Page 71 of See Me After Class

Between stolen kisses, she questioned me, her voice a husky thread. "Why me, Dr. Galbraith? Why choose this? Because from what I can deduce, you're making as much of a choice as I am."

Confessions rose to my lips, surprising me with how authentic they were. I… she was years younger and so immature, yet, she held everything I wanted. Was it because I couldn't have her in toto?

I sighed and relented.

"Because they are pale shadows compared to you," I admitted, tracing the line of her collarbone with the tip of my finger. "You are a force of nature, Dessie, a tempest in a teacup, and I wouldn't trade your chaos for all the serenity in the world."

Her smile was sad. "You sound like a lovesick poet, Dr. Galbraith," she murmured.

Perhaps that is true, I thought to myself.But my verse needs her.

No sonnet, no epic could capture the whirlwind that she was, but if she let me, I would chase all her storms.

What the hell is wrong with you, John?

I had no idea what I was doing, but the words were out of my mouth before I could quell the errant nature of their existence. "Give this a chance, Dessie."

Something happened, right at that moment. Her eyes gleamed for one quick minute, and then she was pushing me away.

"A chance," she breathed. "With just you, or all three of you?"

Honestly, it didn't matter.

"What do you want?"

"I want," she whispered, "you to stop lying." Her face had turned livid. "I want you to stop making promises that you can never, ever keep."

And then, Dessie turned and resumed running, only this time, I let her go.

I let her go because I had nothing to offer in response to what she had just said. There was nothing in me, nothing that could undo the torment within, because over all my years, rejection had been the only constant in my life.

It happened the one time I fell in love with a woman years ago. She rejected me because she thought work mattered more to me than any human would.

It happened when I didn't get into the college I was supposed to. An error in judgment, my father would later say. Didn't help the sting.

It happened when Oswald changed the whole trajectory of my life. He was my mentor before he lied and left me with more questions than answers.

A day came back to my mind. I sat in his office at the Institute, sifting through stacks of paperwork. But that day, files seemed misplaced, and crucial documents were missing. It was then I found the bank statements, or rather, the lack of them. The numbers didn't add up. The accounts that once held the Institute's vast resources were nearly empty.

Panic set in as I pieced together the puzzle. I recalled the last board meeting where Oswald seemed preoccupied, distracted. I thought back to the subtle hints he'd dropped about 'ensuring the Institute's future', which I had brushed off as his usual concern.

I immediately called our legal team. The office was soon abuzz with lawyers poring over documents, making calls. We discovered a series of unauthorized transactions and investments made in the months leading up to Oswald's death. Investments that were high-risk and completely out of character for a man known for his cautious approach.

As the legal implications began to unravel, it was clear we were dealing with a sophisticated case of embezzlement. The paperwork hinted at a web of offshore accounts and shell companies, a stark contrast to the transparent financial operations Oswald had championed.

The institute, Oswald's legacy, was in jeopardy, and I was at the center of this mess. The future of countless medical innovations and research projects hung in the balance.

To top it all off, my damned heart was, apparently, fine with getting shattered to smithereens once again.

I watched Dessie's form disappear until it was nothing but a fine line.

Leon and Viktor found me standing, rooted to the spot, thirty minutes later.

"Are you okay?" Leon asked.

Was I?

Would I ever be?

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