My Fake Billionaire Boyfriend

Chapter One – Expelled

Ava’s POV

I walked down the long hallway, my bag dragging a little heavier with each step. My shoes echoed against the polished floor, but I barely noticed. My thoughts were louder than anything else—the steady, unrelenting reminder of why I was here.

The principal had called me to her office. I already knew why. The notice had been in my bag for days, its words burned into my mind every time I glanced at it: “Final notice. Tuition overdue. Pay immediately or be withdrawn.”

I tried to steady my breathing. Calm. Calm. That was all I had left. I couldn’t panic. I couldn’t let anyone see me cry. Crying wouldn’t fix anything. Not now. Not ever.

I knocked lightly on the office door.

“Come in,” Principal Collins said, her voice calm and steady, like a cold river running through the room.

I opened the door and stepped inside. The office was neat. The desk was spotless. The sunlight through the window lit the room evenly, but it didn’t warm anything. Not the air. Not me.

Principal Collins sat behind her desk, folding her hands neatly in front of her. She didn’t smile. She never did when she had bad news. She only looked at me with those sharp eyes that made it impossible to hide anything.

“Miss Carter,” she said, her tone formal, precise. “Your tuition is still unpaid. You’ve had multiple extensions. You’ve been given every opportunity. If you do not pay by Friday, you will be withdrawn from Kingsley Academy. No exceptions.”

I nodded slowly. My voice refused to come out. I didn’t need to speak. The words had already hit me like a hammer. Withdrawn. Gone. My life here—over.

I swallowed hard. My throat felt tight, as if all the air had been pushed out. My hands trembled slightly, gripping the straps of my bag.

I am an orphan. I have no one. No parents to call. No relatives to beg. No one.

All my life, I had been alone. I knew what it meant to fight for every small thing. To survive. But this… this was different. This wasn’t just a problem I could solve with a little extra work. This wasn’t something I could bargain for or fix on my own.

I had been doing everything I could. Every single day, I pushed myself beyond exhaustion. I studied hard. I kept my grades high. I didn’t miss a single assignment. And after school, I worked. A job that drained me, sometimes humiliated me, but gave me just enough to cover rent, food, and school fees… until now.

But this month, the money just wasn’t there. My wages hadn’t been enough. My savings had run dry. And now… I was out of time.

Principal Collins’s eyes didn’t soften. She didn’t offer sympathy. She wasn’t supposed to. That was her job. Rules before feelings. Facts before mercy.

“Miss Carter,” she said again, her voice calm but cutting, “this is your final warning. Pack your things. If the tuition is not paid by Friday, you will leave.”

I nodded. My chest tightened. The room felt smaller, heavier, suffocating. I wanted to scream. I wanted to collapse on the floor and beg. I wanted someone—anyone—to step in and save me. But there was no one.

No one had ever been there for me. Not my parents. Not relatives I didn’t have. Not a single person I could call. I had always been alone. And now, more than ever, that reality pressed down on me like a mountain.

I remembered my job again, the long hours after school, the aching muscles, the hunger that had become a dull constant in my stomach. I had kept it secret from everyone—my classmates, my teachers—because pride was all I had left. But no matter how hard I worked, no matter how carefully I counted every dollar, it wasn’t enough. Not now.

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. I blinked quickly to stop them. I could not cry. Not here. Not now.

I turned slowly, my legs trembling, and left the office. The hall stretched before me, bright and crowded, but it all felt distant. The laughter of students, the chatter, the casual smiles… none of it reached me. I felt invisible.

I had to survive. Somehow, I had to find a way. This school was everything. Without it, I had nothing.

I kept walking, my head down. Every step felt like I was dragging the weight of the world behind me. I pressed my hands to my stomach, feeling the dull ache of hunger, the constant reminder that life wasn’t fair. That I wasn’t meant to have anything easy.

And yet, deep inside, a small spark refused to die. I had survived everything else. I could survive this too. Somehow.

As I stepped out of the office, my thoughts spinning, my hands trembling, and my future teetering on the edge of collapse… I didn’t notice the figure standing quietly at the far end of the hall.

He was tall, composed, and somehow… different from everyone else. The air around him seemed sharper, colder. He watched me without a word, his eyes unreadable.

And then his voice cut through my thoughts, smooth and commanding:

“You. Follow me.”

I froze. My heart skipped a beat. Who was he? Why was he talking to me?

But even before I could think of a reason to say no, I knew I had no choice.