Chapter 3
I trudged back to the dorm, feeling my legs were heavy.
As soon as I opened the door, I saw Olivia and a few girls from the next dorm huddled together, giggling and nearly doubled over as they pointed at something on their phones.
The moment I walked in, their laughter was cut off abruptly.
The atmosphere instantly turned awkward and uncomfortable.
A girl with long curly hair sneered, "Well, look who's back. Our love guru.
"Wow, Grace, you really got some guts. Seducing Mr. Bennett? Why didn't any of us think of that?
"Come on, spill the tea. How do you get Mr. Bennett to elope with you?"
Their laughter stabbed at my ears like needles.
Olivia Lane stood up, walked over, and put on her best friendly roommate act.
She said, "Grace, don't listen to their nonsense."
She grabbed my arm, her face full of worry. "Grace, what's really going on between you and Mr. Bennett? Did you get scammed? Is your online boyfriend actually Mr. Bennett?"
Her eyes looked so sincere, like she was genuinely worried about me.
But I knew no one wanted to see me crash and burn more than she did.
Ever since my family went bankrupt, Olivia was no longer the girl who'd share half a bag of chips with me.
I shook off Olivia's hand, exhaustion written all over her face.
"It's none of your business," I said coldly.
I walked over to my desk, flipped open my sluggish laptop, and started searching for information.
I only had three days. I refuse to let Edgar write me off like this.
"Grace, you really don't know how to appreciate a good friend's concern, do you?" Olivia said.
Her tone carried wounded innocence, like she was the victim here.
"I'm worried about you, okay? The whole campus is saying you shamelessly seduced Mr. Bennett to get a pass. And now the evidence is out, you..."
"Shut up!" I snapped, cutting her off.
I whipped around, my glare slicing through Olivia like a knife.
She flinched, stumbling back, her eyes instantly welling up with tears.
"Grace, why are you being so mean? I was worried you'd get hurt," Olivia whimpered.
"Yeah, Olivia's trying to help," another girl chimed in.
"You did something shady and now you don't want anyone to talk about it?" someone else snarked.
The other girls immediately jumped in, piling on with their own nasty comments and accusations.
I couldn't be bothered to argue with them. I slipped on my headphones and cranked the music up as loud as it would go.
Finally, the world was quiet.
I dove into the database, frantically searching for a brand-new research topic I could actually handle.
Time ticked by.
Outside the window, the sky shifted from bright to dark, then back to bright again.
I lost count of how many papers I'd read. My eyes were so dry and sore that I could barely keep them open.
I had no idea when Olivia and the others left.
It was me and the sound of my fingers tapping away at the keyboard, echoing through the empty dorm.
By the afternoon of the second day, I couldn't take it anymore. I collapsed onto my desk and fell asleep right there.
I had no idea how long I'd been out, but the sound of a cup crashing to the floor jolted me awake.
I shot my eyes open and saw Olivia standing by my desk, flustered and panicking. At her feet was a shattered mug.
Much water was pouring out from the cracks in my laptop keyboard, flooding everywhere.
The screen flickered twice, then went completely black.
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry, Grace. I didn't mean to," Olivia shrieked in panic, frantically scrubbing at my laptop with a rag. "I-I didn't mean to. I wanted to pour you some water."
My mind went completely blank.
Everything I'd spent the last two days and nights gathering, all my research, plus the draft of my new proposal, was on that laptop.
It was all gone.
I stared hard at Olivia. Her face was all panic and guilt, but deep in her eyes, I caught a flash of smug satisfaction.
It was her. She did it on purpose.
A metallic taste flooded my mouth. I was so furious that my whole body was shaking.
"Olivia Lane!" I shouted.
I stormed over and grabbed Olivia by the collar.
"Did you do this on purpose?" I demanded. "No. I swear, it wasn't on purpose."
Olivia went pale, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Grace, how could you even think that? We're supposed to be best friends. Why would I ever hurt you?" Olivia sobbed.
She was sobbing like her world had ended, acting like she was the one who'd been wronged.
Meanwhile, thanks to her Oscar-worthy performance, I looked like some hysterical lunatic.
I let go, slumping into my chair in utter despair.
My laptop was dead, all my research was gone, and I only had one day left.
It really felt like I was about to get kicked out for good.
I grabbed my phone, hands shaking, and tapped on that all-too-familiar black icon.
I wanted to curse him out, demand answers, and pour out every bit of frustration and pain.
But when I finally started typing, the words came out all wrong. [Ed, I don't think I can hold on anymore.]
I hit send.
He didn't reply.
He probably hated me to the core now.
There was no way he'd comfort me like he used to.
Just as I was about to give up completely, my phone suddenly lit up.
It was him.
[Don't be scared. Send me the type of data you need. I'll help you find it.]
Staring at those words, I couldn't hold back anymore. My tears spilled over, flooding down my cheeks.
He pushed me to the edge, then threw me a lifeline. What the hell was he playing at?