Chapter 40: The Price of a Secret

Olivia sat frozen on the ground, one hand pressed against her stomach as she struggled to breathe through the pain.

Her face was ghostly pale.

A few minutes ago, she had been furious.

Now, she was terrified.

The photographs.

That was all she could think about.

If Jason really released those photographs, everything she had spent years building could come crashing down in an instant.

Her reputation.

Her academic future.

Her carefully cultivated image.

Everything.

Olivia had always thought of herself as a woman who had beaten the odds. She had convinced herself that she was different from everyone else—that she was clever enough to use the system instead of allowing the system to use her.

She called it independence.

She called it survival.

She called it awakening.

In her mind, she wasn’t someone who had compromised herself for opportunities. She was a woman who had learned how the world worked and had refused to remain at the bottom.

She had dreams, too.

Big ones.

She imagined herself rising through academia, becoming a respected scholar, eventually earning a prestigious professorship and enjoying the influence and admiration that came with it.

Sometimes, when she allowed herself to dream far enough into the future, she imagined founding her own university.

A university run entirely by women.

A place where men would have no authority over anyone.

She had even joked to herself that the men could be left with the jobs nobody else wanted.

That fantasy had always made her smile.

But now?

One photograph could destroy it all.

If those pictures reached her professors, her classmates, or the public, nobody would care about her carefully prepared explanations.

They would see the photographs first.

They would judge her first.

And once the rumors began spreading, she knew how difficult it would be to stop them.

Her stomach twisted.

"No..."

Her lips trembled.

"What am I going to do?"

Jason watched her silently.

There was no sympathy in his eyes.

Only coldness.

"What happened?" he asked quietly. "You were very confident a moment ago."

Olivia looked up.

"You said the photographs were fake."

His voice carried a faint edge of mockery.

"Why aren’t you calling them fake anymore?"

Her body jolted.

Tears gathered in her eyes.

She slowly lifted her head.

Her makeup had been ruined completely. Tears had streaked down her cheeks, leaving dark trails beneath her eyes, while loose strands of hair clung to her damp face.

For the first time, the confident woman who always seemed to have an answer for everything looked completely lost.

Olivia swallowed hard.

She had to think.

Jason was her only way out.

If she could make him forgive her, everything could still be saved.

She pushed herself up with trembling hands and crawled a little closer.

"Jason..."

Her voice broke.

"Please..."

She wiped at her cheeks, but more tears immediately followed.

"I know I was wrong."

Jason said nothing.

Olivia’s breathing became uneven.

"Please, just let me go."

She forced herself closer, humiliation burning through her.

"I’ll do anything."

Jason looked down at her without expression.

Olivia lowered her voice.

"If you let me go, I’ll stay with you. I’ll do whatever you want. You can call me whenever you want. I’ll always be there."

The words tasted bitter.

Every syllable felt like swallowing glass.

But she didn’t care.

Not anymore.

Her reputation was worth more than her pride.

If she could survive today, she could always find another opportunity to deal with Jason later.

Jason’s expression hardened.

A quiet disgust settled in his eyes.

"That’s what you’ve become?"

Olivia froze.

"You spent all that time calling yourself independent. You talked about never needing anyone."

His gaze swept over her.

"And now you’re begging a man to save you."

Olivia’s face went white.

"You’re disgusting."

The words hit harder than the pain in her stomach.

Jason shook his head.

"You built your entire identity around being some strong, independent woman. Yet the moment your future is threatened, you’re willing to throw all of that away."

Olivia’s lips trembled.

"It’s not like that."

"Oh?"

Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Then explain it."

She opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

After a few seconds, she hurriedly searched for another explanation.

"I didn’t want any of this."

Her voice cracked.

"Professor Whitlock..."

She stopped.

Then her expression changed.

An idea had appeared.

"I was forced."

Jason’s eyes narrowed.

Olivia immediately seized upon the lie.

"Yes."

She nodded rapidly.

"That’s what happened."

Her voice became more convincing with every sentence, as though she were trying to convince herself as much as him.

"Professor Whitlock was my academic advisor. He took advantage of that position. He pressured me. He threatened me."

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I couldn’t fight him."

She covered her face.

"I was scared."

Jason stared at her.

Olivia peeked through her fingers.

"I really was."

She lowered her hands slowly.

"Please believe me."

For a moment, the garden was completely silent.

Then Jason gave a short, humorless laugh.

"You really are something."

Olivia’s heart sank.

"I love you, Jason."

She said it desperately.

"I always have."

Jason’s expression didn’t change.

"Stop."

"I mean it!"

"You’re lying."

"No!"

Olivia shook her head violently.

"I love you. I just made mistakes."

Jason stared at her.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that?"

She nodded desperately.

"Yes."

Her voice trembled.

"I do."

Jason almost laughed again.

He couldn’t believe how easily she could rewrite reality whenever it suited her.

When she wanted something, she was independent.

When she needed something, she was a victim.

When she wanted forgiveness, she was suddenly in love.

Every version of Olivia seemed to exist for one purpose—to get whatever she wanted.

Jason felt a bitter ache in his chest.

His former self had once loved this woman.

He had sacrificed everything for her.

Money.

Time.

Dignity.

Even his relationship with his own family had suffered because of her.

And what had he received in return?

Betrayal.

Humiliation.

And ultimately, the loss of his mother.

He thought of Zara.

If Zara hadn’t been there in his previous life, desperately trying to keep him from destroying himself after everything fell apart, he might have crossed a line he could never have returned from.

Jason’s eyes turned colder.

"You really think I still care about you?"

Olivia’s face stiffened.

"You used to."

"I used to be an idiot."

The answer was immediate.

Olivia’s breathing stopped for a second.

Jason stepped closer.

"I wasted years chasing someone who never respected me."

He looked directly into her eyes.

"That mistake ends today."

Olivia’s heart began pounding.

"No..."

She struggled to stand.

"Jason, please."

She reached toward him.

He stepped backward, leaving her hand grasping at empty air.

Olivia’s eyes filled with panic.

"Please don’t do this."

Jason’s voice remained calm.

"You should have thought about that before you decided to destroy everything between us."

"I didn’t!"

"You did."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out another photograph.

Olivia’s eyes immediately locked onto it.

Her blood ran cold.

"No..."

Jason held it between two fingers.

"This is only one of them."

Olivia stared at the photograph.

She recognized the hotel.

She recognized herself.

And she recognized Professor Malcolm Whitlock.

Her legs nearly gave out.

"That..."

Her voice barely came out.

"That isn’t real."

Jason slowly produced another photograph.

"And this one?"

Olivia’s lips began to tremble.

"It’s fake."

Another photograph.

"Fake."

Another.

"Fake."

Her voice became louder.

"I said they’re fake!"

She suddenly lunged toward him.

Jason moved the photographs out of reach.

"Don’t."

Olivia stopped.

Her eyes were wild.

"You can’t release those."

Jason looked at her.

"Why not?"

"Because..."

She couldn’t finish.

Because everyone would know.

Because her academic career would be over.

Because the life she had imagined would disappear.

Because she would become a joke.

A scandal.

A warning whispered between students.

Her carefully constructed future would be gone.

Jason watched the realization settle over her face.

"You understand now."

Olivia slowly sank back to the ground.

Her shoulders shook.

For several seconds, she said nothing.

Then she whispered:

"Please..."

Jason remained silent.

"Please, Jason."

She lowered her head.

"I’ll change."

Her voice was barely audible.

"I’ll give you the money back."

Jason looked at her.

"All of it?"

"Yes."

"Fifty thousand?"

"Yes."

She nodded quickly.

"I’ll give you everything."

Jason’s expression remained cold.

"You should have done that before."

"I know."

"You didn’t."

"I know."

Her tears fell onto the pavement.

"I was wrong."

Jason studied her for a long moment.

He could see the fear in her eyes.

But he could also see something else.

Regret.

Not regret for what she had done.

Regret that she had been caught.

That distinction mattered.

Olivia slowly raised her head.

"Jason..."

Her voice broke.

"Please give me one last chance."

Jason said nothing.

She clasped her hands together.

"I’ll never betray you again."

A long silence followed.

Then Jason finally spoke.

"It’s too late."

Olivia’s face collapsed.

"No..."

She shook her head.

"Please."

Jason turned away.

Behind him, Olivia remained on the ground, trembling as the last fragments of confidence drained from her.

For the first time, she understood something she had never considered before.

Jason wasn’t coming back.

The man she had once controlled was gone.

And the person standing in front of her now had no intention of becoming that man again.