---- Chapter 3 The betrayal wasn't a clean break; it was a slow, festering wound. For days, Aracely walked through the campus like a ghost, the memory of Cayden' s text message branded into her mind. She thought about the countless times Cayden had "helped" her pick out an outfit for a date with Gage, subtly steering her toward something less flattering. She remembered the times Cayden had "forgotten" to pass on a message from him, causing arguments that always ended with Aracely apologizing. It had all been a calculated, long-term campaign of sabotage. The hurt was deep, but beneath it, something else was taking root: a cold, hard resolve. She had wasted enough time and tears on Gage Barton and Cayden Padilla. They had taken her love and her friendship and twisted them into weapons against her. They would not take her future. She threw herself into her thesis with a ferocity that bordered on obsession. Her topic was a complex analysis of emerging market economies, a subject that made most undergraduates ' eyes glaze over. But for Aracely, the intricate data sets and economic models were a sanctuary. They were logical. They followed rules. They couldn't lie or betray her. This thesis wasn't just an academic requirement; it was her magnum opus, the key that would unlock a door to a Ph.D. program at an Ivy League school, a world far away from Westbrook ---- University and its petty tyrants. One afternoon, sitting in a packed lecture hall for an elective on ethical governance, she found an unlikely source of inspiration. The guest lecturer was Professor Eldridge Patterson. He was young for a full professor, with a quiet intensity that commanded the room more effectively than any booming voice ever could. He was also, as campus gossip had long established, Gage Barton's older, more reclusive cousin. Where the Bartons were new money, loud and insecure, the Pattersons were old money, so established they had no need for ostentation. Eldridge Patterson possessed an easy confidence that Gage could only imitate with bluster. He spoke with a clarity and passion that made the dry subject matter fascinating. At the end of the lecture, he posed a complex hypothetical question to the hall. A heavy silence fell. Students shuffled their feet and avoided his gaze. Aracely' s heart began to pound. She knew the answer. It connected directly to a niche theory she had researched for her thesis. Hesitantly, she raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Adkins," Professor Patterson said, his eyes finding hers. He knew her name. She stood and delivered her answer, her voice gaining strength and confidence as she laid out her reasoning. When she finished, the hall was silent for a beat, and then the professor smiled. It was a small, genuine smile of pure ---- intellectual appreciation. "That," he said, his gaze still fixed on her, "is exactly right. A brilliant analysis." For the first time in weeks, Aracely felt a warmth spread through her chest that had nothing to do with shame or anger. It was the feeling of being seen, not as Gage Barton's girlfriend, but as herself. Fueled by that small moment of validation, she worked tirelessly. The thesis grew, chapter by chapter, becoming a formidable piece of academic work. It was the best thing she had ever written. Her escape was so close she could taste it. One evening, deep in the library's quietest corner, she decided to take a short break. Her back ached, and her eyes were burning from staring at the screen for hours. She packed up most of her things but left her laptop, logged in and open to her thesis draft, while she went to the small café downstairs for a coffee. She was only gone for ten minutes. When she returned, her coffee in hand, she sat down and looked at her screen. Everything seemed normal. But when she moved the mouse, the document blinked. The page count at the bottom read: 1 of 1. Her blood ran cold. She frantically scrolled. Nothing. One hundred and twelve pages of research, analysis, and writing-gone. Vanished. She checked the backups. The cloud save. The external hard drive. ---- Every file was corrupted. Wiped clean with a brutal, deliberate efficiency. It was a digital assassination. A gaping black hole where her future used to be. And she knew, with a certainty that settled like ice in her stomach, who had pulled the trigger. In "A Relationship Kept in The Dark" by CrushReel, the storyline unfolds as renowned photographer Jane finds herself drawn to the charismatic rookie model, Hector. Little does she know that Hector harbors a secret—he is actually the heir to a powerful business empire. As their romance blossoms, Hector grapples with concealing his true identity to capture Jane's heart. 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