06
As soon as she spotted me, Brielle rushed forward, her expression frantic.
12
“Elena, please! I’m begging you to let me off the hook! I really just trusted Silas, and I never meant to hurt you… You know I just graduated, and if I get expelled from the research team now, my future will be completely ruined!”
Her desperate pleas did little to tug at my heartstrings.
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Brielle had joined the research team six months ago, and from the start, she had been under Silas‘ wing, showing an unusual amount of hostility toward me.
At first, I even wondered if there was something more going on between them.
But soon it became clear that Brielle was more interested in setting up Silas with Nadia.
On multiple occasions, Silas had lied to me, claiming he needed to work on experimental data when he was actually with Nadia, and Brielle was always there to back him up.
Later, she openly gushed about Nadia in front of me, her dislike for me just as
pronounced.
I lowered my gaze, formulating my response.
“Give me a reason, making me willing to help you.”
As I softened, Brielle’s eyes lit up, and she quickly spilled a secret I had never known in either of my lives.
“Actually, Nadia is my cousin!”
When she saw the shock on my face, she went on.
It turned out her connection to Nadia was why she had gotten into the research team. Silas had given her a leg up because of it.
While I hadn’t known this before, it made me curious about something else.
“So, Nadia has been treating you well? By telling me this, you’re basically handing me dirt on Silas, aren’t you?”
To my surprise, a flash of jealousy and resentment crossed Brielle’s face at my words.
“Good to me? You have no idea! In front of Nadia, I’m just her lapdog! She helped me get into the research team, but I can’t even stand tall in front of her.
My parents are constantly humiliated because of her! If I get kicked out now, it won’t just ruin my reputation. My parents will never let me live it down!“
