He Wanted My Research, She Wanted My Seat, I Wanted Out Chapter 08

He Wanted My Research, She Wanted My Seat, I Wanted Out Chapter 08

Some things aren’t forgivable just because they didn’t happen.

Neither Henrik nor Tessa deserved my forgiveness.

With both of them in custody, the academic scandal finally came to a close. Harvard issued a statement that night, promising a full investigation.

Eventually, my research stayed where it belonged. At Stanford.

On the 15th, the presentation was rescheduled. With all the drama leading up to it, the live stream broke records, eight million viewers at its peak.

When the patent certificate came through, my research put Stanford on the map. Our program jumped past Harvard to number one in the country.

Just like that phone call had predicted.

Talent rises. Everywhere.

Soon after, Harvard released its official investigation results.

Tessa’s submission had been pushed through by Henrik’s uncle—no proper review, no questioning, no verification. He was suspended pending further investigation.

Henrik and Tessa were both expelled from Harvard. Permanent record. No reinstatement.

Three months later, the court sentenced both of them to two years in prison.

—

Henrik’s uncle was also found guilty of accepting bribes and tampering with student authorship credits on multiple occasions. The university fired him, and his name was blacklisted across the entire academic field.

I was satisfied with how things turned out. I threw myself into my next research project.

Two years later, Henrik got out of prison. He found me at the entrance to Harvard.

“Camila, I was wrong. I know I was wrong…”

“That bitch fooled me. You don’t know… she was always playing the victim, crying about how insecure she was, how jealous she was of you…”

“I wasn’t thinking straight. She tricked me. Please, just forgive me, okay?”

“I only felt sorry for her. My heart never left you.”

I looked at his face. Whatever I’d once felt for him was long gone. Now all I saw was shamelessness.

“You felt sorry for her, so you offered up what wasn’t yours to give. You don’t get to steal from me to buy someone else’s affection.”

I turned to leave. He grabbed my arm.

“Camila, I know you still care. You’re just mad at me, right?”

“I promise I’ll never do anything like that again. From now on, it’s just you.”

—

“You never even said we were done. I know you’ve been waiting for me to come back.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t?”

“Must’ve slipped my mind.”

“Henrik, we’ve been over for a long time.”

His eyes went wide, stunned.

“Camila, are you really that cold?”

“Three years. We were together for three years.”

“When you were sick, I brought you notes.”

“When you forgot things, I always carried tampons and tissues.”

“You loved the omelette from that café, and I got up two hours early every day to wait in line.”

“And you’re going to throw all that away just because I tried to help someone out of sympathy?”

I stared at him, cold.

“Out of sympathy? Henrik, are you telling me you never cheated on me?”

“Never!”

I pulled out my phone and opened the cloud backup of his chat logs.

—

“Then what’s this?”

Henrik stared at the screen. His face went red. He couldn’t speak.

Messages between him and Tessa. Steaming hot.

[Camila never lets me touch her. You’re way more fun.]

[Don’t worry. I’m her boyfriend, but my heart’s all yours.]

[Sleeping with my best friend’s man is so thrilling. Don’t dump her yet. It’s more fun this way.]

…

The filthy exchanges left Henrik stunned and ashamed.