The new junior researcher in our lab destroyed my antigen.

Because of that, I could not submit my thesis. I lost my chance to study abroad. Three years of work gone, just like that.

I was furious. I wanted to call the police, to have it investigated, to make sure she was held responsible.

However, my fiancé stood in front of her, shielding her, and turned on me instead.

"It's just a small experiment," he said. "Is it really worth making such a big deal out of it?"

I nodded.

"Of course," I said calmly. "After all, it was only an antigen that could treat your lupus. Definitely not worth making a fuss over."

He froze on the spot.

The new junior, Sheila Jones, offered to help clean the lab. Instead, she threw all of my experimental antigens straight into the trash.

The moment I heard, I rushed over. The garbage bin was already a filthy mess. My antigens were gone.

"My… My antigens!"

Shock hit me so hard my legs gave out. I dropped to my knees with a thud, hands shaking as I dug through the trash. I found nothing.

Those antigens were the result of nearly two years of work. Countless trials in petri dishes. Endless nights without sleep.

I had only just started to see progress.

I had not even had the chance to properly record my results or continue the second phase of research before everything was destroyed.

The precious samples I had worked so hard for were nothing but contaminated waste, buried in filth.

Sheila stood off to the side, her face pale, looking wronged and pitiful.

"I'm sorry, Rose… I just wanted to help clean the lab. I didn't know those were your experimental antigens."

Her eyes turned red, and she started to sob softly.

'She didn't know? Yeah, right,' I thought.

My experiment was stored in the innermost section of the lab behind three separate doors. Anyone would have had to go out of their way to get there, and she just happened to 'not know' and threw it away?

Other lab members had gathered around, whispering as they watched.

"Sheila was just trying to help clean. How was she supposed to know that was Rose's experiment?"

"Exactly. Sheila's always kind and innocent. She must feel awful."

"Poor Sheila. She was helping out and ended up in this situation."

Everyone looked at her with sympathy, clearly feeling sorry for the sweet, pretty junior.

Some even turned to me, their tone vague but pointed.

"Rose, don't take it too seriously. Sheila meant well."

"Yeah, it's just one experiment. You can redo it. Don't scare her."

"You're the senior here. Don't go too far."

I knew Sheila was popular in the lab. I just did not realize it had gotten to that point.

She destroyed my experiment, yet they were warning me not to overreact.

At that moment, Sheila, who had been crying so pitifully, shot me a quick glance. It was just a flicker of arrogance, like she had gotten exactly what she wanted.

It was gone in an instant, but it told me everything.

That was not an accident.

She did it on purpose.

Sheila had always been hostile toward me, acting innocent in front of others, throwing passive-aggressive jabs whenever she could, and pulling all kinds of tricks behind the scenes.

She must have heard that my experiment was close to success, so she staged that whole thing to destroy it.

My chest burned with anger. Before, I had ignored her little schemes. They were not worth my time. However, that was different.

That antigen meant everything to me. It was as important as my life.

I stepped forward, grabbed her by the collar, and shoved her straight toward the trash can.

"You say it was an accident? Then, explain this. Out of every experiment in this lab, you didn't touch anything else. So, why did you just happen to 'accidentally' throw mine away?"

Everyone in the lab was stunned by my reaction. No one had expected me to go straight for Sheila.

She had been playing the victim, sniffling and crying, but the moment I shoved her close enough that her face nearly touched a sharp lab blade, she dropped the act completely and shrieked.

"Rose, are you crazy? Are you trying to ruin my face?"

I let out an icy laugh and flung her aside. Looking down at her, I said, "Weren't you acting all pitiful just now? Why'd you stop crying?"

Sheila forced down the hatred in her eyes. When she looked up again, her face was full of guilt.

"Rose, I'm really sorry… If cutting my face will make you feel better, then go ahead.

"I know you've always hated this face of mine anyway. Just because I'm prettier than you… If that's the case, then I'll destroy it."

As she spoke, she reached for the blade, pretending like she was about to slash her own face.

Of course, the others were not about to let her hurt herself. They rushed forward to stop her.

Sheila cried even harder and leaned right into a male colleague's arms.

With a beautiful girl clinging to him, the guy immediately lost all sense and turned on me.

"Rose, you've gone too far. Sheila accidentally ruined your experiment, and now you're forcing her to disfigure herself? Are you really upset about your experiment, or are you just jealous because Sheila is prettier than you?"

His words made everyone look at me. Their eyes were filled with disdain.

Sheila, on the other hand, looked pleased.

I let out a sharp laugh and pulled out my phone.

"Since all of you are questioning my intentions, let's have the police decide what this situation really is.

"You all know how much my experiment is worth. I'd like to find out exactly what the penalty is for destroying someone else's property."

I started to dial the emergency line.

The second Sheila realized what I was doing, she panicked. The others quickly began saying I was taking things too far.

I shot back, "Why is it too far? I'm the one whose experiment was destroyed. I'm the one who won't be able to submit my research paper! I'm the victim. Calling the police is completely reasonable."

As I spoke, I had already dialed 911.

Right at that moment, my phone was suddenly snatched from behind me.

I turned around and saw that the institute's leadership had arrived, drawn by the commotion. At the front of the group stood my supervisor and fiance, Andrew Smith.

The moment I saw him, my eyes burned. All the frustration and grief I had been holding back came rushing out.

No one there understood what that antigen meant to me. It was not just about publishing a paper or earning my degree. It was the last hope of curing Andrew.

Three years ago, he was diagnosed with lupus. The illness kept coming back, torturing him without end. Watching him suffer felt like knives in my chest.

So, during my doctorate program, I searched through medical literature from all over the world, trying to develop an effective antigen.

For three full years, I never gave up. I stayed up night after night, studying and experimenting. Just last week, I finally made a breakthrough. I was so close to treating his condition.

Then, all of it had been destroyed by Sheila.

Andrew stood there in his white lab coat beside the director, as handsome and composed as ever. No one could see the marks of illness hidden beneath his shirt, the evidence of everything he had endured.

My throat tightened. I stepped forward, wanting to hug him.

However, someone beat me to it.

A figure rushed ahead of me and threw herself into his arms, her voice trembling with tears.

"Andrew, you're finally here… If you'd come any later, Rose would've ruined my face. I was so scared…"

I froze where I stood.

Right in front of me, Andrew pulled Sheila into his arms, his eyes full of concern. He gently wiped away her tears and spoke in a soft, soothing voice.

"Don't be scared. I'm here. No one's going to hurt you."

Then, he looked up at me and snapped, "Rose, apologize to Sheila."

His gaze was calm, almost icy. It felt like an invisible hand had grabbed my heart and was squeezing the life out of it.

Sheila curled her lips into a faint smile, looking at me like she had just won.

I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles hurt. I stared at Andrew, unwilling to believe what I had just heard.

"What… What did you say?"

"I said, apologize to Sheila."

There was a trace of impatience in his voice.

"It's just a small experiment. Is it really worth making such a big deal over it? Sheila meant well. Is this how you repay her kindness?"

Each word felt like a blade sinking into my chest.

Andrew, of all people, knew exactly how much I had sacrificed for the experiment.

However, he stood there, watching someone destroy it, and still chose to defend Sheila, the one responsible for everything.

That was not the first time. He had previously sided with her at work. We had argued about it more than once.

Every time, he would explain it away, saying Sheila was young, that she reminded him of himself when he was just an intern and did not know anything. He said he just wanted to look out for her.

Even though I had always felt something was off about that explanation, I trusted him. We had years of history together.

However, at that moment, I finally understood how wrong I had been.

I could not hold it in anymore. I rushed forward and snatched my phone back.

"Why should a single 'accident' be enough to destroy everything I've worked for? This is my experiment, my paper, my future! I'm calling the police. She should be arrested!"

Perhaps my reaction was too intense, because even the senior staff started trying to calm me down.

"Rose, we know this experiment is important to you, but no matter how important it is, it's not more important than a person, right?"

"If this turns into a police case, how is Sheila supposed to face anyone in the future?"

"Look, we can give you more time. Just redo the experiment."

'Redo it?' I thought.

I almost laughed.

If success was that easy, lupus would not still have been one of the diseases that could not be cured. As I listened to them plead on her behalf, I finally understood.

Every single one of them was there to protect Sheila. The reason was simple.

They all knew who Andrew was. He was the lab's investor, as well as the heir to the Smith family.

If he wanted to protect someone, the entire institute would fall in line.

However, if Andrew knew that the person he was trying so hard to protect was the one who had destroyed his only chance at a cure, what would he do then?

The air grew tense.

The way everyone looked at me was full of judgment. Meanwhile, the satisfaction in Sheila's eyes was impossible to hide.

Andrew walked over to me slowly and patted my shoulder.

"Alright, Rose. This experiment was taking up too much of your time anyway. Maybe this is a good chance for you to get some rest.

"After we get married, you'll have more energy to take care of me."

Andrew and I were supposed to get married at the end of the year. That experiment was meant to be my wedding gift to him.

However, there was nothing left.

I let out an icy laugh and pushed his hand away.

"Mr. Smith, your wedding gift should go to someone else. I don't think I'm worthy of it."