Chapter 95
Isabella Langley trembled all over.
The man's gaze was like an ice pick piercing her heart.
She hadn't expected him to be so resolute.
He was extinguishing even the last shred of hope.
She couldn't accept it!
"Ethan, I admit I was wrong, but the child is your flesh and blood! Look at the ultrasound, the fetal heartbeat is there. Do you really want them to be born without a father?"
Ethan Roscente glanced down at the blurry black and white image.
A mocking curve touched his lips.
"That's exactly why I said an abortion is best."
"A child without a father is better off never existing."
He didn't believe it was his.
He turned and walked away.
The sound of his footsteps on the stairs felt like they were crushing her heart.
She clenched her fists tightly.
Her nails dug into her palms.
Why was he treating her like this?
She was just fighting for love.
What was so wrong about that?
It was all Sophia Sullivan's fault!
That bitch kept seducing Ethan.
She had driven her into a corner.
Hatred gnawed at her reason.
Her beautiful face twisted with rage.
She couldn't just give up.
A sudden thought occurred to her.
A strange light flickered in her eyes.
...
Saturday morning.
Sophia received a call from the police.
The officer sounded apologetic.
She listened calmly.
This outcome was expected.
She had insisted on reporting it only for a clear conscience.
The rest was up to fate.
She hung up.
A short video notification popped up on her phone.
The forum's defamatory post had long been deleted.
The school traced the IP address to another state.
The number was deactivated when they followed up.
Clearly, someone had set it up deliberately.
Although the mastermind wasn't found,
she had become famous even before starting school.
Someone had taken a photo of her profile.
She was unexpectedly voted MIT's campus belle.
Sophia shook her head helplessly.
She turned off her phone to work on her thesis.
The doorbell rang.
Thinking it was her food delivery,
she opened the door to find Ethan Roscente.
She immediately tried to close it.
The man forcefully held the doorframe.
"Sophia, don't close it! I heard about what happened in the Maldives. I came to apologize!"
Afraid of being shut out again,
he spoke rapidly.
"Isabella deliberately manipulated me into feeling sorry for her. I was blind not to see it. I've broken up with her. There will be no further involvement."
He looked down at her.
His voice was pleading.
"Can we start over? I truly can't live without you."
During this time, he had finally realized.
The only one he wanted was Sophia Sullivan.
He couldn't let go.
Those sweet memories were etched deeply.
If this were before,
she would have thrown herself into his arms.
But now...
It was meaningless.
Belated affection is cheaper than grass.
Sophia listened expressionlessly.
Her hand remained on the doorknob.
Her defensive posture was clear.
"I refuse."
No forgiveness.
No reconciliation.
Ethan instantly became agitated.
"Why?! It was because of Isabella before! Now I've cleaned it all up! Why are you still unwilling?!"
He had conceded so much.
What more did she want?
Compared to his agitation,
Sophia was exceptionally calm.
"Before, my world only had you. You were everything."
She gave up graduate school for him.
At the peak of their love,
he was the one she wanted to spend her life with.
Ethan's eyes lit up.
He gripped the doorframe eagerly.
"We still can! Just say the word, and we can go back to how we were!"
Sophia shook her head gently.
"No one stays in the same place forever. You won't. I won't either."
"After we separated, I discovered there's so much more to pursue in this world besides love."
Ethan's gaze turned gloomy.
"Pursue what? Grad school? Studying? You'll still have to work after your Master's! Work is just for money! I can give you however much you want!"
Sophia frowned.
"I don't want money."
Ethan scoffed.
"You took that 7.2 million dollar check, didn't you? Now you say you don't want money? Who would believe that? Or were you only after my money from the very beginning?!"
Anger made him reckless with his words.
Sophia couldn't be bothered to argue.
She shoved the door hard.
Ethan stumbled back two steps, caught off guard.
"Grad school isn't that simple! The academics, the lab work... you're not the same Sophia Sullivan anymore!"
Before he finished,
the door slammed shut with a loud bang.
The impact echoed through the hallway.
Ethan stood outside.
His face was dark with anger.
He swore to himself he would make her regret this.
...
Early April spring.
Tender green buds sprouted on the branches.
The wind grew gentle.
Sophia went to visit Professor Eleanor Watson.
It was their first meeting since the New Year.
The weather was warmer.
Eleanor Watson's health had gradually improved.
She was back on the research front lines.
She was so busy she barely had time to eat.
Seeing Sophia, she immediately shoved a stack of materials into her hands.
They were all first-hand lab data.
Along with relevant research papers.
Sophia skimmed through them.
Some papers were quite old.
The content was obscure and hard to find.
Gathering these must have taken tremendous effort.
Her eyes stung.
Eleanor Watson saw right through her.
"The seniors helped find the materials! I just pointed them in the right direction! These old bones couldn't manage it alone."