Chapter 68: Sixty Eight

The air outside was cold, and I shivered as soon as it hit my bare arms. The sudden quiet after the music and laughter inside felt too loud in my ears. Mara stood a few feet away, her silhouette sharp under the neon of the bar sign. For a second, I thought she might say something friendly.

But she wasn’t smiling.

“I want to show you something,” she said, her voice low and strange. Too steady.

You know how sometimes you can feel it around you? That something bad is going to happen? Something horrid, out of your control?

I felt that single dreaded feeling climb up my chest. I felt the hair on my skin raise. I was feeling the worst feeling.

“What is it?” I asked, already tense.

She opened her phone, the glow of the screen lighting up her face in cold white. Her fingers didn’t tremble. She tapped with the kind of calm you don’t have unless you’ve planned for a moment like this.

The screen flipped toward me.

It was a video. The thumbnail alone sent a jolt of panic through me.

Declan’s office.

His desk. His shirt.

My body. My mouth parted in a silent moan, my hands on his back...

I jerked back like I’d been slapped.

“No,” I breathed, eyes wide. “What the hell is this?”

“You know what it is,” she said.

I shook my head, backing up. “Did you…Did you record us? What the fuck, Mara?”

“Relax,” she cut in, tucking the phone back into her purse, casually, like she had just shown me a funny meme, and not something that was going to ruin my whole life. “It’s not about that. It’s about what you do now.”

I couldn’t speak. My throat was dry, my stomach twisted into impossible knots. A sour, acidic burn rose in my chest.

“You recorded us without our knowledge. That’s…you can’t do that. That’s literally illegal.”

“And yet,” she said, her voice calm and flat, “you’re not really in a position to call a lawyer right now, are you?”

I felt the sidewalk sway beneath me. My hands were trembling.

“What do you want?” I rasped.

She didn’t hesitate.

“I want you to step down. From the RA position. Tonight.”

I blinked, struggling to keep the world in focus.

“You’re out of your mind.”

“No,” she said softly, with a terrifying kind of sweetness. “I’m very much in it. Look, you’ve had a nice run. You played your little game, got the hot older man, got the title, the power, the attention.”

“Mara, I earned that position,” I snapped, voice trembling. “I worked for it.”

“You fucked your professor in his office,” she hissed suddenly, her tone cutting and cold. “That’s what you did. That’s what people will see when this comes out.”

I flinched.

The silence that followed wasn’t empty. My ears were ringing..

“I’ll email the faculty. I’ll send it to the student newspaper. It’ll be everywhere. And you’ll lose everything you care about.” She leaned closer, voice almost a whisper. She was so close to me, her breath fanning my face. “He’ll lose everything, too. You really want to ruin his life like that?”

Tears welled up before I could stop them.

“You’re a monster,” I whispered.

She tilted her head. “No. I’m just not stupid. You should try it sometime.”

About revenge.

“I’ll tell Declan,” I said. Even as I said it, I knew there was nothing else I could do but quit. There was nothing Declan could do to save this, save himself, or me. A video proof was everything. God, I was so fucking stupid. If only I had locked the door. If only we hadn’t been stupid enough to fuck in his office.

“I worked for this.” I spat at her, “If you think me quitting will make you get the position, you’re dead wrong. You didn’t get chosen because you’re just not good enough.”

She tilted her head. “Sure,” she smiled, “Maybe I won’t get it. But you know who else won’t? You. Someone who opened her legs and God knows what else for a seat at the table.”

I went still.

A slow smile spread across her lips. “You know, I could’ve done those things too. For Declan. If that’s what it takes. I'm not squeamish.”

My mouth fell open. “You’re disgusting.”

“I’m practical,” she said with a shrug. “And don’t act so innocent. You really think you got the RA spot because you’re smarter than everyone else?”

“I didn’t sleep with him for that job.”

She laughed. A sharp, guttural sound that made me sick. “God, you're still so naive. Everything in this world is about power, Willow. Who has it. Who wants it. And who’s willing to trade what to get it.”

“No,” I said, voice shaking. “That’s not true. Some of us don’t work like that.”

“Well,” she said with a bitter smile, “some of us don’t have the luxury.”

“They won’t pick you. You don’t have the record, the project experience, the faculty backing…”

“But I will,” she said, stepping closer again. “I will have all of it. You think this is just about you resigning and me stepping in like some stupid replacement?”

She tilted her head, voice sweet and venomous all at once. “No, Willow. This is about reworking the entire narrative.”

I frowned.

She leaned in, too close. “You resign under... let’s say, ethical concerns. There’s a whisper campaign. People start talking about how maybe you manipulated your way in, how maybe you seduced Declan for that spot. Maybe I leak a little footage anonymously to make it stick.”

My stomach flipped again.

“And then,” she continued, her tone frighteningly casual, “they’ll need a safe choice. A neutral party. Someone who’s been quiet, diligent, and, lucky me, already on the shortlist. And suddenly, I’m not just eligible. I’m the solution.”

“You’d blackmail your way into this?” I asked, voice shaking. “Do you even hear how that sounds?”

“I hear it loud and clear,” Mara said, not even blinking. “Because unlike you, I’m not here to play the good girl. I’m here to win.”

“You’re sick,” I whispered.

She smiled like I’d complimented her. “You’re soft. That’s the difference. You still think the world rewards decency.”

I clenched my jaw, blinking hard to keep the tears at bay. “You won’t win. I’ll tell someone.”

“And admit the video’s real?” she asked sweetly. “That you broke university policy, slept with a professor, and used it to boost your career? You’ll go down with him. And don’t pretend you can live with that.”

She was right.

And she knew it.

She leaned in, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear, her hand lingering on my skin. “Make the right choice, Willow. Protect what’s left of your reputation. Protect him, too.”

I turned, doubled over, and vomited onto the ground. My body shook with every retch. The taste of bile filled my mouth, and shame burned in my skin.

Behind me, Mara sighed like I was being dramatic.

“Make the right choice, Willow,” she said as I wiped my mouth, hands shaking. “Step down. Quietly. Before you destroy everything.”

And with that, she walked away, her heels clicking against the pavement.

I stayed crouched on the ground, hugging my knees, my breath ragged and shallow.

I didn’t know how long I stayed there.

But one thing was clear. My world had just split open.

Nothing would ever be the same again.