Chapter 3

"Auntie, what did my dad tell you?"

Skylar stretched her neck, craning closer to me.

She was clearly trying to read my SnapChat conversation with her dad.

In my last life, to keep her from finding out her heartless parents had dumped her on me with only $100, I quickly closed my phone, hiding the message.

But she misinterpreted it, thinking I didn't want her to know how much money her parents had given me.

She believed I intended to pocket the money for Mia and myself.

It wasn't until after graduation, when our families completely fell apart, that I learned from Mia that

Skylar often called her parents, crying about how terrible her life was here.

And her parents would get furious on the other end, cursing me out and saying how I was supposedly treating their daughter so harshly despite receiving living expenses—but they never told Skylar that the "living expenses" were only $100.

After yelling at me, they'd tell Skylar that this was just how it was when you lived at someone else's house, and to "just bear with it until graduation."

Recalling all that, this time I simply handed her my phone, letting her see exactly what kind of parents she had.

"Here, your parents said you could live at my house, but they only gave $100, which isn't even enough for your rent."

Yes, $100 wasn't even enough for *her* rent.

Because it was an apartment in a highly-rated school district, rent was roughly three thousand dollars a month.

If you divided it by person, it should be at least a thousand dollars a month.

Yet, she lived here for three years for free and never appreciated it, showing no gratitude in the end.

Then, I sighed dramatically.

"This school district rent is so expensive, it's about three thousand a month. I have no idea what your parents were thinking; $100 isn't even enough for your food."

She was still a young girl, and her face instantly flushed red.

"Auntie, I don't eat much."

Mia, behind me, tugged quietly at my sleeve, signaling that maybe I was being too harsh.

I patted Mia’s hand, then turned back to Skylar.

"Anyway, I'm still your aunt. So, I won't ask you for rent. Every month, you'll eat with us; whatever we eat, you eat. But don't expect anything extra."

"I understand, Auntie."

Seeing Skylar lower her head, looking pitiful, I almost felt soft again, to be honest.

But wasn't it exactly this innocent act that fooled me in my last life?

Indeed, academic achievement doesn't equal good character.

Even if she got into the best university, it wouldn't change the rotten core inside her.