Three Million for a Bike

I was riding my bike near the campus gates to grab some afternoon takeout when a Porsche suddenly gunned its engine, speeding right at me.

I swerved desperately, dodging once, twice, but the car was relentless. With a sickening crunch, both my bike and I were sent flying onto the pavement.

The driver stepped out. My jaw clenched. It was Lexi, my gorgeous, popular college roommate. Instead of apologizing, she pointed a manicured finger at me and sneered. "Have you completely lost your mind, Sienna? You saw a luxury car and decided to throw yourself at it for an insurance payout?"

My blood boiled. I reached for my phone, ready to dial the cops.

Seeing this, she let out a loud scoff. In front of the gathering crowd of students, she pulled out an exclusive black credit card and threw it at my feet. "Consider it my bad luck running into a broke loser like you."

"The money on this card is enough to buy your life," she mocked. "My boyfriend is the heir to Vanguard Industries. He runs this city. You pull a stunt like this again, and he will make sure you get kicked out of this university for good."

I picked up the sleek black card and examined it, a sharp, cynical laugh escaping my lips.

This was absolutely hilarious. That Porsche? It was the exact one I had lent my boyfriend. This black card? Also mine. And the CEO of Vanguard Industries? He only had one child. Me.

I was just trying to grab a quick dinner on my bike when that Porsche purposely chased me down. I dodged a few times, but it clipped my back wheel, sending me crashing onto the curb.

Luckily, I wasn't badly hurt. But the driver seemed to hold a massive grudge against me. She reversed and drove over my fallen bike repeatedly until the carbon fiber frame was completely crushed into an unrecognizable heap.

Furious and limping, I walked over and slammed my fist on her window. "Who the hell taught you how to drive? You did that on purpose."

The tinted window rolled down at a painfully slow pace, revealing a face I knew all too well. It was my roommate, Lexi, the reigning campus queen.

She rolled her eyes, looking at me with pure disgust. "What is your problem, Sienna? You saw me driving a nice car and suddenly remembered you were out of grocery money? Don't think I don't know you threw yourself at my bumper."

I was genuinely speechless. She ran me over, crushed my property, and hadn't even bothered to step out of the vehicle.

I grabbed her designer blouse through the open window, yanking her toward me. "Get out of the car and look at what you did. Look at my bleeding leg. Look at my crushed bike. And you think I need your dirty money?"

Lexi shoved my hands away, stepping out of the car with a dramatic sigh. She crossed her arms, looking me up and down. "You ride a piece of trash, yet you claim you aren't broke. Who are you kidding? Open your eyes, peasant. This is a Porsche."

It was the first time in my life someone had called my ride a piece of trash. I chuckled darkly. "That 'piece of trash' is a custom Trek Butterfly. Even if you sold your soul, you couldn't afford to replace it."

Lexi pouted her lips in mockery. "I don't care if it's a butterfly or a moth. It's a stupid bicycle. How much could it possibly cost?"

"Listen to yourself," she sneered, projecting her voice. "All you care about is money. And you claim this isn't a scam."

She dug into her designer purse, pulled out a couple of crisp hundred-dollar bills, and slapped them against my chest. "Take it. Consider it my charity for the week. Two hundred bucks should cover your cheap cafeteria meals for a while."

She shoved my shoulder hard, turning back to grab her door handle. "Now get lost. I have a date with my boyfriend, and I'm already late."

I slammed the car door shut right in her face, blocking her path. "Lexi, you are not leaving here until you give me a proper apology."

A sleek Porsche parked sideways at the campus gates naturally drew a massive crowd. Students were already filming on their phones.

Instead of backing down, Lexi played the victim. She turned to the crowd, putting on a flawless distressed expression. "You guys have to help me. Sienna is totally out of her mind. She saw my car, deliberately threw herself at it, and now she is trying to extort me for cash! How does someone this trashy even go to our school?"

I wiped a trickle of blood from my scraped knee, glaring daggers at her. "You deliberately ran me off the road. Are you blind?"

"And drop the whole 'luxury car' act," I shot back. "I have the exact same model."

The bystanders, swayed by Lexi's flashy arrival and designer clothes, immediately took her side. Whispers and snickers broke out around me.

"Everyone knows Sienna is on a work-study program. What a joke. She owns a Porsche? She is definitely trying to squeeze Lexi for cash."

My blood boiled. I worked at my own family's corporation to gain experience, and somehow that got twisted into me being a charity case? And even if I were broke, how did that excuse her trying to run me over?

Before I could defend myself, Lexi cut me off with a triumphant smirk. "Just because you sat in one doesn't mean you own it, honey. I know you used to ride shotgun in Tristan's Porsche."

She leaned against the car door, her eyes gleaming with malice. "But guess what? Tristan is my boyfriend now. And he told me he must have been blind to ever date someone like you."

Tristan. The guy who always acted so sweet, so obedient, so totally devoted to me.

Lexi and I were never close. We lived in the same dorm, but we barely spoke. That was until two months ago when I started dating Tristan. Suddenly, she was always hovering, asking weirdly specific questions.

"Tristan drives a Porsche? Is his family loaded?"

"How did a guy like him fall for you? I am obviously way prettier."

I had brushed her off back then, trusting Tristan implicitly. I thought we had something real. I trusted him so much that I let him borrow my car and even gave him my black card to cover his expenses. And this was how he repaid me? By sleeping with my vain, shallow roommate?

I glanced down at the license plate. The numbers matched perfectly. It was literally my car.

He didn't just cheat on me. He gave my car to his sidepiece to flaunt.

The betrayal snapped something inside me. I raised my hand and slapped Lexi so hard the sound echoed across the street. "You steal another girl's boyfriend and you parade around like you own the place. Who gave you the audacity?"

Lexi gasped, clutching her stinging, red cheek. She glared at me like a cornered viper. "You can't blame him for upgrading, Sienna. Have you never heard the saying? The one who isn't loved is the real third wheel. And honestly? He never loved you."

She pulled out her phone, tapping the screen to play an audio message. Tristan's voice blasted through the speakers.

"I'm so sick of Sienna. She is so plain, she has zero fashion sense, and she is boring as hell. You are a million times hotter, baby."

"I never even liked her. She practically threw herself at me. I only said yes out of pity."

A cold chill washed over me. That was how he talked about me behind my back? After everything I did for him?

The crowd of students gasped, their whispers growing louder and meaner.

"Oh my god. Tristan is insanely rich. I can't believe he actually dated someone as basic as Sienna."

"The heir to Vanguard Industries dating a broke, boring girl? She must have manipulated him somehow."

"Thank god they broke up. Lexi is way more his type."

I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms. Tristan was dead to me. I would handle him later. Right now, I had to deal with the girl standing in front of me, driving my car, who had just used it as a weapon.

I pointed a finger right at Lexi's nose. "Keep that cheating garbage. You two deserve each other. But the fact that you hit me with this car? I am not letting that go."

Lexi casually inspected her manicured nails, utterly unbothered. "Please. You threw yourself at my car. Broke students like you love playing the victim for a quick payday."

"It is past six. I am already late for my date. You wasted my time, and you are going to apologize to me right now."

The crowd started jeering, backing her up. "Come on, Sienna. Lexi is rich and pretty. She has no reason to target you."

"I hate people who play the victim card. Just apologize and get it over with."

I gritted my teeth, pulling out my own phone. "Whether I am running a scam or not isn't up to you, Lexi. And it isn't up to these idiots either."

I pointed straight up at the security camera mounted on the campus gate. "We have HD footage right there. When the cops arrive, we will let them decide who is telling the truth."

I dialed emergency services right in front of her. For the first time, a flicker of panic crossed Lexi's face. She stepped forward, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "Sienna, I am warning you. A police record will ruin your future. You better think this through."

I let out a sharp scoff. "I am the victim here. Why would I worry about my record? You should be worrying about yours."

Lexi stomped her designer heel on the pavement. "Fine. I am not scared of you. My boyfriend is the heir to Vanguard. He practically owns this city. You cross him, and your life here is completely over."

I ignored her threats entirely and told the dispatcher our location.

The police arrived quickly. They reviewed the security footage and immediately turned to reprimand Lexi. "What is wrong with you? A public street is not your personal playground."

They determined Lexi was completely at fault and ordered her to fully compensate me for the damages.

Lexi crossed her arms, throwing a tantrum. "Why should I pay her? Do you know who my boyfriend is? If you mess with Tristan, you will all lose your badges."

The older officer rubbed his temples, completely unimpressed. "I don't care if you are dating the president. You hit a pedestrian. You pay the fine."

Seeing her intimidation tactics fail, Lexi huffed, pulling out her designer wallet. She looked at me with absolute disdain. "Fine. How much do you want?"

I glanced down at my scraped knees. The physical injuries were minor. I held up two fingers.

Lexi burst into laughter. "Is that it? Two thousand dollars is what my boyfriend spends on a single pair of sneakers."

I nodded slowly. "I want two thousand for the medical expenses."

Lexi and the crowd erupted into fresh giggles.

"This is pathetic. She finally hooks a rich guy and she doesn't even know how to properly extort him."

"Two grand is probably a fortune to her. If she asked for more, Lexi's boyfriend would probably sue her into oblivion anyway."

Lexi whipped out her phone and transferred the money to me instantly. "There. You have your precious money. Now stop obsessing over me."

"Running into a broke loser like you is seriously ruining my vibe."

She turned her back to me, reaching for the car door again. I stepped in front of her, my gaze icy. "Hold on. You haven't paid for my bike yet."

Lexi rolled her eyes, her patience wearing thin. "How much?"

I held up three fingers. She didn't hesitate, immediately wiring me three thousand dollars. "Done. Now back off, Sienna. If I ever see your ugly face on campus again, I will make you regret it."

I looked at the transfer receipt on my screen and smiled a genuine, chilling smile. I shook my head slowly. "Not three thousand, Lexi. Three million."