Chapter 3

"I picked this out just for you. Do you like it?" Charles said gently.

"It's beautiful! Put it on me, Charles!" Arianna chirped.

"Of course," he replied, slipping the necklace around her neck as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

I glared at the two of them, my heart pounding with a fury I couldn't act on. If only I could take solid form, I'd tear their smug, deceitful faces apart.

When had Charles gained the right to use my money? The money I had worked so hard to save—the money I had set aside to donate to an orphanage.

"By the way, Charles, do you want to come to tomorrow's apology event?" Arianna asked casually, as if it were just another social gathering.

"Of course! I'm still her husband, after all. If she's holding an apology event, I have to be there!"

I was stunned. What apology event?

How could I, a person who was now nothing more than a shadow, be attending any sort of event?

"She better apologize to you in person," Charles continued, his voice hardening. "Or don't blame me for not showing any mercy!"

"Charles, don't be angry. Sabrina would be upset if she knew I went ahead and organized this event for her without asking," Arianna said.

"Hmph! She plagiarized your work, and you're the bigger person for giving her a chance to apologize. She has no right to be upset!"

So that's what this was about. The entire apology event—this humiliating farce—was planned by Arianna.

"I've also invited Professor Madison Lynn," she added casually.

Professor Madison Lynn. My mentor. She had been more than just a teacher; she had been my lifeline, helping me through both my academic struggles and personal hardships.

When I had stubbornly insisted on switching majors, she had been the one to fight against it, urging me to stay. And now, I regretted not listening to her more than ever.

Hearing Arianna's words made my heart race with panic.

Professor Lynn was elderly. Her health, especially her heart, was fragile. If she found out about my situation—about everything that had happened—it could be a devastating blow to her. I couldn't imagine what might happen if something went wrong at that event.

I never expected this. Arianna had stolen everything from me, and still, it wasn't enough for her. She wouldn't even spare my mentor.

I was spinning in circles, frantic, helpless. But there was nothing I could do.

After all, I was dead. And in the very way I had always feared most. A double death, with a baby inside me.

Only, it didn't happen on the hospital's operating table like I had imagined. No, I died in my lakeside cottage, alongside a little kitten who thought it had finally found a home, a new life.

My beloved husband had betrayed me.

The student I had trusted resented me.

I had no family left—just an aging mentor, who had no idea about the truth.

I thought about it all night, trying to come up with a plan. Who could possibly avenge me now? By dawn, I still had no answers.

Before the apology event even started, Professor Lynn arrived.

She leaned on her cane, walking unsteadily with each step, but her voice was as sharp as ever.

"I do not believe my student would plagiarize," she declared, loud and unwavering. "Sabrina would never plagiarize! Where is she? Unless I hear her own up to it, I will never believe she could do such a thing!"

Her words came just as the early media attendees began to file in. Spotting the commotion, they hurriedly set up their cameras, ready to catch every moment on tape.

My heart clenched, and my eyes filled with tears. My professor—this graceful, world-renowned woman—was now standing up for me in her old age, trying to clean up the mess I'd left behind.

Her face flushed with emotion, and her hands gripping the cane turned white from the strain. She was too old for this, too fragile to endure such stress.

No, I couldn't let her suffer this. I looked to Charles, hoping that he might remember the days Professor Lynn had also guided him. Maybe, just maybe, he'd ask someone to take her away before things got worse.

But he did nothing.

Instead, he stood by, letting Arianna humiliate my mentor in front of the entire crowd.

With a smirk, Arianna produced my manuscript, flicking the papers into Professor Lynn's face as if they meant nothing.

"Look for yourself. This is all my original work."

The papers fluttered to the ground.

Professor Lynn, already so old, struggled with her legs. Yet she fought to keep her dignity. Gripping her cane tightly, and using all her strength, she crouched down and picked up the scattered pages.

And I—I could only stand there, with tears streaming down my face, helpless to do anything but watch.

Professor Lynn clutched my manuscript, her expression growing more agitated. I knew she recognized my handwriting—how could she not?

But before she could say anything, Arianna snatched the manuscript from Professor Lynn, muttering, "Don't even think of destroying the evidence."

Her movements were hasty, betraying her guilt.

Startled by the sudden action, Professor Lynn lost her balance and fell to the ground.

The scene was a media frenzy. Instead of offering help, the crowd focused on taking pictures, capturing humiliating shots of the once-graceful professor.

I was frustrated. My beloved mentor was being degraded, and all I could do was watch helplessly.

"Sabrina didn't plagiarize!" Professor Lynn's voice rang out, filled with pain yet unyielding. Even as she lay there in a vulnerable position, she defended me with all the strength she had left.

Arianna, meanwhile, stood victorious, leaning smugly against Charles. Her face was full of disdain.

"Old lady, if you have something to say, stand up! I can't hear you from down there," she taunted, her voice dripping with cruelty.

Professor Lynn, desperate, turned her pleading gaze toward Charles. "Charles, Sabrina didn't plagiarize!" Her voice trembled with hope, searching for any shred of decency left in him.

But I knew it was futile. Charles and Arianna had conspired together from the beginning.

"Professor Lynn, I don't know whether Sabrina plagiarized or not, but I'm sure Ari wouldn't lie," Charles said coldly, his gaze hard as he looked down at his former mentor. There wasn't even the slightest inclination to help her up.

"You can't expect me to cover for Sabrina just because you favor her," he added, indifferent to the pain in her eyes.

"You—!" Professor Lynn was too weak to argue further, collapsing in defeat, her breath shallow. "Sabrina would never plagiarize…"

Arianna waved her hand dismissively, her voice light and carefree. "Well then, who's going to prove it? Who can stand up for her?"

"I can."