Chapter 13
Ethan wasn’t lying about pulling an all–nighter in the lab.
The project had been approved, but the timeline was brutal.
We were gonna have to bust our asses to meet the deadline.
Basically, it meant babysitting the centrifuge all night.
Same procedure, over and over.
An hour or so in, Ethan motioned me out of the lab with this secretive look.
What he brought out?
A bag of fried chicken.
“Figured you barely touched dinner.”
“I ordered you something.”
“Let the undergrads take over for a while. Eat first, then we go back in.”
I laughed. “Split it with them. I’m good.”
He shook his head. “Already ordered theirs. It’s not here yet.”
With that, I couldn’t say no.
We squatted in the hallway just outside the lab, sharing fried chicken like a couple of grad
students again.
Food wasn’t allowed in the lab, so back in school, this was our trick–sneak dinner in the
hall.
Every single time, our advisor would catch us red–handed.
Ethan had been there too.
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He Cheated. 1 Left. Now He’s Crying Outside My Lab
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Chapter 13
We bonded over the shared trauma of late–night lab grinds and empty stomachs.
We laughed.
Reminisced more.
Until a pair of dress shoes stepped into view, cutting through the warmth like a blade.
Alexander.
He held out a thermal container, gently offering it to me.
“You didn’t eat much earlier. You’ll get stomach pains.”
So… he remembered.
Back in those early lab days, I’d skip meals constantly.
Eventually, it wrecked my digestion.
When we were dating, he used to rub my stomach after every late night.
“I already ate. Take it back.”
Alexander tensed.
“Do you have to push me away like this?”
“Can’t you just give me a chance?”
I shook my head.
Ethan stood up, looked him up and down like he was sizing him for a fight.
“Dude. Man to man? Cut the dramatic speech.”
“I’ve heard every excuse in the playbook.”
“If she gave you a hundred chances, you still blew them all.”
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He Cheated. I Left. Now He’s Crying Outside My Lab
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Chapter 13
“So do everyone a favor–leave. Or I’ll call campus security.”
“This is a closed lab. If my research data leaks because of unauthorized visitors-”
That last part? Definitely a threat.
Alexander might have had ways to get in, but Ethan wasn’t messing around either.
That kind of mess would be trouble for everyone.
Alexander gave me one last look. Reluctant. Regretful.
But he turned and left.
Ethan smiled and opened his arms like a goofy big brother.
“Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, no one’s messing with you.”
He ruffled my hair, gentle and light.
“Professor Foster personally asked me to keep an eye on you. You’re his favorite.”
“And as his top student, there’s no way I’m letting you get hurt.”
Right then, I lost it.
Tears just spilled over.
Because in that moment…
I felt like I had a home again.
The divorce hearing happened two weeks later.
I pushed hard for it, and finally, I had the papers in hand.
The weight lifted.
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He Cheated. 1 Left. Now He’s Crying Outside My Lab
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Chapter 13
I knew Alexander had been showing up outside the lab every day.
Waiting.
But I never went out to see him. Not once.
Holding that divorce certificate felt like freedom.
He still tried.
Followed me out of the courthouse, one last shot at winning me back.
But Ethan pulled up right outside in his car.
He was dressed ridiculously flashy–said it was to celebrate my “single and fabulous” status.
“If we don’t leave now, we’re gonna miss the flight!”
Alexander froze.
“You’re going somewhere?”
“Not your concern anymore, is it?”
Truthfully, Ethan and I were just going on a field study trip.
But I didn’t feel like explaining.
I climbed into his car, and the speakers were playing some chill throwback from the ‘90s.
In the rearview mirror, I saw Alexander standing behind us.
Fading into the background.
And I?
I was headed somewhere far, far away.
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