleo quickly put on her sweetest smile. "Don't get me wrong, Mom. I just miss Charlotte, that's all. It's fine — let them have their alone time. I'm already so happy to have you and Dad walking me in."

With that, Cleo looped one arm through each of her parents' and walked into the campus under everyone's gaze.

That left just Edward and me in the car.

He reached out and took my hand. "Dealing with all that every day must wear you out."

"It really does. But things will be quieter from now on."

"There's actually a branch of the company near Hamilton Law, and it's doing pretty well. Since you're going to school there, I might as well shift my work focus over to that side too."

I raised an eyebrow. "So you mean wherever I go, you go?"

"Exactly. I'm not leaving my fiancée's side."

"But you can't just show up at school whenever you feel like it. I don't want to become the talk of the campus."

Edward reached over and pinched my cheek. "I know you. But come on — am I really that embarrassing? Plenty of people your age have boyfriends."

"You're not like other guys, though. You're the type that women envy other women for having, and men resent other men for being."

Edward burst out laughing. "Why does hearing that from you make me want to laugh so much?"

"It's the truth."

About half an hour later, William and Penelope came back, and we switched to the Rolls-Royce.

My luggage wasn't much — it all fit in the A8.

So the rest of the cars headed back.

Honestly, even so, I thought the whole thing was way too over the top. But there was nothing I could do. For a family like theirs, this was already considered keeping a low profile.

After driving for just over an hour, we pulled up in front of Hamilton Law. Even just the two cars parked out front were enough to turn heads.

"Mom, Dad, I'll head in on my own. You don't need to walk me in — you've got a long drive back. Be safe on the road."

"Let us walk you in," William said. "We can give your roommates some little gifts and ask them to look out for you."

I laughed. "That's really not necessary, Dad. I don't want to be treated differently from everyone else. We're all just regular students here."

After a lot of back and forth, William finally agreed.

"Text me when you get to your dorm," Edward said.

Penelope looked reluctant to let go. "Are you sure you don't want us to walk you in?"

"I'm sure. Don't worry — Beatrice is in the same dorm as me."

After I told her I'd applied to Hamilton Law, Beatrice had her family pull some strings to get her into the same school — and into the same dorm room as me.

After saying goodbye to everyone, I headed into the school on my own, dragging two large suitcases behind me.

Along the way, a few older students came up trying to help carry my bags, but I turned them all down.

The dorm building had an elevator, so getting up wasn't a problem.

When I got to the room, two girls were already there. One look at their bookish vibe and I could tell they were the studious, well-behaved type.

"Hi, let me help you with that." A short girl with glasses came over and took one of my suitcases.

"Thank you," I said politely.

The dorm was even nicer than it looked in the photos — like a small apartment, maybe 700 or 800 square feet, with all kinds of appliances.

"We only got a room this nice because of you," the other girl said, looking a little embarrassed.

I felt a bit awkward hearing that. "Not at all. The school just wanted to give students who scored perfect on the SAT a good environment to study in. Anyway, what are your names?"

"I'm Alice Baker."

"I'm Violet Cooper."

"Nice to meet you both. I'm Charlotte Sinclair."

Alice pushed up her glasses, her eyes full of admiration. "You're so pretty. And you carry yourself so well."

"So do you."

"Me? No way. I'm just a small-town girl who tested her way here." Alice scratched her head shyly.

Just then, a cheerful voice rang out, followed by a big bear hug. "Charlotte! We're finally roommates! I begged my dad forever to make this happen!"

I sighed. "Weren't you always focused on art? Is it really a good idea to suddenly switch to law?"

"Who cares if it's a good idea? I'm basically just here for the degree anyway. The most important thing is getting to be with you!" Beatrice planted a big kiss on my cheek.

Then she dug through her suitcase and pulled out a pile of snacks from abroad, handing them to Alice and Violet.

"These are so good — they're for you!"

The two of them were caught off guard and thanked her right away.

I had wanted to keep a low profile, but the moment Beatrice walked in, there was no hiding the rich-girl energy radiating off her.

On top of that, she'd brought two housekeepers to help set up her space and make her bed, leaving her hands completely free.

I had planned to unpack myself, but Beatrice dragged me out to walk around campus, and had her housekeepers tidy up my bed too while we were gone. I had no choice — I locked my valuables in the drawer and followed her out.

"Why didn't you invite them along?"

As soon as we left the dorm, Beatrice asked curiously. She'd wanted to invite our other two roommates to come with us, but I'd stopped her with a look.

I sighed. "Sweetheart, the second you walked in, you might as well have had 'I'm loaded' written across your forehead. You scared them. Who would dare come out with you? They can't afford to keep up."

Beatrice groaned. "Oh, is that what this is about? What's the big deal — I'll just pay for everything."

I reached over and tapped her on the nose. "You've been living the rich life for so long, you've forgotten that most people around us are ordinary. They're not like us. Don't do that to them — it'll make them feel pressured."

"Okay, okay, whatever you say. I mean, I only came to this school for you, you know."

"Well, whatever your reason, now that you're here, you'd better actually study. Don't give your dad more reasons to say you only care about having fun."

Beatrice stuck out her tongue. "You sound just like my parents."

"Keep it up and see what happens when you start failing your classes."