Chapter 9
Lucian’s hands trembled as he rummaged through the medicine bag. Flashbacks of what had happened before flickered in his mind. He finally found the pills and brought them over with a glass of water. Laney clenched her teeth and shook her head. “Professor, I’m pregnant. I shouldn’t take anything right now.”
“I’ll just take a nap.”
Lucian helped her to her feet. He started guiding her toward the master bedroom, but she gently pulled back. “I’ll sleep in the guest room. I… I don’t want Dr. Blake to be upset.”
She was right. Margot would be furious.
But what else could he do?
Lucian still regretted not stepping in when Margot had helped Laney land that overseas research fellowship.
She’d called Laney a promising student-someone who deserved more.
But Margot had forgotten something. Laney came from the poorest backwaters of Westover County. Even after excelling through undergrad and grad school, she was no match for kids born into cities. She always
looked like she didn’t quite belong.
Throwing someone like that into an elite foreign program? It was practically a death sentence.
But he hadn’t said a word.
Because Margot would’ve minded.
She never asked him directly about Laney. But he knew-knew she had her suspicions. Suspected that,
somewhere along the way, his heart had slipped.
Just for a moment. The second he caught himself seeing Laney as a younger Margot, he knew he was
screwed-and he backed off immediately.
But fate had other plans.
He’d started this mess-he couldn’t just turn his back on it now.
And Laney wasn’t Margot-she didn’t have the strength. If this had happened to Margot, she would’ve
handled it. She had him. She had her family.
But Laney? All she had were those backward, vicious relatives from Westover who wanted to drag her back
and lock her in a cellar for being “impure.”
And if Laney snapped and exposed everything after school started? Margot’s shot at becoming a tenured professor-gone.
He would wait until it was all over-until everything calmed down-and then explain everything to Margot.
Chapter 9
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She’d understand. She had to.
Laney finished vomiting. Her face was pale and clammy as she leaned on the doorframe.
“Where’s Dr. Blake?”
Lucian blinked, finally realizing Margot was gone. A flicker of unease rose in his chest-but he shoved it
down.
“Probably out buying groceries.”
“Go lie down in the guest room. I’ll go look for her.”
He turned toward the door, missing the flash of envy in Laney’s eyes.
As he rushed out, he accidentally knocked over a stack of papers on the entryway table. They scattered like
snow. Lucian bent to pick them up-then froze.
Laney sensed something was wrong. Her throat tightened.
“What’s wrong? Did she forget something? Should I bring it to her?”
Lucian turned. The warmth in his eyes was gone. Replaced by something cold. Violent.
She didn’t even have time to react before her phone buzzed violently and flew from her hand.
[BREAKING: Female grad student’s overseas abuse story exposed as elaborate scam to win over male
professor?]
[Shocking twist: Academic heartthrob’s ‘perfect marriage’ a lie-he stood by as wife was publicly humiliated!]
Notifications flooded the screen like a tidal wave. Drowning her.
