All Chapters of The Return of the Campus Trillionaire: Chapter 71
- Chapter 80
127 chapters
CHAPTER 71
The café doors slammed shut behind Becky, the sound echoing louder in her head than it had any right to. She didn’t stop walking until she was halfway across the quad, her chest tight, breath uneven, vision blurring just enough to make the world feel unreal.Brad caught up to her near the library steps.“Becky—wait.”She spun around, eyes blazing. “Don’t. Please don’t try to explain him to me right now.”Brad stopped short. He lifted his hands slightly, not in surrender, but in acknowledgment. “I wasn’t going to.”That made her pause.They stood there in silence for a moment, students streaming past them, laughter and chatter filling the air like mockery. Becky finally turned away, dropping onto the cold stone steps. Brad followed, sitting beside her, leaving just enough space to respect the wall she’d thrown up.“I feel stupid,” she said quietly.“You’re not,” Brad replied immediately.“I am.” Her voice wavered. “Everyone warned me. Everyone. And I still believed him every time he sa
CHAPTER 72
By the time Brad stepped into the Skyrun Inc. building the next morning, he already felt like he was bracing for impact.The lobby was spotless as always—glass walls, steel beams, the faint smell of expensive coffee—but Brad had learned by now that appearances meant nothing. He swiped his intern badge, the green light blinking on without issue, and exhaled quietly. At least he hadn’t been fired overnight.Yet.He hadn’t even reached his cubicle when Sammy Jo’s voice floated across the floor.“Well, if it isn’t our resident errand boy.”Brad froze for half a second, then forced his legs to keep moving. He sat down, powered on his laptop, and pretended very hard that Sammy Jo didn’t exist.Sammy Jo leaned casually against the divider of Brad’s cubicle, chewing gum like he had nowhere else to be. “You hear about the meeting today?”Brad didn’t look up. “No.”Sammy Jo smiled. “Of course you didn’t. Guess who forgot to CC you again.”Brad finally glanced at him. “I didn’t get any emails.”
CHAPTER 73
By the time Brad left the Skyrun Inc. building that evening, the city lights had already begun to blur together. His feet dragged against the pavement as though the concrete itself were trying to pull him back, unwilling to let him escape the day just yet.He felt hollow.The kind of tiredness that wasn’t fixed by sleep.Brad dropped his bag onto the floor of his apartment and leaned back against the door, staring at the ceiling. His tie was loosened, sleeves rolled up, knuckles faintly red from clenching his fists far too many times that day. Every muscle in his body ached, but it was the weight in his chest that hurt the most.How long had it been since he’d felt competent?He slid down until he was sitting on the floor, elbows resting on his knees. No matter what he did at Skyrun, it never seemed to be enough. If he worked quickly, they said he was careless. If he slowed down to double-check, they called him inefficient. Meetings he wasn’t informed about became evidence of his “lac
CHAPTER 74
Brad woke up already tired.The alarm on his phone had gone off twice before his brain registered the sound, and by the time he jolted upright in bed, his heart was racing for reasons that had nothing to do with sleep. He stared at the time, groaned softly, and swung his legs over the side of the mattress.Late.Of course he was late.He scrubbed a hand down his face, exhaustion clinging to him like a second skin. The ceiling above him felt heavier than usual, pressing down with the quiet reminder of everything waiting for him at Skyrun. Matthew. Sammy Jo. Another day of invisible traps and public corrections.Brad already knew he was going to be in trouble before he even stepped out of his apartment.He skipped breakfast, barely tasted the coffee he gulped down, and rushed out the door with his bag slung over his shoulder. The drive felt longer than usual, every stop dragging out his dread. By the time he reached the building, his jaw was clenched so tight it hurt.The moment he step
CHAPTER 75
Brad stared at his phone for a long time before typing anything.The screen glowed softly in his dim apartment, reflecting the fatigue etched into his face. His head still buzzed from the confrontation at Skyrun, Matthew’s words looping endlessly in his mind, Sammy Jo’s smirk flashing up every time he closed his eyes.He exhaled and finally typed.Brad:Hey. I know this is random, but… would you want to meet up? Just to talk. If you’re up for it.He hit send before he could overthink it, then dropped the phone beside him like it had burned him.Minutes passed.Just as he was convincing himself that this had been a mistake, the screen lit up.Becky:Okay.There’s a café near the arts building. Fifteen minutes?Brad let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.Brad:Yeah. I’ll be there.~~~~The café was quiet when Brad arrived, tucked away from the louder parts of campus. It smelled like roasted coffee beans and sugar, the low hum of conversation blending with soft music from
CHAPTER 76
Becky’s hands trembled, her chest tightening with a heat that had nothing to do with the coffee in her mug. Kirby’s words still lingered, sharp and venomous, cutting into every self-doubt she had spent months trying to bury.“You were always just… temporary.”The words replayed in her head like a cruel echo. Her fingers curled into fists beneath the table. She looked at Kirby, saw the smug satisfaction in her posture, the cruel smirk dancing across her lips. And something inside Becky snapped.“Enough.”It wasn’t a whisper. It wasn’t tentative. It was a low, dangerous growl that made Kirby blink. Becky shoved the chair back and rose to her feet, her eyes locked on Kirby.“Don’t talk to me like that,” Becky said, voice sharper than she realized she could be.Kirby laughed, a short, sharp sound. “Oh, look who’s trying to play tough now. What are you gonna do, cry?”Becky’s hands trembled again, but not with fear. This time it was with anger. She stepped forward, closing the space betwee
CHAPTER 77
The car hummed along the quiet streets, headlights cutting through the soft glow of the city. Brad’s hands gripped the wheel, but his focus kept drifting—not on the road, not on the traffic lights—but to the phone resting beside him. Every so often, his thumb hovered over the screen, ready to check again, though the messages hadn’t changed.Becky sat in the passenger seat, her wrapped wrist resting on her lap, eyes flicking toward him every now and then. She noticed the way his gaze kept darting to the phone.“Are you… waiting for someone’s text?” she asked, her voice casual, teasing just enough to make him shift uncomfortably in his seat.Brad’s eyes met hers in the rearview mirror. He gave a small, awkward smile and shook his head. “It’s nothing,” he said, keeping his focus on the road.Becky tilted her head, studying him, not fully convinced. “Brad?” she pressed, the teasing undertone creeping back into her voice. “Are you… seeing someone?”He waved her off without looking at her.
CHAPTER 78
Jared pushed the bathroom door open, the harsh fluorescent light washing over him as he paused at the sink. He stared into the mirror, but his own reflection didn’t register. His attention was entirely on his phone, buzzing insistently on the counter. He grabbed it, and the moment he saw Brad’s message, his stomach dropped into a pit of molten anger.“Becky got burned. Kirby shoved her, coffee spilled on her wrist. We’re at the hospital.”His fingers tightened around the phone until the edges bit into his palms. He could feel the heat rising in his chest, a mixture of fury and helplessness. How had this happened? How had Kirby, of all people, managed to get that close to Becky? He had promised himself, and more importantly, Shelly had promised him, that his friends would be safe. That promise now felt like a lie.Without thinking, he dialed Shelly. His thumb hovered over the call button for a split second longer than necessary, his jaw clenched in frustration, before he pressed it any
CHAPTER 79
Jared’s thumb hovered over the send button, his nerves fraying with each second he waited. The messages on his screen had ticked twice but went no further.“Brad, is Becky okay? Please tell me she’s okay.”He sent it again. Two ticks. Nothing. No read receipt. Not a reply. Panic began gnawing at his chest, a sharp, unrelenting ache. He ran a hand through his hair, pacing in his apartment. He tried another message, typing and deleting and typing again.“Brad… please. I need to know. Did she get hurt badly?”Still nothing. His stomach twisted. Jared’s mind raced with every possible scenario: Becky crying in pain, alone and afraid, her wrist wrapped in a painful burn. His chest tightened. He couldn’t just sit here. Waiting. Doing nothing.Finally, with a determined exhale, he grabbed his keys and jacket. Sitting idly at home wasn’t going to fix this. He needed to see her, to make sure she was okay. He jumped into his car, the city lights streaking past as he sped toward Brad’s house, his
CHAPTER 80
The night air hung thick between them, the faint hum of the streetlights doing nothing to soften the tension. Brad’s jaw was tight, his hands shoved into his pockets as he stared at Jared.“Why do you suddenly care?” Brad asked, his voice even, but the sharp edge in it was unmistakable.Jared blinked, caught off guard. “What do you mean suddenly? I care. Always.” His voice cracked slightly, the mix of frustration and desperation evident.Brad shook his head, exhaling sharply. “No, you don’t. You only show up when one of us is hurt badly. That’s the pattern, Jared. Becky gets burned, or someone gets into trouble, and suddenly, you appear. That’s when you care.”Jared’s eyes narrowed, hurt flashing across his face. “Brad… come on. That’s not fair. I’ve always—”“Not fair?” Brad cut him off, stepping closer, his voice rising. “Not fair? Jared, you haven’t checked in on us. Not for weeks. I can’t even reach you. Texts go unanswered. Calls—Shelly picks up before you do. You’re always somew