The class reunion was held at New York’s largest five-star hotel. Caitlin had something to attend to and would be a little late, while Wendy and Phoebe had already arrived.
“Is Caitlin not here yet?” Phoebe asked.
“She should be here soon, any minute now,” Wendy replied, feeling a little excited. It had been years since they had last seen each other; she wondered how much her college friends had changed. She wasn’t sure about the others, but one thing was certain: she had changed the most.
“We should go in first,” Phoebe said, leading Wendy into the gathering hall. Just as they walked into the corridor, they bumped into Benjamin, who was talking on the phone. As soon as he turned around, his eyes locked with Wendy’s.
For a moment, both of them froze. Benjamin frowned and glared at her. Wendy was startled by his aggressive look and instinctively shrank back, hurrying to follow Phoebe further into the hall. Every time she encountered Benjamin, it felt like she was meeting a bad omen-better to just avoid him.
After they left, Benjamin, who had been on the phone, reported back, “I saw them, but I didn’t see Caitlin. She’s probably not here yet.” He hung up and returned to the private room.
As Wendy and Phoebe entered the gathering, they found that around 20 people were already there. Everyone had changed so much that it would have been hard to recognize them without introductions.
Phoebe, being popular, was immediately welcomed. She had kept in touch with everyone since graduation, so when she arrived, the atmosphere in the room immediately became lively.
As for Wendy, the others eyed her curiously-no one could recognize her.
“That’s Wendy! You all don’t remember?” Phoebe laughed and introduced her.
“Wendy? Wow, you’ve changed so much! We didn’t even recognize you!” someone exclaimed.
“Ha! You guys have all changed a lot too. I almost didn’t recognize you all either!” Wendy responded in her usual carefree manner.
The conversation continued and more people showed up. Almost everyone had arrived by now.
“Sorry we’re late!” Jasmine and Joanna entered together, greeting everyone.
Wendy was surprised. “Were they in our class? I don’t remember them.”
Phoebe explained, “You probably forgot, but they joined our class in the second semester of sophomore year.”
Wendy didn’t remember much. Jasmine and Joanna must have joined after Caitlin had her issues, and during those large lecture sessions, she hadn’t paid much attention to them.
“Jasmine’s here! Jasmine, sit here!” someone called out.
Jasmine was one of New York’s three great beauties and had been the campus queen back in their college days. Now, with her prominent family background, many people tried to stay on her good side. As soon as she walked in, she became the center of attention, basking in everyone’s admiration.
She looked around the room and asked, “Is everyone here? Are we still missing someone?”
“Everyone’s here, I think,” someone replied after checking the guest list.
“Wait, it seems like we’re still missing Caitlin.”
“Caitlin? Who’s that?” someone asked.
“Isn’t she the one who was involved in that fight scandal a while ago? Wasn’t she the one who married into The Vanderbilt Family to bring him back to life?”
“Ah, I remember! She wasn’t that good looking, just a plain girl.”
“Yeah, she wore those thick black glasses, and she wasn’t pretty at all. Oh, wait, isn’t she Jasmine’s sister?”
“Yes, that’s my sister. She dropped out after her first year and married into The Vanderbilt Family recently.”
When the topic of Caitlin’s contractual marriage to The Vanderbilt Family came up, the group couldn’t help but gossip.
“Wow, she really must have been lucky to get married into such a rich family, huh?”
Joanna added with a touch of bitterness, “Lucky? She was just a lucky fool! And now Mr. Vanderbilt and she are divorced. She’s been kicked out of The Vanderbilt Family.”
“Whaat? Kicked out of The Vanderbilt Family?”
Before Caitlin even made her appearance, she was already the subject of much discussion. Wendy couldn’t take it anymore and responded sharply, “You guys have no idea. Caitlin didn’t get kicked out; she left on her own terms.”
“Oh, well then, it makes sense. A family like that’s too hard to get into. She was never Mr. Vanderbilt’s type anyway.”
“I remember something else about Caitlin. Didn’t she drop out of college to work in a nightclub?”
“Yeah, she did whatever she could for money. She even shamelessly asked me for a loan. I think she asked pretty much everyone in class.”
“Loan? Nah, she was fundraising for her mother’s medical bills. She didn’t ask for loans, she was just trying to get help.”
Just as the gossip was intensifying, the door to the room suddenly opened, and a cold gust of wind blew in. Everyone shivered at the sudden chill, and the women in the room froze.
The men, however, were stunned at the sight of Caitlin walking in. The women turned to look and their eyes widened in shock.
“Who’s that?” someone whispered.
“Wow, she’s so beautiful. Did she walk into the wrong room?”
When Caitlin entered, all eyes were on her. The classmates who had just been making fun of her appearance were now completely silenced. She was unrecognizable, stunningly beautiful, and dressed to the nines. No one would have guessed that she was the same person they had all been gossiping about.
The men were in awe, unable to take their eyes off her. She was like a celebrity who had just walked into the room, captivating everyone’s attention.
“Is that Caitlin? No way! How could she look like that?”
“Did she go to Korea or something? How did she change so much?”
The women couldn’t believe it. They assumed Caitlin had somehow been taken in by an older man, suspecting she was spoiled by someone, which explained her sudden transformation and newfound wealth.
Caitlin made her way to the middle of the room, between Wendy and Phoebe, and sat down slowly.
“Sorry for keeping you all waiting,” she greeted with a calm, polite smile. Her gaze swept over the room and landed directly on Jasmine and Joanna, who were glaring at her with envy and resentment.
Jasmine was particularly livid, unable to accept that once again, Caitlin had stolen the spotlight from her.
Caitlin’s cold, sharp gaze moved over the group, and she spoke slowly, “Earlier, you said I borrowed money from you? Laura, how much did I borrow?”
Years ago, when Caitlin was raising funds for her mother’s medical bills, she had indeed borrowed money from some classmates. But today, it was time to pay back that debt and, more importantly, to slap the faces of those who had wronged her.