Chapter 15 Admitted It Herself
Alice felt like she’d been struck by lightning out of nowhere.
Her body started shaking like crazy.
In a panic, she scrambled to get rid of the proof.
+8 Pearls
She thought about tossing the shredded papers back into the trash, but she was scared someone might find them again.
So she did something awful.
She shoved the paper pieces into her mouth.
That way, no one could ever find them again.
The back garden was usually empty-a quiet place where people met up in secret. Hardly anyone came around during the day.
Even the janitors only cleared the garbage every few days.
And sadly, this bin hadn’t been touched in at least three.
Every bit of paper smelled sour and disgusting.
Alice had grown up with comfort and luxury. She’d never dealt with anything this nasty. As she chewed. she gagged, her arms flailing as she tried to force more scraps into her mouth.
Even students used to seeing gruesome images from labs couldn’t help but feel queasy.
Watching her made everyone’s stomach turn.
No one was eating lunch after this.
Evelyn stood off to the side. Her eyes were cool and sharp, with no trace of softness. She didn’t feel sympathy-only pity.
Finally, Bethany couldn’t take it anymore. Her voice snapped through the air. “That’s enough. You were already caught. Swallowing it won’t change anything. Spit it out.”
Alice gave a hard gag and spat the mushy bits onto the ground.
Tears rolled down her cheeks, landing in the soggy mess she’d spit out. It was hard to even look at.
Professor Lloyd, please. It wasn’t me.” Alice cried, her voice shaking. “I swear it wasn’t me.”
She couldn’t own up to it.
She knew exactly what would happen if she did.
“I was framed. I didn’t switch the paper. Please believe me,” she begged.
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Chapter 15 Admitted It Herself
But Bethany didn’t even blink.
She looked straight at Alice and said quietly, “Did I ever once say it was you?”
And that was it.
She’d admitted it herself. She’d just proven everything.
With a dull thud, Alice dropped to her knees. She couldn’t stop crying.
One thought repeated in her head over and over.
I’m done for.
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Bethany turned to the rest of the class and said simply, “Go get ready for your afternoon defenses. Good luck to you all.”
With the truth finally out, the rest of the students were buzzing, itching to talk about what they’d just seen.
At Bethany’s wave, they slowly broke off into groups and headed out.
Only Evelyn, Hannah, Bethany, and a broken-down Alice stayed behind.
“Let’s go talk in the office,” Bethany said with a sigh.
Alice could barely speak, her voice cracking as she begged, “Professor Lloyd, please … I’m begging you … ”
Bethany’s expression turned cold. “If you don’t come with me,” she said, “then I’ll just handle it myself.”
Alice panicked and struggled to her feet.
But her limbs were so weak that it took her several tries just to barely stand.
Evelyn and Hannah kept their distance, staying far away from her like she had the plague.
Can you blame them? She’d stuffed her mouth full of trash just moments ago; the smell was awful.
“Professor Lloyd, take your time talking to Alice. Hannah and I are heading out,” Evelyn said.
Before Bethany could respond, Evelyn grabbed Hannah and disappeared around the corner.
Hannah looked annoyed. “Why’d we leave so soon? I wanted to see her fall apart in that office.”
Evelyn shrugged. “Don’t make things harder for me. It was already bad enough that she tried to frame me. If she talks about familial ties, what am I supposed to do then?”
Hannah made a face. “Would she really pull the family card? Where was that when she was trying to ruin your life? People like her are disgusting.”
She paused, then turned curious. “Wait, what did you and Professor Lloyd even plan? How’d you make Alice confess? I thought the paper had already been found in class.”
Evelyn just shook her head.
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Chapter 15 Admitted It Herself
What an idiot.
“If the real paper had been found, why would we still need to follow Alice afterward?”
In other words, that paper was fake.
😐
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Bethany hadn’t actually found anything in the classroom. She’d picked a wrinkled class assignment from Hannah’s desk, crumpled it up to make it look convincing, and pretended it was the missing thesis.
Then she claimed she was giving the culprit one last chance.
Of course, Alice would panic, wondering how the thesis ended up back in her bag and whether she had been caught.
She’d go check the spot where she ditched it.
And that was when they would follow her and catch her red-handed.
Everything had gone exactly as Evelyn predicted.
The thief was Alice.
Hannah stood there, stunned, taking it all in. She stayed quiet for a while, then finally asked, “So … you already knew it was Alice, didn’t you? That’s why you were so calm the whole time.”
Finally, she’s catching on.
Evelyn was about to say something nice when a frantic voice suddenly rang out.
It was Seth.
Even Hannah rolled her eyes and muttered, “He’s probably here for his precious Alice. Gross.”
And she was totally right.
Seth had shown up for Alice.
The night before, Alice had made a point to tell him to show up around noon and comfort Evelyn-really lay it on thick.
To sell the act, he’d even dropped a bunch of money on a bouquet.
At first, the gossip wasn’t too wild. People were saying Evelyn had copied someone else’s thesis or something like that,
Seth couldn’t believe Alice would actually plan something like this.
But now that Evelyn was the one getting all the side-eyes and whispers, he figured this was his big chance. If he stood by her when she was down, maybe she’d fall for him all over again.
Then things flipped.
The latest rumor? Alice had stolen Evelyn’s thesis and passed it off as her own. Pulling a stunt like that on
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her sister was seriously a low blow.
Seth was a mess, running everywhere trying to find Evelyn.
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“Evelyn, you have to tell the professor Alice would never do that,” he said, grabbing her hand and trying to drag her toward the office.
Evelyn pulled her hand away.
Her face was stone cold, and her voice carried the chill of ice. “But she did do it.”
And badly, too.
“No way. There’s gotta be some mistake. Even if there isn’t, can’t you two deal with this at home instead of dragging it out in public?”
He was practically begging. “If this sticks, Alice’s future is toast.”
“I’d love to see it,” Evelyn said, completely unbothered.
“What … But she’s your sister! How can you be so heartless?” Seth yelled.
Sister?
The word felt like a slap.
Calling Alice her sister was just sad.
“Let’s get something straight. I’m the one who got screwed over. If I stay quiet now, I’m the one who gets torn apart. After what she did to me, why should I feel sorry for her?”
She paused for a second, then added, “If you care so much, why don’t you take the blame for her? Then everything’s fine, right?”
Seth’s face twisted with rage. His eyes were bloodshot. He raised his hand, ready to slap Evelyn across the face.
This bitch has it coming!
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Reborn for Love and Revenge
