Chapter 3

After a full minute of silence, Lily suddenly smiled.

There was something reckless in that smile, as though she was ready to take us both down.

“Go ahead. Post it.”

She stood and leaned close to my ear.

“You think people will believe you? They’ll just think you fabricated all this so-called evidence to frame me and get yourself off the hook for secretly filming me.”

“A sick creep, or a poor girl who was filmed without her consent. Who do you think they’ll believe?”

I had to admit she was right.

Public opinion was blind. So was sympathy.

Until I shook the label of “voyeur,” anything I said would sound like an excuse.

Julia looked at me anxiously. “Claire, don’t do anything rash. Everyone online is attacking you. Even if you post all this, they might not believe you…”

“Exactly.” Lily smiled smugly. “They’ll say you didn’t just secretly film me—you’re cyberbullying me too. Who do you think our adviser and the administration will protect? Me, or the ‘pervert’?”

My heart sank.

She was right.

The quickest way for the university to quiet things down would be to punish me, force me to apologize, and wait for the outrage to fade.

Lily had used public opinion to tie our fates together.

Either I swallowed the humiliation and accepted the blame.

Or I fought her to the bitter end, and we both faced disciplinary action.

And she was clearly betting I wouldn’t dare.

“Claire, delete the video and all that other crap. Then apologize to me on the confessions page.” She held out her hand, her tone leaving no room for argument. “Otherwise, don’t blame me for what happens.”

I looked at her face, twisted slightly by triumph, and suddenly felt exhausted by the whole thing.

There was no reasoning with someone like her.

Without a word, I closed my laptop.

Lily thought I had backed down. Her smile widened.

“There we go. We can all be good roommates again.”

She turned to pat Julia’s shoulder, but Julia instinctively stepped away.

Lily’s smile froze.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

Three sharp knocks.

Urgent.

Julia opened it. Our residence hall manager stood outside with our student affairs adviser, Ms. Morgan.

Ms. Morgan was in her thirties, wore glasses, and looked stern.

Her gaze swept the room before settling on me.

“Claire. Come outside.”

Lily immediately put on her tearful expression again and followed her out.

“Ms. Morgan…” she called softly.

I walked behind them beneath the hallway lights.

All around us, dorm room doors stood slightly ajar. Countless eyes watched from the shadows.

Some were curious. Others were contemptuous or delighted by the drama.

Their stares felt like tiny needles sinking into my skin.