Chapter 3

Originally, I thought it was just someone with the same name.

It wasn't until she appeared in person that I confirmed she was indeed Chloe Thorne, the underprivileged student I'd sponsored for years.

She walked unhurriedly towards the boarding gate. Seeing me there, a flicker of surprise crossed her face.

She eyed me up and down, her tone devoid of its usual humility.

"Olivia, if Ethan weren't by your side, I almost wouldn't have recognized you.

Ethan is a captain. You should at least try to look presentable when you go out. How do you expect him to hold his head high in front of his colleagues?"

She looked radiant, a stark contrast to my disheveled self.

Her subtle taunt made me uncomfortable, but at that moment, I couldn't care less. I grabbed her hand like a lifeline.

"Chloe, I have a life-saving medical appointment today. It's an emergency. Can you please switch with me and take the next flight?"

She immediately looked at Ethan, who frowned, clearly displeased.

"Switch? What switch? Every seat corresponds to an individual's identity information. If everyone did what you're doing, would there be any safety guarantee?"

Then, he looked at her with a doting expression.

"Go on in, quickly. Any later, your Disney plans will be ruined."

A smirk played on Chloe's lips, the glee in her eyes impossible to hide.

"It's a security risk, I really can't help..."

Seeing her refuse, I grew desperate.

"Chloe, I'm begging you. I sponsored you from high school through college. I'm only asking you for this one favor, please?"

A trace of embarrassment flashed across her face when I mentioned my sponsorship. The onlookers, seeing her hesitation, began to voice their indignation.

"Young lady, she helped you for years. If you don't have anything urgent, just let her go first."

"Look at her, all dressed up in designer clothes. She's clearly made it big and is now completely ungrateful."

"There are so many ungrateful people these days. You never truly know someone."

The crowd's murmurs made Chloe's face flush. Ethan, seeing this, immediately shielded her behind him and loudly reprimanded me.

"Olivia, you were so eager to sponsor her back then. Now you're trying to guilt-trip her? Don't pretend to be so noble or generous."

To board the plane, I suppressed the urge to lash out at him.

"Fine, no switch. I can buy it, right? Chloe, how much was your ticket? I'll pay you double. If that's not enough, I'll cover all your Disney hotel and ticket expenses."

To my surprise, Chloe's eyes immediately reddened.

"I may not be as rich as you, but you can't just throw money at me like that. What do you think I am?"

Seeing her feign distress, Ethan was utterly heartbroken.

"Olivia, are you insane? I never knew you were so materialistic.

Don't think you can corrupt a young person's soul with your dirty money.

It's her first time flying, her first time celebrating her birthday at Disney, and it happens to be the 10th-anniversary celebration. Can money buy that kind of happiness? How vulgar!"

He stopped looking at me and eagerly pushed her towards the boarding gate.

I snatched the boarding pass from her hand and demanded sharply,

"Ethan, she checked in two hours after me. If the flight is oversold, why isn't she, the latecomer, rebooked, instead of me?!"

A gentleman from the crowd leaned in for a closer look and immediately sided with me.

"She's right. She arrived first. Even if there's a rebooking, it shouldn't be her."

Hearing the gentleman's testimony, everyone immediately focused their attention on Ethan.

Facing their questioning and scrutinizing gazes, his expression faltered.

"It's... it's all randomly selected by the airline system. Whoever is chosen has to rebook. And besides, think about it: someone who isn't sick trying to fake an illness to board, don't you find her motives suspicious?"