Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Dorm Life

Stella Dawson had back-to-back classes all day and finally decided to settle into campus life.

She'd be stuck at the university for the entire semester anyway, and staying in the dorm would save commute time and make it easier to focus on her work.

Shuttling back and forth daily? Far too inconvenient.

After her midday lecture, her roommate Olivia Hayes dragged her out to shop for dorm essentials.

As for the other two roommates-Samantha Tate, the arrogant heiress of the Tate family, made no effort to conceal her disdain for Stella. In her view, Stella was nothing but a social climber.

The whole fake-heiress scandal involving the Dawsons might not be public knowledge, but within elite circles, that tea had been thoroughly spilled ages ago.

Samantha looked down on her completely.

Then there was Megan Lindley-she came from an average background. She used to be fairly friendly with Stella, but now? She acted as if seeing Stella was like encountering the plague. Cold stares and all.

So Stella only went shopping with Olivia.

"Did Megan Lindley wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something? Her attitude has been absolutely foul lately."

She casually scanned the shelf for shower gel, throwing shade without even looking up.

Olivia gave a knowing smile. "Oh, Stella, I guess you haven't heard-she's got a massive crush on Lindor Mitchell."

Stella paused mid-reach, then let out a short laugh. "Oh, that guy."

A total fool-made a complete spectacle of himself right in front of the university that morning, thanks to her.

No wonder Megan acted like she'd swallowed a prickly pear every time they crossed paths.

"Talk about questionable taste. Ditching a friend over a walking embarrassment," Stella scoffed.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. An unknown number. She answered casually. "Hello? Who is this?"

While on the call, she muttered to Olivia, "The packaging on these shower gels is seriously unattractive."

A sneering voice came from the other end.

"Judging shower gel by its bottle? You really have too much time on your hands."

She was the type to dismiss a product based on its packaging. Not that he particularly cared.

But she had called him old and unattractive-he'd been waiting for an opportunity like this to retaliate.

This woman had no taste-her entire judgment system needed an overhaul.

Recognizing the voice, Stella froze for a second.

Olivia nudged her. "Who is it?"

"No one important. Probably a scammer from one of those overseas call centers," Stella replied coolly. "Claimed my husband is dead. Couldn't even be bothered to do basic research before lying."

"I mean, seriously, I'm a university student. Where would I get a husband, let alone a dead one?"

A quiet, frustrated breath was audible from the other end.

Stella was barely containing her laughter.

"Right? Disgusting. These scam calls are getting more and more absurd," Olivia chimed in, shaking her head sympathetically.

Stella smirked and raised her voice toward the phone, "Hear that? No husband here. Let him die or whatever-it's got nothing to do with me. I don't even have a husband, understand?"

"What are you, pushing sixty and still cold-calling people to scam them? Get a real job!"

With that, she happily ended the call-and promptly blocked the number.

"Some people really have no shame," she clicked her tongue.

Olivia tugged on her arm. "Maybe he's just some unfortunate soul forced into making those scam calls?"

"I'm joking. That was my ex," Stella said with a playful grin. "He cheated, I dumped him, and now he's trying to crawl back."

"Oh-well, in that case, he totally deserved that."

Alexander Sterling sneezed violently.

His face darkened as he looked at his screen-confirmed, he'd been blocked.

"Mr. Sterling? Sir, are you alright-what was that noise?" Jack Holden rushed in, having heard the loud sound from behind the office door.

Before he could finish, he saw Alexander's flushed, furious face, practically steaming.

It didn'take a genius to guess who had managed to provoke him to this extent.

Jack Holden froze for a second, then quickly retreated, pulling the door closed behind him.

"The boss's temper is getting worse by the day..." he muttered under his breath.

That expression seriously looked murderous. What had Stella done this time?

Alexander Sterling stared at the screen, taking a deep breath to suppress the violent urge to hunt her down immediately. He entered her number, searching for her on Facebook. Her account appeared instantly.

Her Facebook ID? "PunchKickAlexanderPig" - it fit her perfectly, in his opinion.

Gritting his teeth against the irritation, he sent a friend request, adding a lame note: "Your classmate."

Meanwhile, Stella stood at the checkout with a large plastic bag, pulling out her phone to pay.

A friend request notification popped up on Facebook. One glance, and her face instantly showed disgust.

The username was outdated, and the profile picture was decidedly middle-aged.

Recalling Alexander's call earlier, it wasn't hard to deduce the sender's identity.

She tapped "Decline" and typed a reply: "Old man, get lost."

Alexander, nearly thirty and deeply offended by the label, tried again. This time, the request was accepted-only for Stella to delete him immediately afterward.

He stared at the screen for a solid ten minutes before attempting to send a message: "Stella, can we talk for a moment-"

The error notification hit him like a physical blow. Message not delivered.

"Damn it!" He snapped, his jaw clenching tightly.

.

Outside the supermarket, Stella had accumulated a small mountain of shopping bags.

"How are we going to get all this back to the dorm?" Olivia Hayes frowned at the pile of daily necessities.

It was far too much for two girls to carry comfortably.

"No problem." Stella grabbed the bulk of the bags without hesitation. "You just take the lighter ones."

Then she strode off toward the dormitory as if it were nothing. Olivia blinked in surprise.

They hadn't just bought toiletries-there were snacks, drinks, and more. Combined, it had to be quite heavy.

And yet Stella carried the majority with apparent ease, not even breaking a sweat.

Holding just two nearly weightless bags, Olivia hurried after her. "Wait for me!"

On the way back, several male students approached them.

"Need a hand, senior?"

"Can I help you carry those?"

"I've got it," Stella replied calmly. "Just please make way."

Ignoring their stunned expressions, she climbed the stairs with steady, quick steps. The elevator was out of service again today, and she lived on the fifth floor.

Olivia stood at the bottom of the staircase, looking up with wide eyes as Stella's slender figure vanished upwards under the heavy load. She glanced at her own legs and sighed, "Man, this is going to be a climb."

At the dorm room door, Stella paused and gave it a light kick with her foot.

Just as the door swung inward, she stepped aside slightly, and-thud-Megan Lindley, who hadn't seen it coming, stumbled out, spilling her water all over herself.

"Stella. what the hell are you doing-" Megan shrieked, flailing with her cup, fumbling for tissues, and slipping on the wet floor.

Thump.

She landed hard on the ground, dazed, clutching her backside as she looked up-directly into Stella's faint, cool smile.

That pretty face showed not a trace of sympathy, only serene composure and a hint of piercing insight.

Megan's face paled, then instantly flushed crimson with humiliation and rage.

The cup shattered loudly, drawing someone else's attention.

"What is going on here?" came Samantha Tate's sharp voice.

Stella lifted her chin slightly, let out a soft, derisive laugh, and walked into the room with her bags. "Excuse me, coming through."

Her voice was light, almost polite, yet carried a distinct edge.

Megan instinctively scrambled out of her way.

Samantha sat on her bed, glaring over with an expensive lipstick in her hand.

As the heiress of the Tate family, Samantha might not be classically beautiful, but the aura she projected was overpowering. Her piercing gaze alone was enough to make most people avoid her.

She sat directly opposite Stella's assigned space, on a bed that looked far too luxurious for a standard dorm room.

Stella tugged the corner of her mouth into a cool smirk, meeting her gaze directly. "Pretty sure that's none of your concern."

Samantha's expression tightened with irritation, but she clearly didn't want to stoop to bickering with someone like Stella-it would be beneath her.

She clenched her jaw and forced a mocking chuckle. Megan, now seemingly emboldened, scrambled fully to her feet and sneered at Stella. "Still putting on airs like you're the Dawson heiress? Know your place."

"A total fraud, pretending to be something you're not."

Stella narrowed her eyes and glanced pointedly at Samantha.

The whole "real vs. fake heiress" situation wasn't public knowledge-only a select few in their social circle were aware. Even when Emily first returned, very few people realized she was the biological Dawson daughter.

At university, Stella had always kept a low profile-except for her flashy arrival in the sports car today.

So, clearly, Samantha had been gossiping about her to Megan.

And she detested people talking behind her back-especially those two, since nothing good ever came from their mouths.

Back when she was still publicly regarded as the Dawson heiress, she might have swallowed her anger. But now? She had no reason to hold back.

"Megan Lindley, and you think you're in any position to comment?" Stella gave her a sweet yet mocking smile.

Megan's face paled for a split second but quickly hardened with renewed venom. "Oh, so the impostor gets offended when confronted with the truth? You stole twenty years of Emily's life. Doesn't that sicken you?"

"You lived in luxury as a Dawson while she grew up in hardship. And you still have the nerve to strut around campus like nothing's wrong?"

"Now that the real heiress is back, it's time you packed your things and disappeared!"

Stella let out a cold laugh. The Dawsons and Emily shared the same sentiment, yet they couldn't force her out no matter how hard they tried.

Not only that-she still held certain. assets from that arrangement.

And the idea of walking away from those hypocrites-and from Alexander Sterling-was gradually starting to feel like true liberation.

She found their petty greed and cruelty utterly repulsive.

"Yeah, you're right." Stella nodded calmly, then flung a plastic bag directly into Megan's face.

Megan, completely caught off guard, fumbled to snatch it away. It didn't hurt physically, but the humiliation was palpable.

"You've lost your mind!" she shouted, gripping the bag as her voice rose sharply. "You complete lunatic-"

Stella leaned her cheek on her hand, watching Megan's meltdown as if enjoying a show, her eyes filled with icy amusement.

Just as the situation threatened to boil over, Samantha discreetly pulled out her phone, aiming the camera at Stella to start recording.

"Whose cup broke? There's glass all over the floor!" Olivia's voice called out from the doorway. "Emily, watch your step, don't cut yourself!"

"Okay," Emily replied, following Olivia into the room.

She was holding a bag containing what looked like Stella's towel and toothbrush.

Everyone turned as Olivia added, "Since everyone's here, this is Emily-she's interning at the design institute. Just came by to visit."

Samantha twisted toward her, narrowing her eyes. "You're from the Dawson family?"

Megan's eyes lit up, and she rushed over to grab Emily's hand, overflowing with excitement. "So you're Emily? Wow, you're so beautiful and elegant-exactly what a true heiress should be. Far more fitting than some counterfeit!"

"What counterfeit?" Olivia asked, looking genuinely confused.

She was completely unaware of the Dawson family drama, and as far as she knew, Stella was the Dawson daughter.

Megan scoffed and shot Stella a triumphant glance. "She's right there-the shameless impostor pretending to be someone she's not."

She looked immensely pleased with herself, as if she'd just revealed a monumental secret.

"Stella? You're here too?" Emily slowly turned her head as if just noticing her, then let out a dramatic gasp as if connecting the dots. With an artificially innocent expression, she reached out to grab Stella's arm.