\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 149\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 149\u00a0<\/p>\n
Violet\u00a0<\/p>\n
55 vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
I slowly swept my gaze across the room, letting my eyes linger on them. Their faces were pale and rigid, some frozen in shock, others stiff with anger at my sudden appearance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I ignored them all, as if they were nothing more than background noise. After all, I hadn\u2019t come here for them. I didn\u2019t care what they thought, didn\u2019t care what verdict they had already passed in their narrow minds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
People like them would never believe me. In their eyes, I was just a scholarship student, poor, disposable, easy to sacrifice for the school\u2019s reputation. Someone to erase quietly, like a stain on a white board. So I wasn\u2019t here to defend myself. You don\u2019t argue with people who decided to hate you before you even opened your mouth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes drifted to the back of the room. Nora stood there, half-hidden behind a line of professors, her face flushed red and her body trembling like she was barely holding herself together. Her hands were clenched so tightly at her sides I could see her knuckles turning white. When our eyes met, something ugly flickered across her face\u00a0<\/p>\n
A slow smirk curved my lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There you are. The only reason I bothered showing up at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A professor cleared his throat loudly. \u201cYou-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t even glance in his direction. I walked past him as if he didn\u2019t exist, my heels clicking softly against the floor. I reached the chair, and sat down, meeting their eyes with a calm, unbothered gaze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs there something wrong?\u201d I asked calmly. \u201cWhy are you all standing? Don\u2019t tell me you decided to end the meeting without waiting for me. Or was this meeting never necessary in the first place?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tilted my head slightly. \u201cYou\u2019ve already made up your minds based on what you read online. That\u2019s disappointing. As professors, I thought you\u2019d know better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They all froze at my words, several of them bristling, clearly unable to believe I\u2019d spoken to them that way. One professor stepped forward, anger flashing across his face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow dare you,\u201d he snapped. \u201cWho do you think you are? You arrive late and now you speak as if you know anything. Are you-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cS-stop.\u201d Another professor grabbed his arm, voice tight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first man halted and turned sharply. \u201cStop?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t make a scene.\u201d The second professor swallowed hard, his eyes flicking to the side. I didn\u2019t even have to turn to know exactly who he was looking at.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first professor\u2019s face drained of color when he followed that gaze, his confidence vanishing in an instant. He took a step back, his jaw snapping shut as if someone had flipped a switch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked at Roman, and my eyes softened despite myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was different from the rest of them. From the very first day in his class, he never looked at me like I was something disposable, never treated me like a scholarship student who should be grateful just to exist in his presence. He judged people by their work, not by rumors or backgrounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew, without a doubt, that he wasn\u2019t the kind of man who would believe trash written on the internet. Still, I hadn\u2019t expected to see him here. Roman hated pointless meetings. He valued his time too much for that. And yet, here he was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
39\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 149\u00a0<\/p>\n
And judging by the way the room acted, everyone already knew who he really was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
50 vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Sinclair family was notoriously private. Even when I was Matthew\u2019s girlfriend, I barely knew anything about them. Only a handful of people knew the truth about his identity as the second heir of the Sinclair family. I found out because I had overheard Matthew speaking to him once, calling him uncle. When I asked later, Matthew confirmed that Roman was indeed the second son of the Sinclair family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After what happened at the cafe, I didn\u2019t see Roman. I didn\u2019t attend his class yesterday, not because I was avoiding him on purpose, but because I didn\u2019t know how to face him after he told me he loved me. Everything had become so complicated. And to make matters worse, the man who wanted me and the man I was married to were brothers. So the best decision was to avoid him for now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, despite all of that, he came here to defend me, fully aware that once he did, everyone would know exactly who he was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roman met my eyes, as if he could read everything thought crossing my mind, and smoothly redirected the room before I could speak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Violet,\u201d he said calmly. \u201cThe meeting has ended. You don\u2019t need to defend yourself. The truth has already been verified. Everything circulating online was a rumor.\u201d His gaze flicked briefly toward the professors. \u201cIsn\u2019t that right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the professors cleared his throat and nodded quickly. \u201cY-yes. Yes, you\u2019re right, sir. It was just a rumour.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another followed just as fast, his earlier aggression completely gone. \u201cIt was a misunderstanding. Don\u2019t worry. We\u2019ll make sure the posts are taken down immediately. The school will handle it properly. This won\u2019t affect your academic standing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watched as more professors began to agree. One after another, they nodded and echoed the same sentiment, that this was clearly a misunderstanding, that someone like me wouldn\u2019t do something so disgraceful, that they should have been more cautious before jumping to conclusions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was obvious to me why their attitudes had shifted so dramatically. If Roman hadn\u2019t been here, this meeting would have ended very differently. Power really did change everything. A few words from the right person could erase outrage, reverse decisions, and rewrite narratives as if nothing had happened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I didn\u2019t say anything, the dean finally turned his attention to me. He cleared his throat. \u201cMiss Violet,\u201d he said, \u201cI would like to apologize for everything you experienced today. This must have been deeply troubling for you. After reviewing the situation properly, it\u2019s clear that this was all a misunderstanding.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked at Nora. \u201cMiss Nora.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nora flinched at the sound of her name, her shoulders stiffening as she looked up at him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cApologize to her immediately,\u201d the dean continued. \u201cBecause of your carelessness and the way you handled this situation, you nearly destroyed another student\u2019s reputation. I will assume this was an accident, but that does not excuse the damage done. You will apologize now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned slightly toward Nora, crossing my arms as I studied her. She looked furious as she stared at me. The sight of me sitting there calm and composed only seemed to make it worse for her. She bit her lip hard, as if holding back her anger, before finally shaking her head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re wrong,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The dean frowned. \u201cWhat did you say?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I didn\u2019t make a mistake,\u201d Nora snapped, her voice rising. \u201cThose pictures are real. Violet is a whore. She did all of this. She sleeps with older men for attention and money. She\u2019s-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roman\u2019s voice cut through the room. It was low and commanding, echoing off the walls and instantly silencing everyone.<\/p>\n
Nights Burn With Regret \u2014 by Nathan Perez 149 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Chapter 149\u00a0 Chapter 149\u00a0 Violet\u00a0 55 vouchers\u00a0 I slowly swept […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-craving-the-guardian-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28065\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}