Chapter 106

Ethan Sullivan's car idled outside Harvard University's southern gate.

The engine had just quieted when his window slid halfway down.

His slender fingers rested on the steering wheel. His gaze pierced through the campus gates toward distant lecture halls.

That birthmark festered like a thorn in his heart.

His phone screen flickered on and off. After three attempts, he finally sent the invitation.

"Ding—"

Evelyn Laurent's reply came swiftly, laced with familiar detachment.

Ethan stared at the question mark, his knuckles whitening. He could practically see her arched brow and mocking smirk.

When he typed his full name, his lips twisted in self-deprecation.

The rejection came instantly.

Only after promising "I won't take much of your time" did she reluctantly agree. Ethan's tense shoulders finally relaxed against the leather seat. The window reflected his faint smile.

"Professor Sullivan?"

A saccharine voice shattered the silence. Sophia Lowell approached, her diamond necklace glinting obnoxiously in the sunlight.

The Sullivan family heirloom.

Ethan's eyes turned glacial. His stare sliced across her throat like a blade. "Take it off."

Sophia pretended not to understand, adjusting the necklace deliberately. "But Mother said—"

"Last warning." The window descended fully, unleashing winter air. "Unless you want me to remove it myself."

Class bells chimed in the distance.

Evelyn appeared at the tree-lined path's end, her black hoodie accentuating porcelain skin. She kicked a stray pebble absently, glancing up just as Sophia fumbled with the necklace.

"Tch."

That derisive sound made Ethan whirl. Twenty meters away, the faint red mark behind Evelyn's ear burned into his vision.

Like a blooming rose.