Chapter 3

"Exactly what it sounds like," I replied.

Chase froze for a second, but before she could say anything, I shook off her hand, my voice cold.

I said, "Chase, let me ask you something.

"You know our these aren't even competing for the same journal, right?"

Her steady expression wavered for a moment, confusion flashing across her face.

Chase's eyes flickered nervously, avoiding mine as her voice dropped. "Yeah, I know. But what does it matter?"

I nodded, thinking to myself, 'She has no idea what I'm talking about.'

Sunny tried to change the subject and took my hand.

Her hand, once warm and comforting, now felt like a cold iron clamp, making my stomach turn.

Sunny said, "Ethan, stop throwing a fit. If this blows up, it won't do you any good. Trust me, just let it go.

"You're usually so easygoing, why are you making such a big deal out of this? Wait, don't tell me you're actually jealous of Alex?"

"I only see him as a little brother. Don't pick on him just because of me. He's not in great shape right now, can't you just let it go for my sake?" Sunny said.

She said it so casually, like she was entitled to it, with that air of superiority that made it sound like I was the unreasonable one.

I yanked my hand away, disgust churning in my gut, and took a step back.

"Sunny, don't you think you're a little too full of yourself? Do you really believe everyone has to revolve around you?" I shot back.

She scoffed. "Isn't that how it should be?"

I had nothing to say, so I turned to leave, but she grabbed my arm again.

Her tone got softer, but she still sounded like she was doing me a favor. "Come on, stop making a scene. Just let it go, it's not even a big deal. Are you seriously going to keep making a big deal out of this?"

"Relax, I'm staying here for grad school, and even if you have to delay graduation for a year, we'll still get to be together. Isn't that nice?

"And when I graduate and get into one of the top 100 companies, I'll still look out for you.

"You're just an orphan—without me, what else could you possibly do?"

I let out a cold laugh, peeling her fingers off me one by one, my voice icy.

"Who said I'm an orphan?" I shot back.

She froze for a second. "Come on, do I even need to say it? You never talk about your parents, everyone knows what's up."

I smirked, pulled out my phone, and waved a family photo right in front of her face.

"Sunny, you're so ignorant it's laughable," I said.

With that, I turned and walked away.

Sunny's face went pale behind me as she shouted through gritted teeth, "Keep blowing things out of proportion! You're making everyone miserable over a thesis, what do you even get out of all this drama?

"Seriously? You think you can fool me with a fake family photo?

"Keep acting all tough, Ethan. I'll be right here when you come crawling back, begging for my help."

I didn't even look back, I just flipped her off with a classic middle finger.

Weirdly enough, on my way back, people kept pointing at me and whispering as I passed.

Before I even got to my dorm, I saw my bedding scattered all over the hallway, and my suitcase had been ransacked and dumped by the door.

The dorm leader was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, smirking at me.

"Well, well, look who's back. Everyone, come check out the guy who faked his academic record and tried to frame the dude with a heart condition for deleting his thesis. Shameless, huh?" he sneered.

One of my roommates I got along with pulled out his phone. "Ethan, check out this post on the school forum."

The post had screenshots of me getting cornered in the inspection office, with the headline "Academic Fraud."

There was also a doctored audio clip, and the post went up right when I was talking to Sunny.

No need to guess who was behind it.

The hallway was already packed with students gawking and pointing at me.

"That's the guy. He always looked pretty normal, but who would've thought he'd go as far as faking his degree?"

"Gross. People like him are a stain on our school. He should just get expelled."

I didn't bother explaining. I just packed up my stuff, dropped it off with the security guard, and headed straight for the girls' dorm.

Sure enough, Alex was there.

He was swarmed by a bunch of girls, playing the innocent card perfectly, just bashful enough to make everyone want to protect him.

Smack!

I slapped my phone down on the table, making sure everyone heard it.

Sunny was the first to react, letting out a mocking laugh. "What, changed your mind already?

"You can still apologize, you know. Just say you deleted the thesis and I'll let it slide."

I didn't even spare Sunny a glance, my eyes were locked on Alex.

"Alex, was it you who posted that?" I asked.

Alex's face went pale, clearly caught off guard that I'd come straight to him. His voice trembled.

"I just wanted everyone to know the truth, that's all," Alex said, trying to sound innocent.

Sunny glanced at my phone, rolling her eyes. "Did you really come all the way here just for this? Ethan, give it a break already.

"Look, you're freaking Alex out."

I snorted. "Bold enough to wipe my thesis and fake a recording, do you seriously think he'd be scared of me?"

Alex's eyes went red with emotion. "I didn't."

He grabbed at his chest, gasping for air, looking like he might faint any second.

Sunny pulled him into her arms, shooting daggers at me as she snapped, "Ethan, are you really trying to push him over the edge?"

"All you ever talk about is your thesis, so what if it's gone? Is it really that important? I already said I'd stick with you, so what more do you want?" Sunny snapped.

Her roommates started piling on, saying I was out of line.

"Why are you even picking on a guy like him? It's your own fault," one of them said.

"You're just feeling guilty, aren't you? Seriously, picking on him? That's low," another chimed in.

Smack!

Sunny snatched my phone and slammed it to the floor, the screen shattered instantly, parts scattering everywhere.

"Try making a fuss now," Sunny snapped.

I looked down at my phone, shattered into pieces on the floor, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Sunny, you really have no clue, this phone was your last chance.

Tomorrow's the final deadline. You're screwed.

Just then, my advisor and the girls' dorm supervisor rushed in.

They saw me and immediately started yelling, not even bothering to ask what happened.

"Ethan, you really think you can do whatever you want, huh? The investigation isn't even finished, and here you are stirring up drama in the girls' dorm again. Don't you have any shame?" my advisor snapped.