A Call from the Future Begged Me Not to Apply to Harvard Chapter 08

A Call from the Future Begged Me Not to Apply to Harvard Chapter 08

“How did you get those messages?”

I looked at Mark.

“When you stole my research using that USB drive, you also copied a hidden forensic tracker embedded in

the files.”

“It synced the chat backup and activity logs from your computer to my cloud account, so I saw every

message.”

“You betrayed me for Sam. And now you’re crawling back asking for forgiveness?”

“Aren’t you disgusted with yourself?”

A shrill voice cut in behind me. It was Sam.

“So this is where you went, Mark. Are you still chasing after Emily? After everything between us?”

“Emily, have you no shame? Stop clinging to Mark.”

“Mark and I have been sleeping together behind your back. Serves you right.”

“Your family has more money, your grades are better, and you always outshine me. But none of that matters. All I have to do is crook one finger, and your boyfriend comes running.”

Mark spun and slapped her across the face.

“Don’t you dare compare yourself to Emily.”

“You’re nothing compared to her. You’re not as pretty, not as smart, and not half the person she is. You’re

gutter trash.”

Sam screamed and lunged at him, and the two of them began fighting.

I walked away into campus.

Mark refused to give up and waited outside the campus gates every day, harassing me whenever I passed.

I called the police and obtained a restraining order. When Mark violated it, a judge sentenced him to ten days

in county jail.

Finally, he stopped coming.

After her release, Sam tried to start over by applying to college again.

But the scandal followed her everywhere, and no university would admit her.

Her parents pushed her into a string of blind dates, hoping she would marry quickly.

But once the men and their families recognized her name, they refused even to meet her.

Sam finally snapped, tracked Mark down, and demanded that he marry her.

“Because of you, my reputation is ruined. No school will take me, and no one wants me.”

“You owe me, and you have to marry me.”

Mark’s life was no better. Once a straight-A student with a future at Harvard, he now made deliveries for an app on an electric scooter and spent his days exhausted and bitter.

When Sam showed up, he snapped.

“Get lost. You destroyed your own reputation when you seduced me, and you ruined my life too.”

“You ruin everything you touch. Stay away from me.”

Sam shoved his electric scooter to the ground.

His insulated bag flew open. Food spilled everywhere.

Mark lost control and grabbed her.

“You ruined every order in that bag, you worthless piece of shit. Do you know what those cancellations will cost me? I worked all day for nothing.”

“Pay me back, you pathetic bitch.”

They fought right there in the street.

A car came around the corner too fast for the driver to see them in time.

It hit both of them.

Both of them were rushed to the hospital in critical condition and remained under emergency treatment for

two days.

I never learned whether they survived.

I had no desire to find out.

It was all behind me now.

Two years later, I graduated.

Dr. Miller invited me to join his lab, and I continued into graduate school.

After earning my graduate degree, I joined the National Institute for Advanced Science (NIAS) on Dr. Miller’s

recommendation.

Because I had published several major studies as an undergraduate and continued building on them in graduate school, I joined NIAS as a research fellow and was soon promoted to lead a team.

Five years later, I became the youngest associate director in NIAS history.

My name appeared in headlines regularly.

One day, my phone buzzed.

I stared at the screen: [No Caller ID].

I answered.

“You did well.”

“Congratulations. This time, you kept everything that was yours.”

“From now on, let the rest of your life shine.”

This time, I did not ask who she was.

I only whispered, “Thank you.”

I hung up and opened the window.

Outside my office at NIAS, the flower beds were in full bloom.