The Scientist He Erased Returns

Clevel

pulled me sharply, dragging me away from the stunned audience, aw

I clawed at his hand, but he held me fast, propelling me

s eyes, usually so expressionless, were now alight with a cold, desperate

g my vision. "You stole my work! You humiliated me! You reduced a d

ntense, unsettling. His jaw

crushed against mine. A desperate, silencing kiss. His hand, no long

rutal, possessive press that tasted of desperation and manipulation. He wasn't kissing me out of de

o immense, so absolute, it threatened to consume me. He had used my body, my past affec

searing crack echoed in the silent corridor. My palm c

. His eyes, when they met mine again, were wide wit

. They were tears of pure, unadulterated disgust. "You are despicable, Alston Scott," I c

cheek, his eyes unfocused. He looked utterly bewild

ling like lead. I walked away, leaving him standing there amid

ne. This was the end. The absolute, unalterable end

single line of code, every experimental log, every preliminary finding related to the advanced polymer composites. Erased. If they wanted to s

e duffel bag, and hailed a taxi. The airport.

ked. Kiara's. Blocked. My mother's, my father's, Jamie's.

s. Ten years of loving a ghost. Ten years of sacrificing myself for a man who saw me as an in

inst the seat as the plane taxied down the runway, then lifted into the sky. Below, t