Only Eustace leaned against Sabina's shoulder, flashing me a smug grin.
In that moment, the sound of my heart shattering was as crisp as porcelain breaking against stone.
...
There was a time when Sabina had protected me the same way she now protected Eustace.
Back when those untouchable socialite princesses had cornered me, trying to force me to accept their confessions.
She hadn't hesitated. She'd charged out and planted herself in front of me, her thin frame squared against all of them, telling them to get lost.
She'd grabbed my wrist and pulled me through their circle, breaking us free.
Later, I found out those girls had held a grudge against her for it. They'd made her life miserable.
I tracked her down with red-rimmed eyes to apologize. She wiped her tears, then smiled.
"It's fine. I just couldn't stand watching my prince charming get pushed around like that."
The girl who once called me her prince charming. The girl who worried about me at every turn.
Now she could ignore my pain entirely for the sake of another man.
When exactly had Eustace wedged himself between us?
Maybe it started the day he became Sabina's graduate student.
She'd mention him in conversation, saying he reminded her of her younger self.
But the look in her eyes was pure adoration.
Or maybe it was that night he called Sabina, claiming some rich girl on campus had cornered him and was forcing him to date her.
Sabina, always so composed and rational, had lost her mind. She'd gone after the girl with her fists.
When I went to bail her out, I saw the bruises swelling across her cheek, and for the first time, I tasted bitterness.
She explained it to me:
"Stephen, when I heard what happened to him, I thought of how those girls used to corner you, and I just... snapped."
But...
When I'd been the one trapped in that exact situation, all she'd done was take my hand and walk me away.
...
By the time I woke up, I was already in the hospital.
The doctor told me with visible concern that it was a good thing I'd been brought in quickly. I'd hit the back of my head in the fall. There was bleeding in my brain. A little longer, and I might never have woken up.
I thanked him quietly, had my wounds treated, and left.
The moment I reached the ground floor of my building, several people with ugly expressions surrounded me.
"You're that scumbag from the internet, aren't you?"
"Looks decent enough on the outside, but rotten to the core. Heard you got jealous because a student was better than you, so you hired thugs to rough up a kid. Absolutely disgusting! You nearly ruined his entire life!"
They rushed me. Fists and feet came from every direction.
"You like hiring people to mess with others? Today we'll give you a taste of your own medicine! Strip him and dump him on the street so he knows what humiliation feels like!"
I screamed in desperation, stumbling backward, but they tore my clothes apart and left bruises twisted across my skin.
It wasn't until the building's security guard arrived and called the police that they scattered.
I knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
The guard stood over me, looking down with contempt.
"You had it coming. Who told you to be cruel enough to bully an innocent kid?"
My head snapped up, my voice shaking.
"What did you just say?"
The guard scoffed and walked away.
My head exploded with a deafening ring.
I scrambled for my phone and started scrolling.
Sure enough, I found a public statement Sabina had posted.
"I'm sorry to take up everyone's attention with this, but regarding the accusations that I coerced a male student, it was all a misunderstanding. My ex, Stephen Fox, hired thugs to attack my student out of jealousy, destroying his reputation so badly that his family is forcing him to drop out and go back to his hometown to marry a widow!"
"I took the blame and stepped forward to shield my ex because I was too soft-hearted, trying to protect both him and my student. But I never expected his attitude to be so vile. Not only did he refuse to show remorse, he escalated things further. So I've decided to reveal the truth."
