Rich Radiant and Over Him (Alicia and Vincent) novel Chapter 157

Does this count as self-sabotage?

“Vincent, do you love me?” Alicia pressed him, her voice quietly insistent.

Vincent said nothing. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, but he couldn’t make himself say that one word.

He hesitated, weighed down by his concerns. Alicia was an orphan—she had no connections, no family name that could help his status or his career.

He’d even thought, if Alicia were just the least privileged debutante among high society girls, he’d marry her without a second thought.

But Alicia… was just an orphan.

If he wanted to marry her, he’d need to be much stronger than he was—to have the kind of power where nothing else mattered.

To say “I love you” now? It was just too soon.

Alicia let out a cold, mocking laugh under her breath and turned to leave just as a young girl burst through the door, a backpack slung over her shoulder.

“Vincent!” The girl, Nola, was adorable and always smiling.

She rushed in and called out to Vincent first, not even glancing at Alicia or greeting her as “sister.”

Four years ago, Nola’s mother had run off, and her father had been left paralyzed after a car accident. Nola had been forced to drop out of school, even though she’d scored top in her class, and ended up crying alone on the pavement. That was when Alicia found her. Alicia, though barely scraping by herself—an orphan who rarely managed a hot meal—still wanted to help the girl. So she swallowed her pride and turned to Vincent for help.

Vincent was a businessman, and everything with him came with a price tag. He agreed to sponsor Nola’s education, to cover her fees all the way through graduation—but only on the condition that, since she was such a promising student, she’d intern at Lawson & Co. after college.

It was the same demand he’d once made of Alicia when she was finishing university—that she intern by his side.

“I heard you did well on your exams,” Vincent said, flashing a rare smile.

Vincent didn’t seem to think anything of it. In fact, he even shot Alicia a sly look, as if testing whether she’d get jealous.

Alicia said nothing, her gaze calm and unreadable.

Last year, at Nola’s eighteenth birthday, it was Vincent and Alicia who celebrated with her. Vincent had given Nola the latest iPhone—over a thousand dollars. Nola was over the moon and kissed Vincent on the cheek in a burst of excitement.

Alicia had sulked for days, but Vincent just brushed it off, saying Nola was still a kid, just spirited, nothing more…

“Nola, congratulations on getting into college,” Alicia said, her tone gentle but edged with something else. “Do you remember the day I found you on the side of the road, crying and begging for my leftover lunch? Look at you now—all decked out in designer labels. That outfit must’ve cost a fortune. Bought it with your scholarship money?” She let her gaze linger on the expensive sneakers. “Add all that up… probably enough to cover a semester’s tuition, right?”

Back then, Nola couldn’t even afford a meal. Now, she was head-to-toe in Adidas and Nike—not luxury brands, but together worth a month’s salary for most people. The pair of shoes she wore alone cost nearly five hundred dollars.

Her father was still disabled from the accident, but instead of helping out at home, Nola spent her scholarship money on brand names.