Alice's POV

Melvin turned on me, his eyes filled with disgust. “Alice, can’t you be reasonable for once? I’m begging you, alright? Just help Chloe this one time. You being this petty really makes me hate you.”

“Hate me?”

I stared at him, at the man I once loved with all my heart, and my voice trembled. “Melvin, you want me to take the blame, ruin my own future, just to protect a manipulative girl who wrecked everything on purpose? That’s what you call being reasonable?”

Before I could react, he raised his hand and slapped me across the face. “You’re talking nonsense!”

The sting spread instantly, leaving half my face numb and my mouth tasting of blood.

I looked at him in shock.

He shouted, his voice rising, “How could Chloe have done it on purpose? Alice, how did I never see that you're jealous and vicious before?”

Jealous? Vicious?

I froze.

What exactly was I supposed to be jealous of?

Her fake tears? Her shameless flirting?

“I’m not jealous,” I said coldly, meeting his eyes. “I was blind. Blind enough to fall for a spineless fool who can’t even tell right from wrong.”

His expression darkened, and he spat his words without thinking.

“Yeah, I’m a fool! A fool for ever letting myself get tangled up with you, a spoiled rich girl with nothing to offer but money! Do you have any idea how much pressure I’ve been under? Everyone laughs at me, says I’m living off a woman!”

He then pointed at Chloe, clutching her hand tighter. “But Chloe isn’t like you! She’s pure, kind, and fragile, needing someone to protect her! With her, I finally feel like a real man!”

Then his voice turned sharp, striking where he knew it would hurt most.

“And don’t think I don’t know about your family. Your parents divorced ages ago. They don’t care about you! All you’ve got is an empty shell. Stop acting like you’re better than anyone else.”

My body went cold, like ice had replaced my blood.

My parents’ divorce was the one wound I’d kept hidden. I had only ever told him once, on a drunken night, crying in his arms.

I told him I felt like an unwanted ball, kicked back and forth between them.

And what did he say then?

He said, “Alice, you’re not a ball. You’re my treasure. My home will be your home. I’ll never abandon you.”

Turned out, he remembered every word not to protect me, but to use it against me.

Right on cue, Chloe chimed in, her voice soft and trembling, every word a dagger, “Sir, don’t say that to her. Even if her family situation is complicated, and she’s a little overbearing, and failed a course, and maybe doesn’t know how to be considerate… she still… she still likes you.”

I let out a sharp laugh.

What a perfect move, pretending to defend me while pointing out all my “flaws.”

And just like that, Melvin’s anger flared even higher.

He jabbed a finger in my face and shouted like he’d been waiting years to unleash it, “Likes me? That’s not love! That’s control! You’re possessive, obsessive! Alice, let me make this clear. This responsibility is yours, whether you like it or not. If you so much as drag Chloe down with you, we’re done. And don’t think your family’s money makes you untouchable! You ruined that sample, and even your father won’t be able to save you!”

I looked at his furious face, then at Chloe, hiding behind him, covering her smile with her hand.

And suddenly, I didn’t feel like crying anymore.

This must be what it felt like when your heart finally died.

Slowly, I pulled out my phone.

Melvin’s eyes narrowed. He barked, “What are you doing? Calling your dad? Don’t bother, he can’t help you with this!”

Yet I ignored him. With steady hands, I dialed the head of the lab and the lead professor in charge of the entire project and put it on speaker.

The call connected quickly.

“Alice?” Professor Daniel Schuman’s stern voice came through. “What is it? Have you recorded the data?”

Upon hearing the professor's voice, both Melvin and Chloe stiffened, their faces paling. They hadn’t expected me to go straight to the top.

I drew in a deep breath, forcing my voice to stay calm.

“Professor, I’m very sorry to disturb you. There’s been a serious incident in the lab. The core sample for the Dawn Project was knocked over during handling. It’s completely destroyed.”

Three seconds of silence, then his furious roar blasted through the phone:, “What? Destroyed? Who did it? Who was responsible?”

I could feel the panic ripple through the two standing in front of me.

Melvin’s face twisted, and he mouthed at me furiously, “Alice! Don’t you dare!”

I met their terrified stares, leaned closer to the phone, and spoke clearly, “It was Melvin Manning and Chloe Savage.”

Alice's POV

On the other end of the line, silence hung heavy.

I could hear Professor Schuman’s ragged breathing through the phone, and even from here, his fury was palpable.

Melvin’s face turned ghostly pale. In a panic, he lunged at me, trying to snatch the phone from my hand.

“Alice! Are you out of your damn mind? What nonsense are you spouting?”

Chloe was stunned, too. She clutched his arm, her voice shaking. “Sir, what do we do?”

I easily stepped out of his reach and kept speaking into the phone.

“Professor, it’d be best if you came here yourself.”

“I’ll be there immediately.”

The words hissed through his clenched teeth before he hung up.

Now, only the three of us remained in the lab.

The air grew suffocating, thick with tension.

Melvin’s eyes locked onto me, murderous in their intensity. He stormed forward, wrapped his hand around my neck, and roared, “What are you trying to pull, Alice? Do you want to ruin me and Chloe?”

“Ruin you?” I gasped, struggling under his grip, my face turning purple. Inside, I almost laughed at the absurdity. “You’re the ones who ruined the sample. I only told the truth.”

“Who saw us ruin it?” His voice rose, sharp and aggressive. “It was you! You were clumsy while recording data and knocked it over! Chloe and I tried to stop you!”

After that, he shoved me away with disgust. I stumbled and crashed to the floor, staring at him in disbelief.

I hadn’t realized people could be this shameless.

Suddenly, Chloe seized the opportunity. Like flipping a switch, she slipped into her act, tears streaming down as she whimpered, “Yes. Alice, how could you blame us like this? We were only trying to help you. Even if you don’t want to take responsibility, you shouldn’t push it onto us.”

She cowered behind Melvin, looking small and fragile, like she was terrified I might strike her.

Melvin immediately shielded her tighter, glaring down at me with contempt.

“I really misjudged you, Alice! To think you’d stoop this low, twisting the truth just to save yourself. Do you even have a conscience?”

Twist the truth? Stooping low?

Those words coming out of his mouth, what a bitter joke!

My chest felt like it was being ground through a meat grinder, pain turning numb.

“Melvin,” I said, locking eyes with him, “can you honestly tell me you believe your own words?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” he answered with self-righteous conviction. “This is the truth! And listen, when Professor Schuman gets here, you’d better own up to your mistake. Don’t expect me to go easy on you just because of our past.”

I let out a short, bitter laugh.

Our past? Was there even anything left of it?

When he forced me to take the blame for Chloe, when he used my deepest wound to tear me apart, whatever fragile bond we once had shattered long ago.

Just then, Chloe tugged gently at his sleeve, her voice soft and pitiful. “Sir, don’t be so harsh. Maybe Alice didn’t mean it. Maybe she’s just too scared. It’s okay if we take the blame as long as she’s alright.”

Her act worked perfectly. Melvin’s fury reignited, his face twisted as he jabbed a finger at me.

“Scared? What’s she got to be scared of? Her family’s loaded! At worst, they’ll just pay for it. Two million is nothing to her! But you, Chloe? What about your grad school recommendation? What about your future?”

His gaze toward Chloe was soft, full of pity and concern. But when he turned to me, it was nothing but ice and disdain.

“Alice,” he said, every word laced with finality, “you’re taking the fall for this. You owe me that much.”

My eyes widened in disbelief.

I owed him?

What exactly did I owe?

Money? Love? Time? In the past two years, who really owed whom?

Rage trembled through me, shaking every inch of my body. Just as I was about to lose control, the lab door burst open with a crash.

Alice's POV

Professor Schuman stood at the doorway, his face dark with anger.

Behind him trailed several faculty members from the project team, who must’ve heard the news already.

As such, the atmosphere in the lab instantly froze.

But Melvin reacted fast. In a heartbeat, his expression shifted to one of grief and helplessness, and he rushed to speak first.

“Professor! Thank God you’re here! Something terrible happened. The experimental sample… Alice accidentally knocked it over. It’s completely destroyed!”

Chloe jumped in right away, her shoulders shaking as she let out soft sobs.

Still, Professor Daniel Schuman said nothing.

His gaze swept over the ruined sample on the floor, then over the three of us, before finally landing on me with a complicated look.

Seeing that he hadn’t exploded immediately, Melvin thought he had a chance. He doubled down and put on the performance of his life.

“Professor, I know Alice didn’t mean it. She was probably just so focused on recording data that she didn’t notice what was next to her. But… that sample was priceless. Honestly, she was so shaken that she got emotional earlier and said a few irrational things.”

Chloe raised her tear-streaked face, voice trembling as she added fuel to the fire, “Professor, please don’t blame Alice. If anyone’s to blame, it should be me. I was the closest. I should’ve reacted faster. Maybe then I could’ve caught it. It’s my fault for being useless.”

I clenched my fists.

What a performance. Playing the victim while shifting the blame. Very classic.

Professor Schuman’s expression grew darker by the second. His eyes locked onto me, his tone unreadable. “Alice. You tell me. What happened?”

Immediately, Melvin and Chloe tensed up.

His eyes drilled into me with a silent warning, a clear threat.

But I just looked at their fake, pitiful faces, took a deep breath, and just as I opened my mouth, Melvin suddenly cut me off, as if he couldn’t hold back any longer. His voice rang out, full of passion and drama.

“Professor! Don’t push her! She just broke down earlier and started accusing me and Chloe of things we didn’t do. I think she’s just scared out of her mind! I’ll just take the blame! I might be just a poor student who could never pay back thirty million, but I’ll accept any punishment. Just please, don’t blame Alice. It was an accident!”

Right on cue, Chloe choked out between tears, “Sir, you can’t! You can’t take this on yourself! It was clearly Alice’s mistake. We can’t shoulder her burden.”

The two of them traded lines like seasoned actors, their performance so flawless it could win an Oscar. The sight made me sick.

At that moment, Professor Schuman’s brows were furrowed tightly. Again, his gaze landed squarely on me.

This time, Melvin was sure he’d won. He even smirked at me, the corner of his mouth curling in smug triumph.

The room fell silent.

I looked straight at him, my voice steady as I finally spoke, “Melvin, you keep insisting I knocked over the sample.”

“Then tell me, do you even know what exactly it was, that thing your precious Chloe just ‘accidentally’ destroyed with her own hands?”

I paused, letting every word sink in, then said slowly, word by word, “Do you even know what it was?”