What She Broke

I froze where I stood.

Right in front of me, Andrew pulled Sheila into his arms, his eyes full of concern. He gently wiped away her tears and spoke in a soft, soothing voice.

"Don't be scared. I'm here. No one's going to hurt you."

Then, he looked up at me and snapped, "Rose, apologize to Sheila."

His gaze was calm, almost icy. It felt like an invisible hand had grabbed my heart and was squeezing the life out of it.

Sheila curled her lips into a faint smile, looking at me like she had just won.

I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles hurt. I stared at Andrew, unwilling to believe what I had just heard.

"What… What did you say?"

"I said, apologize to Sheila."

There was a trace of impatience in his voice.

"It's just a small experiment. Is it really worth making such a big deal over it? Sheila meant well. Is this how you repay her kindness?"

Each word felt like a blade sinking into my chest.

Andrew, of all people, knew exactly how much I had sacrificed for the experiment.

However, he stood there, watching someone destroy it, and still chose to defend Sheila, the one responsible for everything.

That was not the first time. He had previously sided with her at work. We had argued about it more than once.

Every time, he would explain it away, saying Sheila was young, that she reminded him of himself when he was just an intern and did not know anything. He said he just wanted to look out for her.

Even though I had always felt something was off about that explanation, I trusted him. We had years of history together.

However, at that moment, I finally understood how wrong I had been.

I could not hold it in anymore. I rushed forward and snatched my phone back.

"Why should a single 'accident' be enough to destroy everything I've worked for? This is my experiment, my paper, my future! I'm calling the police. She should be arrested!"

Perhaps my reaction was too intense, because even the senior staff started trying to calm me down.

"Rose, we know this experiment is important to you, but no matter how important it is, it's not more important than a person, right?"

"If this turns into a police case, how is Sheila supposed to face anyone in the future?"

"Look, we can give you more time. Just redo the experiment."

'Redo it?' I thought.

I almost laughed.

If success was that easy, lupus would not still have been one of the diseases that could not be cured. As I listened to them plead on her behalf, I finally understood.

Every single one of them was there to protect Sheila. The reason was simple.

They all knew who Andrew was. He was the lab's investor, as well as the heir to the Smith family.

If he wanted to protect someone, the entire institute would fall in line.

However, if Andrew knew that the person he was trying so hard to protect was the one who had destroyed his only chance at a cure, what would he do then?

The air grew tense.

The way everyone looked at me was full of judgment. Meanwhile, the satisfaction in Sheila's eyes was impossible to hide.

Andrew walked over to me slowly and patted my shoulder.

"Alright, Rose. This experiment was taking up too much of your time anyway. Maybe this is a good chance for you to get some rest.

"After we get married, you'll have more energy to take care of me."

Andrew and I were supposed to get married at the end of the year. That experiment was meant to be my wedding gift to him.

However, there was nothing left.

I let out an icy laugh and pushed his hand away.

"Mr. Smith, your wedding gift should go to someone else. I don't think I'm worthy of it."