Pregnant and Spoiled by the Billionaire — Episode 18
Whispers followed Amelia across campus. She felt them in the sudden silences when she entered a hallway and saw them in the phones tilted just out of her view. After everything Bethany had done, Amelia had hoped the arrest would expose the truth. Instead, rumors traveled faster than evidence and required far less courage to repeat.
She reached the journalism building determined to focus on class. A new laptop waited in her bag, purchased from the pregnancy account only after Leo reminded her that her old computer barely functioned. Accepting it had been difficult. Now every glance at the expensive case felt like an accusation she could not answer without exposing the most private parts of her life.
Regina Vale intercepted her near the lecture hall with two friends at her side. She had spent years treating Amelia’s poverty as entertainment and now seemed offended that the balance had changed. “Nice dress,” Regina said, wearing the same design in red. “Funny how you couldn’t afford lunch last month, but now you’re carrying a bag worth more than tuition.”
“Move, Regina. I’m going to class.” Amelia tried to pass, but one of the girls caught her shoulder. Regina reached into Amelia’s open bag and pulled out the laptop. Its polished surface drew an appreciative murmur from the growing audience.
Regina asked which elderly benefactor had bought it. Amelia held out her hand. “It belongs to me, and none of this concerns you.” She would not name Leo merely to silence people who had already chosen cruelty. Their relationship was complicated enough without becoming campus gossip.
The laptop hit the tiled floor. Its screen cracked with a sharp snap, and shock silenced the hallway. Amelia dropped to her knees beside it, staring at the machine she had owned for one day. It was not the price that hurt most. Leo had given it so she could keep pursuing the future everyone else treated as disposable.
“Why did you do that?” she asked. Regina folded her arms and claimed she hated liars. According to the group chat, Amelia had exchanged favors for expensive gifts and was pretending to be respectable. Every word dragged Amelia back to Jason’s hands and Bethany’s betrayal.
“You know nothing about what happened to me.” Amelia rose, protecting her abdomen as the crowd pressed closer. “And you do not get to punish me because someone wealthier than you chose to help me.” Her refusal to look ashamed only deepened Regina’s anger.
Regina seized the sleeve of the blue dress. She demanded that Amelia remove it because a woman like her had no right to wear the same label. Amelia pulled away, but the other girls blocked both ends of the corridor. Several students recorded the confrontation while no one stepped forward.
The first tug tore the seam at Amelia’s shoulder. Panic flooded her, bringing back the bar and the terror of strangers deciding her body belonged to them. She fought harder, warning Regina that she was pregnant. The confession should have stopped them.
Instead, Regina laughed and announced it to the crowd. She called the unborn child proof that Amelia had been selling herself, then threatened to throw her belongings out of the dorm. One of the girls shoved Amelia against a bank of lockers, and pain flashed across her lower back.
Amelia curled both arms around her stomach. “Stay away from my baby.” Her voice shook, but she placed herself between the girls and the floor. Regina dismissed the child as another rich man’s problem and reached for the torn dress again.
Professor Thomas entered the corridor as Amelia cried out. He forced his way through the students and demanded an explanation. Regina instantly rearranged the scene, claiming Amelia had become aggressive after being confronted about immoral behavior.
Bethany’s name surfaced in the accusations. Regina said she had personally seen Amelia soliciting men at the bar, a lie borrowed from messages Bethany had sent before her arrest. Amelia finally understood that the humiliation was not spontaneous. Bethany had planted a story that could continue attacking her even from a jail cell.
“She drugged me and sold me to Jason Wallis,” Amelia said. The hallway went quiet again. “There is security footage. There is a police case. If you repeat her lie, you are protecting the people who tried to traffic me.”
Regina called the allegation desperate and demanded Amelia’s expulsion. Professor Thomas looked shaken, caught between the powerful Vale family and the injured student in front of him. Amelia saw hesitation in his face and realized even the truth might be treated as inconvenient if the liars had enough influence.
Outside the building, Leo ended his meeting with the university president after finalizing a major donation. He had insisted the new library support student journalists and bear Amelia’s name, believing recognition of her work would mean more than another piece of jewelry. Then Derek showed him the live campus video spreading across social media.
Leo watched Regina’s friends restrain Amelia while students laughed. The measured businessman vanished. He crossed the courtyard with Derek and the university president struggling to keep pace, every second of the video sharpening the fury in his eyes.
Inside, Regina raised her hand as if to strike Amelia. A male voice stopped her before the blow fell. “Touch her again,” Leo said from the end of the corridor, “and you will discover exactly how expensive cruelty can become.”
The crowd parted as Leo approached. Regina’s confidence collapsed when she recognized the man from the car, but shock returned when he placed himself protectively beside Amelia. He looked at the torn dress, the shattered laptop, and her arms wrapped around their child. Then he faced Professor Thomas and said, “Someone assaulted my fiancée and my unborn baby on your campus. What are you going to do about it?”
