Morgan went to the cafeteria alone. She barely tasted the food as she forced a few bites down and headed straight to the admin office to process her withdrawal.

When she gave her reason as “studying abroad,” the administrative staff showed brief regret over her previously excellent grades. Still, with the photo scandal circulating across campus and the plagiarism accusation that had just erupted, their response remained purely procedural. There was no real attempt to persuade her to stay.

“Withdrawal approval will take a few days to process,” the administrative staff said. “During that time, you’re expected to attend classes as usual.”

“Thank you,” Morgan replied softly, her expression blank.

She moved through the rest of the day like a walking corpse. When the final bell rang, she hugged her books to her chest and followed the crowd out. As she passed the small campus garden, she noticed a group of students running in one direction, their voices buzzing with excitement.

“Quick, quick! There’s a fight up ahead!”

“Oh my God, it’s Dean! I’ve never seen the campus heartthrob so angry!”

“He’s fighting for Hazel! A classic case of rage for love!”

Morgan stopped in her tracks. Her heart felt like it had been pricked by a fine needle, not enough to bleed but enough to hurt. Without fully understanding why, she followed them ahead. Sure enough, a small crowd had formed. At the center, Dean was locked in a vicious fight with another male student.

Dean was usually cold, restrained, and always composed. Now, as if someone had crossed his boundaries, his movements were brutal and unrelenting, every punch landing hard. That stunning, untouchable face was twisted with a fury few had ever seen.

Fragments of conversation drifted into her ears.

“I heard that guy confessed to Hazel, got rejected, and then tried to get handsy…”

“Dean is normally so calm. Who knew he’d actually throw punches?”

“But isn’t Morgan his girlfriend? Why is he fighting so hard for Hazel?”

“Tsk, you don’t get it? With those photos of Morgan going around, how could Dean ignore them? He probably got sick of her ages ago…”

Morgan listened quietly. She thought her heart had turned numb, but those words still stirred something painful within her.

Just then, Hazel squeezed through the crowd, looking like a startled fawn. Crying, she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Dean from behind.

“Dean, stop fighting! I’m scared… Please, stop…”

Dean froze. He released the battered student and turned around. The violent air around him vanished almost instantly, replaced by a gentleness so awkward and careful that Morgan had never seen it before.

He wiped Hazel’s tears with deliberate tenderness, his voice low and soft. “Don’t be afraid. I’ve stopped. Did I scare you?”

Like poison, that level of tenderness and devotion Dean showed shattered the very last illusion Morgan had been clinging to. He had never looked at her like that or spoken to her in that tone. Even during the most intimate moments between them, he had been so repulsed that he let his younger brother take his place.

How blind had she been to believe he ever liked her?

At that moment, Dean’s gaze swept over the crowd and met Morgan’s. He froze again, clearly not expecting to see her there. A flicker of complicated emotion surfaced in his eyes so fast that even he did not seem aware of it.

His lips parted. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but Morgan looked away first. As if she had merely seen an irrelevant stranger, she turned around and left, her face expressionless.

Dean stared at her, his brows knitting unconsciously.

“Dean, what’s wrong?” Hazel asked softly, leaning against him.

“Nothing,” he replied, withdrawing his gaze. His tone returned to its usual gentleness, yet the unease in his chest refused to fade.

He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Jake, briefly explaining the argument with Morgan and the fight earlier, telling him to comfort her later that evening.

Jake replied quickly. [Why bother comforting her? Just break up with her.]

Dean stared at the message, his fingers pausing mid-air.

Right. Why should he bother? However, he could not quite explain it to himself. After a moment of silence, he typed a justification that sounded reasonable enough:

“Hazel hasn’t been offered a place in grad school yet. The act has to be convincing. Morgan’s emotionally unstable. If she makes a scene and it affects Hazel, it’ll be troublesome.”

Jake responded immediately. [Got it. I’ll go back tonight and handle it.]

That night, Morgan returned to the apartment, exhausted both mentally and physically. She lay down early, closing her eyes almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Not long after, she heard movement at the door. Jake was back.

“Morg, why are you asleep so early today?” He leaned close, his voice carrying its usual careless intimacy.

Morgan faced away from him, her voice flat. “Nothing. I’m tired.”

He caught the coldness in her tone and wrapped his arms around her from behind, slipping easily into his familiar role. He repeated the same polished explanations about the assignment and the fight, using the same hypocritical logic as always.

She listened numbly as she thought about how flawless the brothers' act was, with one hurting her and the other comforting her. She closed her eyes, unwilling to say another word.

Seeing her remain silent, Jake leaned in out of habit, brushing kisses along her neck, his hands beginning to wander.

Morgan shoved him away hard, her voice tight with suppressed exhaustion and disgust. “I said, I’ve been really tired lately. I don’t want to.”

Rejected again and again, Jake’s expression darkened slightly. However, seeing how pale she looked, he swallowed his irritation in the end.

His tone relaxed. “Alright. Then get some sleep.”

The next morning, when Morgan woke up, she was stunned to find that Jake had not disappeared early like he usually did; he was still there.

“Why are you still here?” she asked.

“If not here, where else would I be?” Jake smiled naturally and leaned over, trying to pull her into his arms again. “I made you, my love, upset yesterday. I took the day off to make it up to you. Okay?”

Morgan instantly understood everything. Dean must have dumped the responsibility of comforting her entirely onto his younger brother because he could not be bothered to pretend anymore.

A sharp pain stabbed her chest. She was about to say it was not necessary, but Jake did not give her the chance. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

“Didn’t you always want to do that ‘one hundred things couples must do together’ thing with me? Today, I’ll do them all with you.”

He did not allow her to refuse. He dragged her out, moving from one place to another, from watching a movie to wandering through an amusement park, and eating desserts, checking off every activity that looked sweet and romantic on the surface.

They dragged it out until nightfall, where he took her to an upscale private club.

“Have a drink and relax a little.” Jake settled her onto the sofa inside a private room. “I’ll get us more drinks. I’ll be right back.”

After he left, only Morgan remained in the room. She leaned back against the sofa, exhausted. All she wanted was for everything to end as soon as possible.

Suddenly, the private room door was slammed open. Several men reeking of alcohol stumbled inside, and when they saw Morgan, their eyes lit up immediately.

“Well damn! There’s a girl in here too, and she’s not bad at all.”

“Come on, have a drink with us. How much for a night?”

“I’m not–” Morgan jumped to her feet in panic, her face turning pale as she tried to explain.

“Don’t play innocent,” one of them sneered. “Everyone who comes here knows what this place is for.”

They did not believe her. Laughing obscenely, they surrounded her, and someone even turned around and locked the door.

Morgan retreated in terror, struggling and calling for help. However, she was only a woman and was powerless against several drunk men. As they tore her clothes off, despair drowned her whole.

Just as she thought it was truly over…

“Bang!”

The door was kicked open from the outside. Jake stormed in, fury written all over his face. When he saw what was happening, his eyes instantly turned bloodshot. Like an enraged panther, he charged in without hesitation. His blows were ruthless, fists and kicks landing one after another as several men went down in moments.

However, he was still outnumbered. In the chaos, someone grabbed an empty bottle and swung it straight at Morgan.

“Watch out!” Jake roared as he lunged forward, shielding her completely beneath his body.

The bottle smashed hard against the back of his head, shattering instantly. Blood poured down at once. He let out a muffled groan, his expression turning even more vicious, before he spun around and sent the attacker flying with a brutal kick.

At last, the club’s security and management arrived, quickly bringing the situation under control. Jake staggered, all his strength gone, and collapsed into Morgan’s arms. Staring at the blood still flowing from his head, Morgan’s mind went blank. Her hands trembled as she called for an ambulance.

That night, she stayed at the hospital. By early morning, the nurse gently urged her to get some rest.

“The patient is stable now. He’ll wake up soon. You should get some sleep.”

Exhausted, Morgan nodded. Halfway down the hall, she realized she had left her jacket in the room and turned back to get it. Just as she reached the door, she heard Jake’s voice from inside. He seemed to be on the phone.

“I’m fine. I’m not dead.”

The person on the other end said something, and Jake snorted.

“Obviously. If I didn’t stage that whole hero-saving-the-damsel act, how else would I get her to sleep with me again?” He clicked his tongue and said, “She’s great in bed. Fair skin, soft waist, and most importantly… she sounds exactly like Hazel in bed. I love it. It’s like I’m sleeping with Hazel.

“Do I like Hazel? Of course I do.” He laughed quietly. “But my brother likes her too. What can I do? Steal her? Forget it. Hazel likes my brother. They’re in love. I’ll just stay on the sidelines. As long as my brother hasn’t dumped her yet, I’ll sleep with this one as many times as I can.”

Outside the door, Morgan’s world was shaken. Her entire body went ice-cold.

As it turned out, the terrifying, life-or-death rescue last night had been a performance he orchestrated himself just to make it easier to sleep with her again—to use her as a substitute for another woman. She had thought that, at the very least, there had been a shred of sincerity in the way he protected her. However, the truth was, it was all just a cruel joke, one worse than Dean’s cold indifference.

Clamping a hand over her mouth to keep from sobbing out loud, Morgan staggered away from the hospital.

That night, Jake returned to the apartment, his arm wrapped in bandages.

“Morg? Why are you back? Shouldn’t you get more rest at the hospital?” His tone was casual, as if what he said earlier that day never happened.

Morgan forced back a wave of agony and nausea, forcing herself to speak quietly. “I stayed with you all night… I was too tired. I came back to get some rest.”

Jake stepped closer, attempting to pull her into an embrace. His voice was tinged with self-pity, as if expecting her gratitude. “Look at how hurt I am for you. Don’t be mad at me anymore, okay?”

As he spoke, his hand wandered, trying to kiss her. However, Morgan pushed him away violently again.

For the first time, Jake’s expression darkened. “Morgan, I’ve coddled you over and over again. Isn’t that enough? Haven’t I made it up to you?”

“Is sleeping with me all you ever think about?” She choked, voice trembled with desperation.

“Of course not!” Jake replied instantly, his performance flawless. “It’s you I like! I like you as a person!”

Morgan looked at him and then laughed a bitter, tearful laugh. She said nothing after that, only meeting his gaze with a chilling, sorrowful stare. Jake felt a strange mix of guilt and anger under her eyes. Finally, with a cold snort, he grabbed his coat and slammed the door shut on his way out.

Knowing he would not return tonight, Morgan finally allowed herself a moment to breathe.

The next day at school, the president of the student union approached her. “Morgan, we’re having a barbecue this weekend. You have to come!”

Morgan hesitated. “I…”

“Don’t refuse!” The president grabbed her arm and lowered her voice. “And… why don’t you bring your boyfriend, Dean? His company is huge. A lot of us, seniors, are about to intern there, and we want to get on good terms with him. We wouldn’t even be able to approach him normally… You’re our only chance.”

Morgan knew that messaging Dean would probably get ignored, but those in the student union had always treated her well, so she steeled herself and sent a message anyway. To her surprise, Dean actually showed up at the weekend barbecue. Only… he was with Hazel, smiling gracefully beside him.

When he saw Morgan, Dean only gave her a brief, indifferent glance. His voice was calm and even. “I happened to be with Hazel when you messaged, so I brought her along.”

Morgan felt a sting in her chest, but she nodded silently.

Throughout the barbecue, Dean’s attention never left Hazel. The first pieces of grilled meat always went to her; he carefully trimmed the fatty parts, made sure her drinks had straws, and when a bit of sauce got on her lips, he casually wiped it away. It was meticulous, attentive care—the kind Morgan had never received.

She could not help but remember the past two years. As Dean was a pampered rich kid, she had always been careful, attending to his every mood, memorizing every preference, and accommodating every habit. She had even assumed he was naturally cold and distant.

Only now did she realize that he was not incapable of care or attention. She had just never been the person who could make him lower his guard willingly. She even saw Hazel subtly placing ingredients she did not like into Dean’s plate. He frowned slightly and then, astonishingly, ate them.

If Morgan recalled correctly, Dean had a serious aversion to eating food touched by others. Once, she accidentally served him something with her own utensils, and he had gone cold immediately, leaving the dish untouched. However, as it seemed, all his rules and habits could be broken with someone he truly liked.

Later, the group started playing a game of dares. The first loser was Hazel, and her punishment was to drink three shots of strong liquor. She hesitated, but Dean reached over and grabbed the glass before she could protest.

His tone was firm, leaving no room for argument. “She can’t handle it. I’ll do it for her.”

Then, without flinching, he downed all three shots.

Later, Morgan lost as well. Her punishment was to eat a skewer of meat smothered in insanely spicy sauce. The heat burned her mouth so badly that tears streamed down her face, and she coughed uncontrollably. Instinctively, she looked at Dean, but he was so focused on talking to Hazel that his eyes never even flickered in her direction. Her heart went numb at that cold disregard.

Afterwards, everyone crowded around Dean to ask about internships, leaving only Morgan and Hazel sitting across from each other.

Hazel’s expression was smug. “Morgan, aren’t you Dean’s girlfriend? Yet during the whole party, he stayed by my side, not once looking at you.”

Morgan silently sipped her water.

“Honestly, I don’t know why he ever ended up with you,” Hazel continued, her tone sharp. “But as his girlfriend, you’re failing spectacularly. If it were me, I’d have taken a hint and left long ago. Look at you. Your intimate photos are all out in the open, and your family background… Well, it doesn’t even measure up in our circles. You think being perfect makes you great? What in the world makes you worthy of him?”

Morgan remained silent, as if she had not heard a word.

Seeing no response from Mogan, Hazel was about to say something when a waiter came over to replace the charcoal for the grill. Perhaps due to a slip, the tray tipped, and glowing coals spilled directly toward Hazel and Morgan.

“Ah!” Hazel screamed in terror.

In a flash, Dean lunged forward, pulling Hazel tightly into his chest and using his own back to shield them from the flying embers.