He Destroyed the Tenderly Nurtured Rose by His Own Hands

I had deceived Ethan.

I hadn't joined any project team; I was merely participating in a research competition.

From the day I applied for the exchange program, I had been planning to repay the nine years of kindness he had shown me.

However, all I had were my father's survivor benefits and memorial funds, which paled in comparison to what Ethan had spent on me.

For years, I had been working on a fireproof and explosion-proof suit, and my data was nearly complete.

I decided to use it for the competition.

If I could attract some companies to buy the patent, I would finally be able to repay him for everything.

After moving into the dorm, I only slept six hours a night, dedicating all my time to finalizing the data.

Finally, just two days before the competition, I left the lab and returned to the Hunter villa.

I needed to transfer all my data onto my custom computer for storage.

On the day of the competition, my suit was the last to be presented.

But as the data simulation of my fireproof suit appeared on the big screen, the judges frowned in unison.

"Emma, did you understand the competition rules before entering?" one judge asked.

"Of course," I replied, puzzled by their question.

But her next statement left me even more confused.

"If you understood, why are you using someone else's work in your entry?"

"I didn't use anyone else's work; this is my creation."

Instead of showing understanding, the judges' expressions grew more severe.

After a brief discussion with their staff, one judge projected content from her phone onto the screen—replacing my simulation with a post from three days ago by a blogger that mirrored my suit's data exactly.

"The evidence is right here, Emma. What do you have to say now?"

Shouts of anger erupted around me, but I couldn't believe this was happening.

I had tested those numbers tirelessly; how could anyone else know them?

Without proof, who would believe me?

Then it hit me—I had another USB drive containing the initial data for this project.

As my data grew larger, that drive had become insufficient, which is why I had abandoned it.

I quickly communicated with the judges and left the venue, taking a cab back to the Hunter villa.

But no matter where I searched, that USB drive was nowhere to be found.

As time passed, despair washed over me as I slumped to the floor.

Without that drive, there was no way to prove my innocence with just the refined data in hand—refined data that could easily be copied.

Calls from senior students flooded in; they were willing to vouch for me, but without evidence, who would believe them?

When Ethan finally returned home, it felt like a lifeline. I rushed over and grabbed his sleeve. "Ethan, my data has been stolen..."

Before I could finish, tears choked my voice.

A complex expression flickered across Ethan's face as he gently brushed my hand away. "You don't need those things. Even if you achieve nothing in life, out of respect for your father's memory, I will take care of you forever."

I stumbled back in shock; his words were unexpected and foreign.

In that moment, Ethan felt like a stranger to me.