Before I could refuse, my mother-in-law's voice came from the other end of the line, "Why are you calling her? A sick hen that can't lay eggs has wasted ten years of Caleb's time!"

Her sharp and sarcastic words made me tremble with anger.

Back when my career was on the rise, Caleb promised he would never hold me back and would always take his medication beforehand. I worried his domineering mother would cause a scene, but Caleb assured me he’d handle it. His plan was to say I was sick and couldn’t have children.

I warned him sharply, “I will never agree to you dropping out. I’ll approve your leave of absence and you can come back to class after you give birth.”

Michele clearly hadn’t expected me to be so forceful and was speechless.

The even more forceful mother-in-law took over the phone, “Get out! Get out! The chemicals in the lab are so harmful to the baby! You just can’t stand to see us doing well! Get out of here!”

With that, she hung up and when I tried to call back, I was blocked.

Caleb’s text message popped up, [Even if you don’t agree to Michele’s withdrawal application, we won’t be stopped by you.]

I opened the phone management page, but my finger lingered on the block button, hesitating to press it. It wasn’t out of lingering affection, but because we weren’t divorced yet and needed to contact each other to get our marriage certificate. I scratched my head, my emotions churning with nowhere to go.

Just then, a pop-up message pushed a trending topic to my head. The moment I saw the title, I suddenly felt this whole thing was utterly pointless.

[A student surnamed Jones publicly accuses university professor Patricia Connor.]

The information Michele presented was explosive. Keywords that could pique human curiosity appeared like they were free in her case. At the end of the video, Michele’s eyes were red and she pleaded with the camera with a pitiful look.

“Miss Patricia, I’m sorry for what I did, but you almost drove me to my death. We’re even now. Please let me go and let me pursue my happiness.”

As expected of my student, she was very good at downplaying the seriousness of the situation and using euphemisms. So much so that the comments section overwhelmingly believed that I was the one who was too forceful and wrong.

[What kind of teacher is she? Driving a student to jump off a building, thankfully the police arrived in time.]

[I know her husband. She’s always been a very domineering person, the kind who won’t give in a single word.]

A few students did speak up for me, but they couldn’t overcome the prevailing opinion.

The uproar quickly caught the attention of the principal, who was clearly suppressing her anger, “Patricia, what happened? What promises did you and I make?”

I smiled wryly, “I just disagreed with her withdrawing her child and I got posted online.”

Upon hearing this, the principal gritted her teeth in anger, “Just having a child, does that warrant withdrawal? Michele took your efforts for granted...”

Afraid she would go on and on, I quickly interrupted, “Alright, Ma’am, don’t worry, I’ll handle this. I’ll leave the public relations to the PR team.”

The principal agreed, “Okay, just let me know if you need anything. The university gets your back.”

Those warm words hit me like a ton of bricks, unexpectedly bringing tears to my eyes. The recent events had brought me back to my dark childhood.

After organizing all the materials, I opened the backend and approved Michele’s withdrawal application. No matter how much I cherished her talent, how disappointed I was, or how compassionate I was, at this moment, I couldn’t find a reason to forgive her.

As soon as I approved, a screenshot of Michele appeared in the comments section.

“Thank you everyone for your support! The teacher has approved it. I’m sorry for wasting public resources.”

I replied, “Don’t rush, you’ve finished speaking, I haven’t even started yet.”

I posted all the evidence of helping her over the years in the comments section. Once posted, it immediately caused a sensation.

[If my teacher could give me such good resources, I'd do anything, even be their slave.]

[So this is the real scams.]

The university also issued a statement saying that I paid for all of Michele's expenses during her time at the university and there was no issue of professional ethics. This further enraged netizens.

[The blogger is insane! The teacher spent money and effort to send her to university and she just wants to quit! What a waste of such valuable resources!]

[More than that, she posted the teacher's name online if she didn't agree to her withdrawal.]

Seeing the backlash, Michele instinctively deleted my comment. This further solidified her accusation of repaying kindness with enmity. I didn’t need to worry about the rest; someone would find justice for me.

Just then, the doorbell rang and a clear voice came from outside, "Miss Patricia, it's me."

It was my neighbor, Charles Dickens.

He looked somewhat worried, "I saw it on my phone; I came to check on you. I had a pretty good impression of this neighbor. He was a policeman, much stronger than Caleb, but very shy.

I was always wary of strangers, but Charles gave me a strange sense of familiarity.

So I led him inside and greeted him, “I'm fine, just a little tired.”

Charles sat up straight, speaking with righteous indignation, “If she spreads false information like that, you can call the police once it reaches a certain number of views.”

I poured him a glass of water and placed it in front of him, “No need. She'll suffer endlessly afterward.”

This wasn't a lie; I'd seen the ruthless nature of Caleb's parents. If I hadn't been able to move out and live alone with Caleb, they would have driven me crazy long ago. I just didn't know if Michele could get past them.

Just then, there was another noise at the door. Hearing the sound of a key locking the door, I became alert.

Sure enough, Caleb pushed the door open, shouting, 'Patricia! Go explain online right now! Do you know how much this is affecting Michele!'"

When he saw there was another man in the house, he paused for a moment, then flew into a rage, "Fine, we're not even divorced yet and you're already bringing a man home, huh?!"

I interrupted him, "This is our neighbor, Charles. He's just here to ask about my situation. Watch your mouth!"

He was the one who was unfaithful first and now he was trying to frame me.

Caleb stepped forward, grabbed my neck and practically yelled, "A man and a woman alone together in a room, didn't expect me to come back and interrupt you, did you?!"

Looking at his angry face, my heart grew cold. How could I have loved such a person for ten years?

Seeing my face turn purple, Charles came over and forcefully grabbed Caleb's wrist, "Mr. Wilson, Miss Patricia and I are people with a sense of shame. We wouldn't do such a dirty thing."

Caleb, caught off guard, was about to lash out in anger, but suddenly let out a scream, released me and started jumping around on the spot. I collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Luckily, Charles was nearby, otherwise Caleb might have strangled me.

The air froze. Caleb, her emotions calm, spoke with a hint of weakness, "Everyone online is cursing Michele now. She's just a young girl, she's almost too ashamed to show her face."

I asked in a hoarse voice, "What about me? Am I just destined to be slandered by her? If I don't clarify things and really become the teacher she says has moral problems, have you thought about what I'll face?"

Caleb froze, a hint of guilt flashing in her eyes, but she remained defiant, "You're different from her. You'll take care of yourself no matter what."

I said bitterly, "Go. I won't speak up for her. Also, get the divorce certificate as soon as possible, preferably before next Tuesday."

He suddenly laughed, his eyes filled with disdain, "You're not thinking you're leaving here on Tuesday, are you? I advised you against playing hard to get."

Caleb's face darkened, "How could you possibly bear to leave me? Besides, there's Michele too. She's been a student you've nurtured for so many years; you wouldn't abandon her."

He didn't know that from the moment I agreed to Michele's withdrawal application, I had decided I didn't want either of them anymore.

Just then, Caleb received a phone call. After hearing what the other person said, veins bulged on his forehead.

Before I could react, he grabbed my collar and started pulling me outside.

"Michele was verbally abused on the street and fainted. She's in the hospital now. You have to go apologize to her!"

I looked up, wanting to call for help, only to find that Charles had already left without a sound. Well, who would want to get involved in someone else's family affairs for no reason? I couldn't struggle and he dragged me all the way to the hospital.

As soon as we entered the ward, Michele exclaimed, "Miss Patricia, you look so disheveled!"

On the way, Caleb tugged at my clothes, my collar already wide open.

I said weakly, "What do you want?"

Hearing this, she curled her lips into a smile, her eyes gleaming, "An apology should be sincere. We don't want much, just all your patents."

I stood up abruptly, looking at her in shock. Her face, which always wore a bright, sunny smile, now only showed naked malice.

I turned to Caleb, who nodded dismissively, "After all, the child still needs money for formula and your patents will bring in a steady stream of money."

Caleb was about to speak when Michele interrupted him. She wanted to talk to me alone to persuade Caleb to leave. Once we were alone, Michele revealed her true colors.

She said, "If you don't accept it, then take a look at this."

She scrolled through her phone for a few moments, then handed it to me. The content made my breath catch in my throat. It was about another student I was sponsoring, dressed as a waitress, surrounded by several men, her face filled with terror. This child, though clumsy, was very hardworking and like Michele, she was one of my key students.

"Finding a few desperados took a lot of effort, you know. If you don't appease me today, she'll be in big trouble."

"Michele!"

I clenched my fists and couldn't help but shout, "Don't drag innocent people into our business!"

She looked indifferent, picking her ear, "This is a scheme. Besides, wasn't it you who taught me to climb the ladder by any means necessary?"

"Do you dare say you have no connection with the principal? Now, kneel down and apologize to me. You just scared me."

My lip bled from being bitten, the taste of metal filling my mouth. But thinking of the child's terrified expression, I felt a thousand pounds weighing on my shoulders, bending my legs like steel bars.

The moment my knees touched the ground, the humiliation made my teeth chatter, "I'm sorry..."

Michele laughed heartily, "I never said I'd let her go just because you did that. Besides, I was helping you train her. I was doing it for her own good."

I looked up sharply, but I couldn't see her face clearly. I stood up, staggered and rushed out the door, bumping into Caleb who was returning. He instinctively reached out to help me, but I dodged him.

He immediately gritted his teeth, "You're something else!"

I strode forward, ignoring his pleas.

As soon as I left the hospital, I had a lawyer notarize the documents, ensuring no one could shake my assets. I also contacted the principal to apply for that student to accompany me abroad.

Didn't they want to wait for me to divorce so they could smoothly take over? I wasn’t not going to divorce him. The longer I was gone, the longer they would suffer public criticism.

The next day, before my flight to Germany took off, I sent the recording from the hospital room to several zombie public accounts and the principal. The web of revenge was about to unfold; they better not disappoint me.