Chapter 4

4: 4

4

"Hmph. You, some girl fresh out of the countryside. Who in D.C. would even know you? You don't even bother thinking your lies through anymore."

When he saw I wouldn't budge, he took Noreen by the arm and walked off, slowing his steps on purpose, waiting for me to come begging.

But the moment they turned around, an army-green car pulled up and took me away.

"Oh, that person in the car looks so much like Beulah."

Julius glanced over, caught only a blurred profile, took one look at the car, and dismissed the thought at once.

"What kind of car is that? She'd never have the standing to ride in something like that. She's just playing hard to get again, thinking I'll come running after her."

Still, he scanned the whole area anyway. One look took it all in, nowhere to hide. Thinking of that familiar profile, he decided it wasn't possible. He was reading too much into it.

He couldn't even guess why I would be in D.C. Somewhere deep down, though, there was a faint unease, and he didn't know where it came from.

"Miss Gilbert, when you gave up your spot back then, we all thought it was such a shame. Thank goodness you came to your senses."

"I'm sorry, Dean. I wasn't thinking clearly."

"It's not too late at all. We'll process your enrollment ahead of schedule right away, so there's no chance of changing your mind."

The dean was afraid of losing a talent like this, afraid I would back out again, and he rushed to lock it all in.

The only thing I turned down was when he offered to have me stay on campus so I could take part in the research more easily.

It wasn't that I didn't want to. It was that that man wouldn't have it. He'd said that if I lived at the school, he'd make me late every single day, and he was a man of his word. In the end, when the dean learned I was married, he said nothing more.

Julius had already moved into quarters at the factory. As the only college student there, the boss gave him the best treatment, and even said that in a month he'd take over as foreman.

He was waiting for me to bow my head, but I never showed up at all, as if seeing me at the train station that day had only been an illusion.

Given my temper, I should have come to make a scene at the factory long ago.

It wasn't until the first day of school that we ran into each other, right outside the gates of Kingsford University.

"What are you doing here? No wonder you never came to the factory to make a scene. So you were waiting to catch me here instead. You really are vicious."

I ignored the fury all over his face and stepped back twice.

"You're reading too much into it."

"You can't have me, so you won't let me live in peace, is that it?"

"I already told you, you're reading too much into it. I have somewhere to be."

Watching me head for the gate, he grabbed me and pulled me off to the side, and this time he couldn't keep his voice down.

"What do you actually want? Dragging this out until everyone knows. I've already signed the divorce papers. I worked so hard to get into college, and you won't rest until you've ruined me, is that it?"

The people around us were all looking at me with contempt in their eyes.

"I'm not here for you. I'm here to register."

He suddenly remembered that I'd taken the college admissions exam too, and then he laughed out loud.

"Did you forget? You scored dead last."

Laughter broke out around us. This was the top school in the country, and someone who placed last coming here to register? Wasn't that a joke?

I shook his hand off and walked straight for the gate.

"Stop her. She's here to cause trouble."