Chapter 2

The warm yellow lights in the sushi restaurant on the back street cast a dim glow.

When I slid open the door to the private room, Ethan and Lily were already sitting close together.

As soon as Lily saw me, she stood up quickly, wearing an innocent, eager smile. "Joanna, you're finally here! Come on, sit down."

She handed me a clean set of utensils with cheerful enthusiasm.

Lily was already playing the perfect hostess.

Ethan leaned back in his chair and pointed at the sashimi platter on the table. "I ordered from your favorite spot. I took care of everything for you."

Normally, his confident, familiar tone would have made me feel cared for.

But right now, it made me feel sick.

As soon as I sat down, Lily picked up her glass of sake.

Her eyes were a little red, and her voice was dripping with fake gratitude. "Joanna, this one's for you.

"If it weren't for your guidance in our major classes, my chances for guaranteed admission to grad school would've been in real trouble.

"But now, we all made it through. Soon, we'll be alumni together at Riverdale University."

When I heard Lily mention guidance and going to Riverdale University together, my fingers unconsciously tightened around my cup.

How did she have the nerve to spin her shameless grab into something so innocent?

I didn't touch my glass. I gave her a half-smile, fixing my gaze on her. "Oh, really? Are you sure you made it through all on your own?"

Lily's smile froze, and she shot Ethan a pleading look.

Ethan's brows furrowed. "Joanna, what's with the attitude today?

"Lily's been working her ass off lately. You saw her burning the midnight oil, digging up research materials.

"What was done was done. The applications are in. Can't you be a little more gracious?"

Ethan lowered his voice, trying to reason with me, his tone earnest and almost pleading. "Twelve years of friendship, are you really going to let some ranking on paper come between us?

"Once we're all at Riverdale University in the city, we'll have plenty of time to watch each other's backs."

Gracious? What was done was done?

I looked at Ethan's self-righteous face, and honestly, it was laughable.

He probably figured that as long as I sat here and ate, I'd take the fall without saying a word.

I picked up the hot towel in front of me and slowly wiped my hands, taking my time.

Just as I was about to speak, both phones on the table suddenly started vibrating wildly, buzzing with an urgency that felt almost ominous.

It was Ethan and Lily's phones.

They exchanged a glance and pressed the answer at the same time.

"Hello, Mr. Wilde..." Ethan started to say. But before he could finish, his face suddenly went ghostly pale.

The tutor, Gary Wilde's voice, was so loud that it was blasting right through the speaker. "Ethan! What on earth are you and Lily doing?

"The department's academic committee issued an emergency notice; they've opened a case directly, skipping right over me!

"Someone filed a real-name complaint accusing you two of serious academic theft and data fraud in your main thesis.

"Tomorrow morning at 8, bring all your original drafts and raw data to the administration building for a hearing!

"If you can't show the data, your guaranteed grad school admission is gone on the spot, and you'll be put under school disciplinary review!"

With a sharp crack, Lily's sake glass slammed onto the table, sake splashing everywhere.

She was shaking like a leaf, tears streaming down her face. "Ethan, what are we going to do? I don't have any original data!"

Ethan hung up the phone and whipped his head around, glaring at me.

His eyes were filled with shock, panic, and a trace of incredulous anger.

"Joanna, was this your doing?" Ethan asked through gritted teeth.

Seeing them looking so pathetic, the weight on my chest finally eased a bit.

I poured myself a glass of sake and raised it halfway in the air.

"Yeah, it was me," I admitted it openly. "You took someone else's sweat and tried to show it off like it was your own, but you never stopped to think if you could actually handle the fallout."

I knocked back the sake in one swift motion.

The sake stung as it slid down my throat.

"Here's to you two; good luck putting on a show at tomorrow's academic hearing," I said.

With that, I stood up, grabbed my bag, and walked straight out.

"Joanna, don't you dare walk away!" Ethan called out. He rushed after me, grabbing my arm in the biting wind outside the place.

His eyes were red with anger, and he looked absolutely desperate. "Are you out of your mind?

"Do you get that now that it's with the academic committee, our paper could be put on hold or completely trashed?

"If that paper gets pulled, your guaranteed grad school admission is gone, too!"

He locked his gaze on me, trying to pressure me into giving in. "You're cutting off your nose to spite your face.

"Go to the department right now and withdraw the complaint. Tell them it was a misunderstanding within the team. We still have a chance!"

I stared coldly at his hand clutching my arm. "Let go."

My voice was low, but icy to the core.

Ethan was stunned by my glare and instinctively released his grip.

I brushed off my sleeve where he'd touched me, like I was wiping away something filthy. "Cutting off my nose to spite my face?"

I let out a scornful laugh. "Ethan, you really do overestimate yourself.

"Eight o'clock tomorrow, make sure you bring that empty skull of yours."

I ignored Ethan's desperate shouting.

I turned and walked off into the vast darkness of the night.

All he got was the enigmatic figure of my back.

He had no clue.

I'd never back myself into a corner with no way out.