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홈 / She Regretted It After I Left / Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

작가: Grogan
"It wasn't me. I don't know anything about any rumors…"

I tried to defend myself, but Serenity simply glared at me icily and snapped sternly.

"So that's why you played it so cool last night."

Serenity jabbed her acrylic-nailed finger into my temple, her grimacing face dripping with rage.

"The internet is flooded with hate for Darryl right now, accusing him of being a homewrecker and sleeping around with multiple women. Who else besides you is capable of such a malicious act?"

Her words cut into me like a blade.

All I felt was chills and hurt.

Back when Serenity loved me, she had looked up to me as though I could do no wrong. She funded my research generously and stood behind me for ten long years.

Now that her love was gone, I was nothing but dirt underneath her feet.

Thankfully, I stopped pining for her attention and love.

I forced a stiff smile.

"Fine. Have it your way. Blame it on me."

"Why, you—Security! Take Ian to…"

Exasperated, Serenity summoned the security crew to haul me off, only to freeze when she met my devastated and numb gaze.

Her criticism was stuck in her throat, somehow unable to escape her lips.

Darryl caught the lingering affection and hesitation in Serenity, and a dark, sinister look flashed across his face.

"Don't take it out on Professor Bell! I trust that he is not behind this. It's all my fault. I didn't respect boundaries. It's on me for not keeping my distance from Serenity."

"How is this your fault?"

Seeing tears roll down Darryl's face, Serenity anxiously helped him to his feet.

Her gaze darted between my emotionless face and Darryl's tear-streaked cheeks. It took a moment before she sighed upon reaching a decision.

She faced me, her tone firm and commanding.

"Darryl is just a kid. He has his whole life ahead of him. You're going to go live on air and admit that you started the lie. I'll include footage of your apology and confession of plagiarism at the press conference. That will clear Darryl's name once and for all."

I looked at her in disbelief.

It didn't matter to Serenity whether I was guilty of spreading the rumors.

She just couldn't stand the idea of Darryl carrying the blame. So she decided to pin the whole thing on me, making me his scapegoat.

"Even if you're uninvolved, you're the only one who can fix this."

Serenity scrunched up her face, her voice low and chilling.

"If you don't step up to the plate, what's going to happen to Darryl? Ian, you don't get to say no to me."

I let out a bitter chuckle, heavy with sorrow and mockery.

"Yeah, I know. I honestly don't care anymore. Just do whatever you want."

Serenity quickly got the recording equipment ready. I stared blankly at the lens, making one degrading accusation after another against myself.

"I am Ian Bell. I'm a jealous, spiteful, vile, and selfish human being. I have no right to spread lies about Darryl to break him. I have no business editing photos to make him look bad either. Nothing I say or do can make up for the damage I have caused him."

The live chat erupted. Insults and profanity poured across the screen in an endless stream.

My face was ashen, and my voice was shaking when I turned to Serenity.

"Is that enough? Happy now?"

I thought I could keep my composure, but the moment I opened my mouth, a stray tear betrayed me.

Serenity was taken aback.

She stepped forward to dry my eyes, but Darryl pulled her back.

"Serenity, I honestly don't know what I would've done without you. Even though Professor Bell's explanations haven't done anything to undo the damage to my reputation, I'm still incredibly grateful to both of you..."

Serenity's outstretched hand went stiff.

"You're right. The damage is already done. It's okay. We'll have all the time in the world to clear your name and make this right."

She let out a heavy sigh before taking off with Darryl.

At last, I couldn't fight back the tears as they fell in silence.

Once they were gone, I dialed my advisor's number and bumped up my flight to Antarctica.

Only three days to go.

Three days later, I would be completely away from all this heartache and misery. Finally, I'd be free.

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  • She Regretted It After I Left   Chapter 9

    Serenity traveled all the way to Antarctica to see me. She pulled every string she could through her family's powerful connections. The moment she found out where I was, she rushed here without a second thought. As soon as she stepped off the chartered plane, Serenity stumbled through the snow, making her way toward the research station's outer observation area.There, in the distance, Serenity saw me standing beside the scientific instrument. Camilla was right next to me, leaning over to go through the data with me. The wind caught a few strands of Camilla's hair. A warmth shone unmistakably in her eyes as she looked at me.Something Camilla said made me smile.The grin was so relaxed, so genuine, nothing like Serenity had ever seen before. "Ian, do you honestly not love me anymore?" With tearful eyes, Serenity disregarded safety and plowed through the snow to get to me. By wandering into a restricted area, Serenity disturbed the seals resting beneath the ice.Severa

  • She Regretted It After I Left   Chapter 8

    My teammates were stunned, turning their heads to stare at me. "Man, Ms. Bell is pulling all the stops, apologizing on TV and practically begging Ian to come back." "I had no idea Professor Bell would walk away from her. Ms. Bell is loaded." Everyone behind me kept chattering, total shock written all over their faces.I kept a stoic face while organizing my sampling tools without pausing for a beat. Camilla took strides over. "Why are you all standing around? Do the data simulations run themselves, or does the sample inventory clear on its own?" The group dispersed. I looked up at her. "Thank you." It was barely a whisper. Camilla caught my words anyway. She handed over a heavy-duty ice safety rope, her eyes fixed out the window."Just so you know, I have way more money in my name than Serenity does." I was taken aback. "What?" Camilla's ears flushed red. She did not look at me or walk away. "I mean… "I'm pretty loaded too." Camilla certainly had a d

  • She Regretted It After I Left   Chapter 7

    Back in the States, everything was going up in flames. The polar charter flight smoothly landed at the inland scientific outpost.Endless white glaciers stretched across the horizon. A team of researchers stood in formation at the station, waiting to welcome me.Standing at the head of the group was the project's co-director.It was Camilla Hawthorn, a fellow researcher who had trained under the same PhD advisor as me."Welcome to the team, Ian." Camilla smiled and handed me a temperature-controlled field tablet. "I've gone through everything in advance—the station's equipment, the sample storage units, and the daily monitoring schedule. Everything's ready."I nodded faintly and took the tablet. "Thank you. I appreciate it." One of the senior professors, Timmy Dewell, on the team stepped forward with a friendly smile."Glad you made it, Professor! We've been bottlenecked on these two genetic comparison metrics for half a month. Nobody could figure out the math, and we w

  • She Regretted It After I Left   Chapter 6

    The security team hauled Darryl away from the hospital grounds.With a serious tone, Serenity instructed Millie, "Dig into everything. Pull the logs on the ruined drug data, every unusual movement in the lab, and Darryl's complete file from the past three years. I want every single scrap of evidence."The digital files arrived in a flash.Serenity sat in the waiting area outside the hospital room, repeatedly reviewing the original system logs, backup records from the server room, and laboratory security footage her assistant had sent her. The harsh light of the screen washed over her pale face.The day the data had been erased, Darryl had stayed behind in the lab alone that night, carefully positioning himself outside the range of every security camera. However, a separate camera near the refrigerated centrifuge had captured his actions at the workstation. In the footage, Darryl stood before the control panel. He carefully selected the data files containing the drug's core re

  • She Regretted It After I Left   Chapter 5

    "You pushed the divorce through? Why? Ian didn't do anything wrong." Serenity screamed through a raspy, cracked voice, her expression rattled. Trinity coughed and wheezed. Still, her tone remained firm. "He was never in the wrong. You were. "Ian gave you his entire heart. He worked late into the night for over a decade, developing that cure just to keep me alive, but what did you do?"You hurt him again and again, all for Darryl, who showed up out of nowhere." Serenity had always written off my work as some obsession with my career, mistaking my quiet forbearance for weakness.The truth was that I was terrified that knowing reality would break her heart. Serenity staggered back, shaking her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I didn't know his developed drug was to save you…" The disappointment was written all over Trinity's face. "Regardless of who it was for, you had no right to enable someone else to destroy his life's work and crush his dignity." Serenity f

  • She Regretted It After I Left   Chapter 4

    After the livestream, Serenity never came back home. Darryl took to social media daily to flex a brand-new diamond watch.He even bragged that Serenity bought it for him just to make up for everything he'd suffered.I had reached the point where I could face the whole thing unfazed. On the morning of the day before my flight to Antarctica, my phone started blaring.Over the phone, a staff member from the care facility was shaking so hard they could barely speak, saying something had happened to Connor.Dropping my phone without a second thought, I sprinted to the facility. As I threw open the door to his room, the smell of blood hit me straight in the face. Connor's face was swollen and battered, covered in bruises and raw cuts. He was also stripped of his clothes. Right in front of him stood Darryl, brandishing a riding crop and striking his already split, raw flesh, drawing fresh ribbons of blood."Dad!" With bloodshot eyes, I charged forward and pushed Darryl away. I

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