Chapter 2

That day, I handed in my resignation letter. The reason? 'My family has hundreds of acres of barley that need harvesting, and as the only daughter, it's my duty to help. Otherwise, they’d think I’m ungrateful.' They pulled out every trick in the book to get me to stay.

'We’re a team. How are we supposed to function without you?'

'Exactly, especially now, when we’re in the final stages of vaccine research. How can you just walk away like this?'

Then there was Lochlan, my boyfriend, who tried to play mind games.

'Nikki, you’re not quitting because of that plagiarism mess, are you?'

'You can’t just bail after one screw-up. Do you think leaving will fix everything?'

'You need to toughen up and show them what you’re made of!'

I looked him dead in the eye, cool as a cucumber, and simply said, 'Oh.' In my past life, I’d endured so much online hate that it almost broke me. Now, words like that couldn’t touch me.

I’d been pushed to the brink before, trying to prove myself. I’d locked myself in the lab for a month straight, chugging coffee like it was water, until it felt like my veins were running on caffeine. Under that pressure, I’d finally made a breakthrough. But just as I was about to announce my findings, Freya somehow beat me to it, as if she’d been reading my mind.

This time around, I’m not wasting energy figuring out how she pulled it off. Leaving is the smart move. Can’t win the fight? Fine, I’ll walk away.

I smashed my computer right then and there, shredded my research papers, and made it crystal clear—I was done.

'But...'

'Why don’t you come help with the barley harvest then?'

Lochlan froze. 'I wouldn’t even know where to start.'

I laughed. Then why are you even standing in my way?

'Move. You’re blocking me.'

I tossed out all my notebooks and pens, leaving nothing behind. Once everything was cleared, I felt lighter than air. As I stepped out, Freya came rushing over, putting on her best 'concerned' act.

'Nikki, are you seriously leaving? We’re a team, remember?'

Oh, what a performance. Anyone who didn’t know better would’ve thought we were inseparable.

In my past life, after I’d been publicly humiliated, she’d written this article that pretended to defend me, but every word was a dig.

She’d said stuff like, 'Everyone, please stop attacking her. She’s just a girl looking for validation~'

'I’ve spent a lot of time with her, and I know her personality well—she’s just a copycat. She mimics my style and my ideas. Maybe this time, she just went too far.'

Her words convinced the entire internet that I wasn’t just a plagiarist but also some kind of manipulative flirt. The hate I got could’ve circled the globe twice.

'Nikki, you’re too responsible to just quit. You’re joking, right?' she said, laying on the guilt trip.

But I wasn’t buying it anymore. I gave her a small smile and patted her shoulder. 'I’m leaving now, so the rest of the research is all yours.'

'The fate of humanity is in your hands. Don’t let us down, okay?'

I headed home, threw on a hat, and got straight to work. Then, I fired off a tweet to let everyone know I was out.

'Starting today, I’m Nicole the Harvester. Oh, and Freya Wagner will be taking over the vaccine development, so make sure to follow her updates.' I tagged her, just to drive the point home.

Let’s see how the queen of plagiarism handles this—bring it on!