Chapter 7
The photo looked forced.
In the shot, one was stone-faced, the other wore a forced grin. There wasn't a trace of romance between them at all.
Haley couldn't hold it in anymore. She shoved the camera into the teacher's hands and ran out of the office, tears streaming down her face. Louise nudged Simon with an innocent look. "Go after her."
After saying that, Louise took the camera and started carefully picking out her best photos, not even noticing how furious Simon looked.
The next second, she was yanked out the door.
Simon pinned her against the wall, his eyes searching hers. "Louise, what are you trying to pull?"
If it were before, she might have wrapped her arms around his neck and acted all cute.
But now, she just calmly pushed him away and smiled up at him. "I did what you asked. So, do me a favor and stop making things difficult for Wendy."
She paused, as if steeling herself. "And then, we're done."
The moment those words left her mouth, Simon's face went completely pale.
He never saw that coming.
Even back when people were calling him a gold-digger, he just threw himself into experiments and competitions, desperate to prove he was more than that.
Somewhere deep inside, he always thought Louise would stick around forever.
Just as Simon was about to speak, Haley suddenly burst out from the corner of the stairs, clearly having overheard everything. Tears streamed down her face as she waved her hands in panic.
She said, "No, please don't. It's all my fault. I don't blame Louise for the post thing. I promise I'll stay away from Simon, and you'll never see me again. Please, don't break up because of me."
Crying out, Haley turned and ran outside.
It was just after evening study hall, and the campus was packed with students. Haley rushed out of the admin building, not paying attention to anything, and ran headlong into a scooter that zipped by.
Simon froze for a split second, then shook off Louise's hand and bolted straight toward Haley without a second thought.
He quickly bent down and scooped Haley up in his arms, worry and heartbreak written all over his face.
As Simon pushed Louise away, her injured left leg slammed into the wall again. She let out a muffled groan, cold sweat beading on her forehead, and slid down to the floor.
In the end, a younger student passing by helped Louise up and took her to the hospital.
When Louise woke up, she found herself held down on the hospital bed, with a nurse and a doctor beside her, taking her blood.
"Keep going," Simon said coldly, his voice sending chills down her spine.
Louise tried to shake off the nurse's hand, but Simon gripped her arm firmly, refusing to let go. Her vision blurred as the blood was drawn, darkness creeping in at the edges.
She lost track of time until the nurse finally walked away with the blood bag.
Simon finally let go of her arm and looked at her seriously. "Haley had a breakdown because of your post. This whole thing has gotten way too big, and it's not good for you either.
"Let's keep this under wraps for now. Think of the blood draw as your way of making it up to her."
As he spoke, he watched Louise's face. Seeing her lips so pale and her face so ashy, he wanted to say something to comfort her, but the words wouldn't come.
Louise's mind was a mess. She couldn't make out a word Simon was saying. Only the spot where the needle had been still throbbed in her arm.
Simon forced himself not to look at how weak she was. "Once all this blows over, I'll go with you to meet your parents and talk about the wedding plans."
The only sounds in the room were the monotonous beeping of the machines and his own slightly ragged breathing.
He felt a sudden wave of panic, almost wanting to bolt out of there.
Just then, the doctor walked in to check on Louise. Simon felt like he'd been granted a reprieve. He turned and practically fled the room, not even daring to look back at her.
*****
Louise spent three days recovering in the hospital.
True to Simon's word, Louise heard every day about how he was carefully taking care of Haley, with the nurses gushing over what a caring boyfriend he was.
Every time she heard it, she couldn't help but feel the irony.
The guy she'd been with for five years was now the model boyfriend for someone else. Eventually, even the last shred of affection she had for Simon disappeared.
When she was finally discharged, she only told Wendy.
Wendy handed her a glowing recommendation letter from a top Italio design school professor, grinning from ear to ear. "See? I knew you could do it.
"You were always the star of the design department, never just some random girl. Go do what you really want."
Louise ran her fingers over the letter, her eyes growing moist.
"Thank you, Wendy," she said, hugging Wendy tightly.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Simon. [Take care of yourself. Haley's been through a lot lately, so I'll be staying with her for a while.]
Louise sneered. She blocked and deleted his number in one swift move.
Simon was honestly the first guy she'd ever seen who could make cheating sound so pure and innocent.
*****
Louise went home to pack up her things. Then she threw a little party with her old friends. Everyone raised their glasses, cheering her on as she finally set off to chase her dreams.
After a few rounds of drinks, it was almost ten.
Louise frowned when she saw a message from the lab director: [Ms. Turner, the experiment is almost finished. If you have time, could you come by and check it out? Also, please let us know when you'll be making the final payment.]
Louise glanced at her phone. Her flight to Italio was scheduled for tomorrow morning. Thinking about all the time and money she'd put into the experiment, she finally decided to take a cab to the lab.
Still a bit out of it, Louise used facial recognition to enter and waited in the lounge. Haley stepped out from the corner, wearing Simon's jacket and sporting a smug grin.
"So what if you're some rich heiress? You spent five years simping for Simon. One wink from me, and he dropped you without a second thought. Bet that stings, huh, Louise?" Haley whispered in her ear, her voice dripping with mockery.
Simon was the only one with access to this private lab.
And Haley was the only person he ever made an exception for.
Only now did it hit Louise what could really go on between a man and a woman, locked away together in a lab night after night.