Chapter 3 How do you know Charles?
The shoes on her feet were something she'd grabbed randomly online. She only figured out they were knockoff designer fakes after wearing them for two weeks straight.
But Olivia didn't see anything shameful about it. She'd used money Indigo earned through honest work, bought through a legit online transaction, purchasing shoes that were actually comfortable.
What the hell was wrong with any of that?
With that thought, Olivia spun around. Her face looked shaken, but her eyes blazed with fierce determination as she locked onto the blonde guy.
Charles's expression went dark, and he started moving forward to intervene.
But Olivia beat him to it.
Her voice wasn't loud—hell, it was even shaking a little—but it carried crystal clear with barely contained steel.
"I'm here earning money with my own two hands, fair and square."
"Which beats the hell out of some people who just stick their hands out to mommy and daddy like... total parasites."
The words hit like ice picks to the gut.
The guys' faces immediately went sour.
"You bitch! What the hell did you just say!"
Celestial University was mostly packed with rich, connected families dumping their kids there to polish up their image when they couldn't hack it at better schools.
Students like Olivia, who actually earned their way in through brains alone, were unicorns.
So she knew exactly where to hit these parasites where it hurt most.
Sure enough, the usually smirking blonde suddenly went dead serious, his face flushing red with pure embarrassment and rage as he stepped forward, ready to blow his top.
Three slow, deliberate claps suddenly echoed through the shop.
Everyone whipped around toward the sound.
Charles stood in the flower shop doorway, his tall frame radiating invisible menace.
He wore all black athletic gear again, his face a blank mask, his dark eyes sweeping over the frozen guys before finally landing on Olivia.
"Damn well said."
His voice wasn't loud, but it instantly killed every sound in the flower shop.
When the guys spotted Charles, their swagger evaporated instantly, their faces going pale.
Hushed whispers started rippling through the crowd.
"Holy shit, it's Charles!"
"He's... he's actually clapping for Olivia?"
"What the hell's going on?"
"What's their deal? I mean, are they like... together?"
"Didn't everyone say Charles wasn't into chicks?"
"God, he's so hot—it'd be such a waste if he were gay... but there's no way he'd actually be into Olivia, right?"
Olivia was floored, too.
She hadn't expected him to just show up like that.
Meeting Charles's gaze, she flashed back to him methodically cleaning pool cues yesterday at the hall. Heat rushed to her face as her fingers nervously twisted the edge of her apron.
Charles ignored the surprised stares and walked straight to the counter, casually picking out a bouquet of sunflowers in full bloom.
"Wrap these up."
Olivia snapped back to reality and quickly looked down, skillfully starting to wrap the bouquet.
She kept her head down the whole time, not daring to look at him.
When it came time to pay, Charles's long fingers handed over the cash.
Olivia quickly took it, her voice barely a whisper.
"Thank... thank you for what you did back there..."
Charles picked up the wrapped sunflowers, his eyes lingering for a moment on her lowered head and slightly flushed cheek.
"Don't worry about it. You weren't wrong."
With that, he straightened up, grabbed the flowers, and headed for the door.
Leaving Olivia standing there, her heart hammering against her ribs.
As for those guys, they'd already slipped out the second Charles walked in.
The flower shop finally went quiet.
Olivia sank onto the little stool in the corner, her pulse still racing.
Charles's quiet words kept echoing in her head.
"Don't worry about it. You weren't wrong."
He said she wasn't wrong?
Did he think those guys were parasites, too?
But the Green family was also one of the big-name wealthy families in Emerald City...
Though now that she thought about it, while Charles was loaded too, he didn't depend on his family one bit!
Charles... that name actually meant something, and he was a legend at Celestial University.
Olivia sometimes heard John griping on the phone, always bringing up Charles.
His tone was bitter, but grudgingly impressed—because Charles was always number one in their computer science program, leaving John with nothing but jealousy and frustration.
And she was just some regular student, a year behind Charles.
Why'd he buy those sunflowers?
Such bright, happy flowers.
Was he gonna give them to someone? Or... was it really just to bail her out of that mess?
While she was spacing out, the next shift showed up.
Olivia grabbed her stuff and quietly headed back to campus.
She didn't have morning classes, so she went straight to her dorm, just wanting some peace.
The second she pushed open the dorm door, her friend Lily Martin mysteriously dragged her onto the balcony and dropped her voice.
"Olivia! Spill it! How do you know Charles?"