Chapter 25: The One They Left Behind

Hearing Sierra’s words, the students stiffened but quickly doubled down. “You must’ve bullied her. Otherwise, why would Denise be crying?” “And why does she look so scared?”

Sierra let out a short laugh and didn’t bother arguing. Instead, she took out her phone, pressed play, and let the room fill with the recording of her conversation with Denise just moments ago. Denise’s face changed slightly. She hadn’t expected Sierra to do that. As the others listened, the room fell into brief silence. From the recording, Sierra hadn’t actually done anything to Denise.

But someone still insisted, “It’s still your fault. Denise skipped her meal because she was waiting for you.”

Sierra almost laughed out loud. “Did I tell her not to eat? She had time to wait for me, but not to eat?” Some students finally fell silent, but a few were still stubborn. “Denise meant well.” “So I should have given her my bread? That would have been the right thing to do, huh?” “If I don’t, I’ve committed some kind of crime, is that it?”

Even the most vocal ones had nothing to say to that. Sierra turned her attention to Evan, a cold smile on her lips. “As for why she’s scared, I think Mr. Evan already knows.” They were all so eager to call someone a murderer, but they had no idea the person they were talking about was their beloved campus sweetheart.

Evan, on the other hand, did know. His expression darkened, and he shot Sierra a warning glare, silently telling her to drop it. An awkward tension settled over the room, but Denise suddenly burst into tears. “Please don’t fight. Don’t argue because of me. It’s all my fault. I wasn’t thinking… I just said it without meaning anything.”

People always sympathized with the weak, especially when the weak happened to be beautiful. Compared to Sierra, who carried herself with intimidating strength, everyone naturally chose to side with Denise. The momentary silence vanished, and the students started shouting again, as if they’d been re-energized. “No matter what, we don’t want to be in the same class as a murderer.” “Mr. Evan, please, transfer her out.” “Yes, transfer her! Get her out of here!” Dozens of voices filled the room, pushing for the same outcome.

Sierra turned to Evan, her tone mocking. “Mr. Evan, did you hear that? They don’t want to share a class with a murderer. What should we do?”

Evan pressed his lips together, saying nothing. He simply stared at Sierra, finding the smile on her face strangely irritating. They both knew who the real murderer was. Afraid she would say it out loud, Evan quickly spoke first. “Sierra, I’ll help you transfer back to your old major.” “This field doesn’t suit you anyway. And as you can see, your classmates don’t want you here.”

Sierra stared at him coldly. So that was it. She was being abandoned again. All that talk about family, about guilt, about how they owed her—lies. They said the right things, but when it mattered, she was always the one they cast aside. Did they really think she was that easy to push around?

Just as she was about to speak, another voice cut through the noise. “Why should she transfer?” “If you all don’t want to be in the same class as her, you’re free to apply for a group transfer.”

Sierra looked up and saw Jonathan standing at the classroom door. She hadn’t even noticed when he arrived. He had clearly heard everything and was watching Evan with open disdain. “Mr. Evan, don’t you think you’re spoiling them a little too much?” “And if Sierra switches majors but still gets ostracized, what will you do then? Have her drop out entirely?”

Evan’s face tensed, a flash of embarrassment crossing his features. He hadn’t thought that far. He had only been focused on resolving the immediate situation, making sure Denise wasn’t upset. He hadn’t considered what Sierra would have to endure because of it. In the end, he wasn’t any different from the people who had bullied her in prison. He turned back to Sierra, but his expression didn’t even hold disappointment—just pure disgust. When she noticed him looking, she simply averted her gaze, as if she couldn’t even be bothered.

“…That’s not what I meant, Mr. Yeager…” Denise, who had been silent for a while, quickly spoke up. Jonathan didn’t even let her finish. He turned to the students and scoffed. “I didn’t realize you all had studied law. Throwing around the word ‘murderer’ like you’re judges in a courtroom. Impressive.”