Chapter 7

Chloe’s sister, Rainey, stood right in front of me. Though she wore a timid, nervous expression, the words coming out of her mouth were utterly shocking.

I wondered if my ears were playing tricks on me. "You're saying you want first authorship on my paper?"

Rainey swallowed hard, her nerves showing. "Yes. I... I heard your paper was accepted into a top-tier Q1 journal. I just... I want to be the first author..."

She was so nervous she could barely string a sentence together.

I nearly laughed out of sheer disbelief. No wonder she had looked familiar in the bakery; she was an undergraduate who had recently joined our research lab for her senior thesis.

Yet the moment she opened her mouth, she demanded first author. Talk about delusional greed.

"You're an undergrad. Why do you need first authorship on my research?"

Rainey gave a strange, frantic grin. "If I have first author on a Q1 publication, I can secure direct admission to grad school without exams, and I won't have to worry about scholarships..."

I was speechless. The two sisters really were cut from the very same cloth.

I shut her down. "Forget the fact that you didn't contribute a single line of data—you don't even understand my research topic. On what grounds should I give it to you?"

Her smile instantly morphed into something twisted. "I know you're obsessed with Logan Vance. Chloe said that if you don't agree, she'll make him dump you."

I glared at her coldly. "Are you threatening me?"

Flinching slightly under my gaze, she nonetheless pushed forward excitedly: "Chloe said so! If you don't agree, she'll tell Logan to break up with you on the spot!

"Aren't you head over heels for him? The entire university knows you're his desperate little lapdog, that you can't survive without him..."

I clenched my jaw, watching her smug, desperate face, fighting the urge to slap her.

In the end, I agreed.

I had worked tirelessly for years; I couldn't afford to let everything crumble at the final hurdle.

She watched with unhinged excitement as I swapped her name into the first-author slot. Thinking it had been too easy, she even forced me to bump myself down to second author.

Watching her snap photos to boast on her private social feeds, I murmured quietly, "I hope you have the stomach to digest this generous gift."

Assuming I was just lashing out in helpless defeat, she threw a few mocking sneers my way and strutted off.

The very next morning, my academic advisor noticed the author swap and immediately called me in a panic.

"It's fine, Professor. Someone wanted something for nothing, and I simply gave her what she wished for. As for the consequences, she’ll have to bear them herself."

My voice was entirely calm as I told my advisor not to worry about a thing.

After hanging up, I received another message from Logan.

Same VIP lounge. Demanding I show up tonight.

I stared at the date on my phone screen: New Year's Eve. Slowly, I closed my eyes.

When I opened them again, they were a lake of absolute serenity.

Just like every previous year, Logan and his pack of spoiled frat-boy friends were gathering to ring in the New Year.

The party was always held at the same exclusive private club. Counting tonight, I had visited this venue six times.

And from the day I first started chasing Logan until today, it had been exactly six full years.

I pushed open the heavy double doors of the VIP suite. Logan sat right at the center of the largest velvet couch.

Every head in the room turned toward me, their eyes filled with the usual cocktail of mockery, condescension, and sheer disdain.

Chloe rolled her eyes at me and opened her mouth to sneer, but Logan raised a hand to cut her off.

He turned his anger on me instead. "Didn't I tell you to be here at ten? Look at the damn time!"

I checked my watch: 11:55 PM.

Letting the door click shut behind me, I walked inside, step by deliberate step. My voice was eerily calm. "Something unexpected came up. A stranger suddenly came up to me and demanded first authorship on my research paper."