Chapter 12

"No." Chloe Valentine shook her head, her cheeks flushing pink as she rose on tiptoes. "I want to stay with you longer."

Nathan Evans gripped her waist and kissed her without hesitation.

Gasps erupted around them.

"Holy shit! That's bold!"

"So sweet!"

Evelyn Langley stood at the crowd's edge, her knuckles whitening from clenched fists.

Her heart felt scraped by a dull blade, yet strangely calm.

She turned and walked away, her retreating figure resolute.

Quitting cigarettes causes withdrawal—how much worse for someone loved six years?

Nathan glanced back as if sensing something.

A familiar silhouette vanished around the corner.

Chloe hooked her fingers through his. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing." He turned away.

Beneath the dormitory lights, Chloe clung to his sleeve.

"Stay a little longer?"

Nathan ruffled her hair. "I'll pick you up this weekend."

Streetlights carved sharp shadows across his angular features.

Chloe's eyes gleamed. "Nathan... can I come to your place tonight?"

His gaze darkened. "You're too young."

The answer sent warmth through her chest.

He truly cherished her.

"I should go." Nathan checked his watch, his expression distant as he turned.

——

Evelyn sat before her computer, fingers hovering over the keyboard.

That image wouldn't leave her mind.

She rushed to the bathroom, splashing icy water on her face.

After composing herself, she opened Professor Eleanor Roland's materials—a textbook, annotated notes, and her unfinished thesis.

Countless all-nighters in the lab had been sacrificed for this paper.

After abandoning grad school, she'd clung to two things:

Caring for Nathan.

And perfecting this research.

Merging the documents felt like reassembling her shattered self.

Before dawn, she submitted the paper to Science.

Not for recognition—just closure.

At 8 AM sharp, she left her apartment.

In the hallway, she encountered Adrian Klein returning home.

Raindrops glistened on his shoulders, his umbrella dripping.

"All-night experiment?"

"Urgent data."

Evelyn handed him warm milk. "Don't catch cold."

Adrian blinked. "Thanks."

Outside the library, Isabella Evans' voice cut through the air.

"Evelyn? More part-time work?"

Beside her stood Margaret Evans, regal in her Hermès Kelly bag's metallic gleam.

"Miss Langley," Margaret smiled coolly, "this 'chance encounter' act is rather transparent."

Her gaze swept over Evelyn's simple attire, oozing disdain.

"Nathan will marry someone of his station. As for you..."

A deliberate pause.

"Know your place if you want to keep it."