Chapter 66 Return to Alma Mater Together
My expression hardened as I waited silently for him to continue. If what Samuel asked crossed my personal boundaries or violated my principles, I'd rather find another way.
Samuel caught my serious demeanor and waved a hand dismissively. "Relax. Don't forget—you stood me up yesterday. Today, no matter what, you're making it up to me."
I froze for a moment, then the corner of my lips curved upward slightly. A hint of guilt crossed my face. "Sorry, that was on me yesterday."
The knot in my chest loosened. All he wanted was for me to accompany him back to our alma mater? That I could handle.
Samuel smiled. "What, did you think I'd actually make things difficult for you?"
Guilt pricked at my conscience. I kept my head down, focusing on my food, unable to meet his eyes.
"Catherine, I've never forgotten our high school bond." Samuel's tone carried a wistful note.
I could feel his gaze fixed on me, but I didn't have the courage to look up and meet it. I was afraid my resolve would crumble. Back then, helping him was simply a matter of seeing someone in a similar situation and feeling compassion.
I heard Samuel let out a resigned laugh. "Take it easy. Right now, we're just ordinary friends."
I quickly seized the out and changed the subject.
Afterward, I followed Samuel back to our alma mater. Walking down the familiar tree-lined path, unpleasant memories surfaced unbidden in my mind. On the surface, I maintained my composure.
"Samuel, what made you decide to come back here as a professor?" With his gift for physics, he could've gone much further in research.
Samuel lowered his gaze. "I have my own selfish reasons."
I shot him a questioning look. Unfortunately, our eyes met just as he looked up. His eyes held unmistakable affection, but as my brows furrowed slightly, it dissipated, replaced by calm.
Something uncomfortable twisted in my chest. In my past life, I'd never been anyone's exception. I'd desperately tried to please the four brothers of the Rosewood family, only to end up thrown out and dying miserably on the streets. This life... I suppressed the thoughts I shouldn't entertain.
I heard Samuel continue, "After I went abroad, I changed my contact information. It took some digging through old classmates to find out you were attending university here. I didn't know anyone abroad back then, so I told myself—I had to make my way back to you, until you'd see me."
His words carried an unspoken meaning. I pretended not to understand.
"Good thing you didn't change yours, so I could reach you right away when I got back." Relief saturated his tone, along with a trace of quietly fading anxiety. Perhaps he'd feared that the person he'd thought about for years might have deleted him from her contacts after so long without communication.
For a moment, I had no idea what to say. Anything I said would feel inappropriate. After all, I wasn't ready to reciprocate his feelings.
Samuel broke the awkward silence. "What about you? How've these years been for you here? I'd planned to return as an associate professor and impress you, but I lost track of time. By the time I got back, you'd already graduated." He laughed self-deprecatingly.
"You're already incredible." My tone turned serious. "You really did impress me."
"Really?" Samuel's smile was restrained, no longer boyish but tinged with mature masculine charm.
I confirmed again, then added, "Sabrina got into this school too, in the same year as me. So these years haven't exactly been happy for me."
Samuel's brow furrowed slightly. "Want to talk about it?"
I was more than willing to confide in him. Knowing more about the situation between Sabrina and me would help his investigation. After all, once something takes on a personal dimension, no one can resist digging deeper.
A sudden wave of self-loathing washed over me. I was exploiting Samuel's goodwill toward me. Then again, hadn't Sabrina been using the four Rosewood brothers all these years to get everything she wanted?
I fell silent. Apparently, without realizing it, I'd become exactly what I used to despise. But there was a fundamental difference between Sabrina and me—I'd never intended to hurt anyone.
I told Samuel about how Sabrina had framed me for stealing her designs. I also mentioned that I'd cut ties with the Rosewood family.
Samuel's expression darkened. When I mentioned cutting ties with the Rosewood family, something seemed to click. He stared at me intently.
I suspected Samuel had similar thoughts. "Samuel, your situation isn't the same as mine."
His lips twisted into a forced smile. "Yeah, not the same." The Brown family might be awful, but they could still be useful to him. The Rosewood family, on the other hand, would gladly drain me dry to improve Sabrina's chances of survival.
Samuel's expression turned grave. He stopped walking and looked at me seriously. "Catherine, I'll do everything I can to help you. Whatever trouble you run into, you can come to me. I'd be happy to help. Just like..." Samuel smiled, deliberately drawing out his words, "you helped me back then."
Mission accomplished. Yet I didn't feel as relieved as I'd imagined. But since he'd put it that way...
"There is actually one more thing I need your help with." I spoke openly. "One of my brothers, Jason, is a photographer. I heard the Brown family has extensive connections in the art world. I was hoping you could keep tabs on him for me."
Who would've thought the artsy Brown family would produce a physics prodigy? Those had been Samuel's exact words years ago. And precisely because of that, his parents had never liked him—simply because Samuel couldn't inherit the legacy they were so proud of.
My reason for monitoring Jason was simple. Completely exposing Sabrina's true colors wouldn't happen overnight, so I had to take them down one by one. Only by making the four brothers doubt Sabrina would I have a chance at successful revenge.
Samuel agreed. As for his methods, I had no idea.
In the evening, we grabbed a simple meal at the school cafeteria. Samuel drove me back to my rental, following my directions to park downstairs.
"Catherine, haven't you thought about finding a better place?" Samuel frowned, critically surveying the surroundings.
I could tell he wasn't pleased with where I lived. From the outside, it was old, rundown, and cramped. But I'd chosen it for a reason, and I didn't hide it from Samuel. "It's far from the Rosewood family. Makes it a hassle for them to track me down."
It had deflected plenty of unwanted visits.
At that, Samuel's expression softened slightly. I was about to say goodbye when a car pulled up and stopped right next to us.
I glanced at it—it looked familiar. When the driver got out, my heart skipped a beat, and inexplicable panic seized me.
"Nicholas, just getting back?" Samuel had spotted the newcomer too.
"He lives here too?"