Chapter2

Advanced Macroeconomics started. Maddie slipped a folded sticky note onto my desk from behind.

I unfolded it. Her handwriting was neat and small.

Ev, I never meant to get between you and William. Don't overthink it. I'll keep my distance from now on.

I looked back at her.

A notebook sat open on her desk.

I spotted the notebook instantly; I’d pulled an all-nighter making those study notes for William. Why were they sitting on her desk?

Last winter, I stayed up for forty-eight hours straight just to finish those exact macro models. The dorm heater was broken.

William brought me hot coffee at three in the morning and kissed the top of my head.

"I'd fail without you, Evie," he had whispered, "You're my only one . It's just you and me against the curve."

And a Tiffany pen rested next to the notebook.

It was gift I stood in line in the heavy rain to buy for William's birthday.

When I handed him the box, he didn't care that I was dripping wet.

He knelt right on the floor and pulled off my damp boots and rubbed my frozen feet with his warm, bare hands.

"I'm going to sign our marriage papers with this pen, Evelyn," he promised, looking up at me with intense, dark eyes. "I swear."

He just gave our future away.

I stood up. My chair scraped violently against the wooden floor.

"Who gave you that notebook and pen?" I asked. My voice came out angry.

The lecture hall went silent.

Professor Sterling stopped writing and frowned. "Evelyn. Sit down. Do not disrupt my class."

I grabbed my bag. I grabbed Maddie's wrist and dragged her out into the hallway.

The hallway was empty.

I looked her in the eye. "Have you two been sneaking around behind my back this whole time?"

Maddie panicked. She took a step back.

"Ev, you misunderstood," she stammered. "William and I are just friends."

Maddie stood there feigning innocence.

She knew exactly what William meant to me.

My parents died in a car crash when I was ten.

At the funeral, my greedy uncle tried to drag me away to get control of my trust fund.

I was absolutely terrified. William stepped right in front of the adults.

William promised to protect me in my whole life. I gave him every piece of myself after that.

I believed we were untouchable. I introduced Maddie to him because I wanted to share my happiness with my best friend.

I didn't know I was betrayed by them.

The lecture hall doors burst open.

William rushed out. He didn't ask what happened. He didn't check on me.

He stepped directly in front of Maddie. He shoved my shoulders. Hard.

The exact same hands that used to warm my freezing feet just pushed me away. He was protecting someone else from me.

My heels slipped on the polished floor.

I fell backward.

My head cracked off the sharp edge of the concrete baseboard.

A loud ringing pierced my ears.

Dark spots swarmed my vision.

I didn't feel angry. My stomach dropped.

A student walking out of the bathroom screamed. "Oh my god. Evelyn! You're bleeding!"

I reached up. I touched the side of my head.

My fingers came away wet. Sticky.

A thick, dark red soaked into my skin.

I closed my eyes. I stopped fighting the dark.

I woke up to the smell of sterile alcohol.

I lay on a stiff bed in the University Health Services clinic. My head throbbed with a dull, heavy rhythm. A thin privacy curtain shielded my bed.

Angry voices drifted from the hallway.

"You're slipping, William." It was Professor Sterling. "You're spending too much time tutoring Miss Brooks. The department board is noticing. Your focus is compromised."

William's voice was completely steady.

"I love Maddie, Professor."

He didn't hesitate. He defended her without a second thought.

When Sterling used to complain about me distracting William, William would stay perfectly silent. He asked me to sit at the back of department dinners so Sterling wouldn't be annoyed. I hid in the shadows for three years to keep his flawless record intact.

Now, he was willing to fight his own godfather for Maddie.

He wasn't incapable of defending a girl. I just wasn't the right girl anymore.

"But I promise it won't affect my academic standing," William continued. "I will personally guarantee Maddie gets a Cambridge spot. We'll both score higher than Evelyn on the final exams."

My nails dug into the thin cotton sheet.

I sat up. The room spun for a second. I planted my feet on the cold floor.

I pushed the curtain aside.

"I accept the challenge, Professor."

Both men froze. They turned to face me.

My voice didn't shake. "And you don't both need to beat me. Just you, William. If you can."

William stepped forward. His eyes narrowed with a familiar mix of arrogance and annoyance.

"If you lose," William said coldly, "you stop harassing Maddie. You stay out of our way. You can do that, right?"

Always making the rules. Always deciding my place.

I looked right through him.

"If you lose," I said quietly, "you get on your knees and apologize to me."

William let out a sharp scoff. His face flushed with disbelief.

"Don't be delusional, Evelyn. You've only beaten me once in three years."

I pulled my jacket off the back of the medical chair.

"Once is enough."