Chapter 4

By the time Brayden got back to the apartment, I was long gone.

He stood there, frozen, staring at the chat history on his laptop.

I reached out to my old advisor and told her I wanted to apply to her PhD program again.

She was thrilled.

"Of course. If you come back, this lab only gets stronger

"It's a shame you turned down the funded spot back then, but I believe in you, and I know you'll get in this time," she said.

When she heard about my situation, she arranged a stipend for me so I'd have somewhere…