My Professor Framed Me For Her Death

Thea Mitchell holed up in her dorm room all night. By dawn, she was already slipping into the academic building, cap pulled low and sunglasses on, trying to stay off everyone’s radar. In her rush, she ran smack into another girl.

“Hey! Watch it! You got eyes or what?”

With her posse flanking her, Emma Snyder scowled and snatched the sunglasses right off Thea’s face.

“Well, well. Look who it is—the school’s not-so-innocent little darling.”

The realization hit Thea like a slap. She was face-to-face with Emma—Zhuri’s twin sister. Emma had been carrying a torch for Arthur Cooper for years, and after what happened to her sister, she’d made it her mission to oppose Thea at every turn. Almost no one knew about Thea and Arthur’s secret relationship. Emma was one of the few who did.

“What are you hiding in that bag, Thea?” Emma demanded, grabbing the strap of Thea’s backpack. Her voice was sugar-sweet and grating at the same time.

“What kind of paper is this? Got some dirty little secret, huh? You’d better hope this doesn’t spread.” Emma’s voice echoed down the hall, and Thea’s heart dropped. In her panic last night, she’d forgotten to hide her pregnancy report.

“Give that back!” Thea protested, but Emma just giggled, unfolded the report, and read it aloud with theatrical flair.

“Pregnant... three weeks?”

The hallway went dead silent. Emma’s mischievous grin vanished, replaced by something cold and vicious. A crowd began to gather, drawn to the drama, their mocking, judgmental voices ringing loud and clear in Thea’s ears.

Eyes brimming with tears, Thea snatched the report back and tried to run, but Emma and her crew dragged her into a restroom stall.

“You disgraceful tramp!” Emma spat, raising her hand and cracking Thea across the face.

“You think ruining my sister’s life wasn’t bad enough? Now you’re cozying up to Arthur? In your dreams!”

Thea staggered from the slap, her cheek burning as she slammed into the wall. Before she could even react, a bucket of ice-cold water was dumped over her head, soaking her to the bone. The cold ripped a shiver through her whole body.

Dazed, she was shoved to the floor. Her hair was pulled, her clothes yanked, insults hurled at her from every direction.

“Thank us for cleaning you up, since you’re so dirty!” Laughter erupted around her as Thea’s voice cracked from screaming.

On the verge of breaking down, without meaning to, she whispered, “Arthur Cooper...”

Those three words lit a fuse. She flinched, realizing her mistake, her face going pale. She stayed silent, forced to look up at the camera Emma was holding, drowning in shame and despair.

With a triumphant grin, Emma leaned in close to her ear. “Keep dreaming, sweetheart. Arthur isn’t coming to save you.”

“You ruined my sister’s life, and Arthur despises you for it,” she hissed, venom dripping from every word. “But me? I look just like her. And when he’s drunk, he’s lost control more than once.”

A chill settled deep in Thea’s heart, leaving her numb.

She didn’t know how long the abuse lasted, only that her consciousness began to slip, and through a distant fog, she heard a teacher on duty yelling. Finally, Emma and her friends backed off and left her alone.

Thea was taken to the infirmary and spent the night there. When she woke, a barrage of messages from Arthur awaited her. He warned that anyone who skipped class risked failing and jeopardizing graduation.

Despite everything, Thea hesitated. In the end, she bundled up and forced herself to go to class. The classroom was small, and by the time she arrived, only one seat was left—right in the middle.

With eyes on her like daggers, Thea made her way to the seat—only to find insults scrawled across the desk.

“Easy,” “Available,” “Open All Night”...

She hesitated, fighting back tears, when a box suddenly flew in from the front corner and spilled open. Out tumbled the maid outfit from the video, cards printed with humiliating photos of her, and disgusting notes full of lewd jokes.

Laughter exploded around her—vicious and unrestrained. Thea bit her lip until it bled, her eyes burning with humiliation.

At that moment, the classroom door swung open. Arthur Cooper walked in—with Emma at his side.

Standing at the podium, Arthur swept his gaze across the room. Then, without a flicker of hesitation, he addressed her:

“It’s class time, Thea Mitchell. Clear out your stuff and leave. Don’t disrupt the class.”