Chapter 10 Cracks in the Foundation #3
Professor Monroe didn’t answer immediately.
“The university reserves the right to suspend fellowship participation while an ethics review is ongoing.”
The words landed like stones.
Suspend participation.
Regional champions.
National finalists.
Months of work.
Everything suddenly felt fragile.
Eli looked stunned.
“They can do that?”
“They can.”
Professor Monroe answered softly.
“Though no decision has been made.”
The meeting continued for another hour, but nobody truly focused on presentation revisions anymore.
Instead, we discussed timelines.
Documentation.
Interview procedures.
University policy.
By the time Professor Monroe dismissed everyone, the excitement surrounding our regional victory had completely disappeared.
Students left the Honors Center much more quietly than usual.
Kai caught my shoulder before leaving.
“We’ll get through this.”
I forced a small smile.
“I hope so.”
“You won’t be alone.”
Neither would Liam.
Every member of the fellowship made that clear before heading home.
Only Liam and I remained behind with Professor Monroe.
She waited until the door closed.
“I need to ask you both something.”
Neither of us spoke.
She folded her hands.
“I already know the answer.”
“But I need to hear it.”
Her eyes moved between us.
“Is there anything about this complaint that I don’t already know?”
The room became painfully quiet.
I looked toward Liam.
He met my eyes for only a second before looking back at Professor Monroe.
“Yes.”
The single word echoed through the room.
Professor Monroe closed her eyes briefly.
“I thought so.”
She didn’t sound angry.
Only disappointed that circumstances had forced the conversation.
Liam took a slow breath.
“We didn’t begin a relationship until after the fellowship proposal had already been submitted.”
He spoke carefully.
“We kept it private because we wanted to avoid exactly this situation.”
I nodded.
“Nothing about the project changed.”
“Nothing.”
Professor Monroe listened without interrupting.
When we finished, she remained silent for several moments.
Finally, she stood and walked toward the window overlooking the dark campus.
“I believe both of you.”
She turned back to face us.
“I’ve watched this fellowship from the beginning.”
“I know how every decision was made.”
“I know how hard Noah worked.”
“I know you never manipulated evaluations.”
Relief washed through me.
Then she continued.
“But belief isn’t enough.”
My heart sank again.
“The university doesn’t investigate feelings.”
“It investigates appearances.”
She sighed softly.
“And right now...”
She looked at both of us with unmistakable concern.
“...the appearance is exactly what someone wanted to create.”
No one spoke.
Professor Monroe closed the folder.
“For the time being...”
She chose her words carefully.
“I strongly recommend that both of you avoid being alone together whenever possible.”
The sentence hurt more than I expected.
Not because it was unfair.
Because it made sense.
Liam nodded first.
“We understand.”
“I know you do.”
Professor Monroe’s expression softened.
“I truly am sorry.”
After leaving the Honors Center, Liam and I walked across campus together for what felt like the first time in weeks without speaking.
The autumn wind carried fallen leaves across the empty pathways.
Neither of us reached for the other’s hand.
Neither of us even walked as closely as we normally did.
The distance between us wasn’t physical.
It was caution.
Fear.
Halfway to the residence halls, Liam finally stopped.
“I’m sorry.”
I looked at him in disbelief.
“For what?”
“For dragging you into this.”
I shook my head immediately.
“You didn’t.”
“If anyone gets hurt because of this...”
His voice caught for the first time since the meeting began.
“It’ll be because of me.”
“No.”
I stepped a little closer before remembering Professor Monroe’s warning.
I stopped myself.
“It’ll be because someone chose to do this to us.”
He looked away toward the quiet campus.
“I can handle losing opportunities.”
He spoke almost to himself.
“But I can’t...”
His voice grew quieter.
“I can’t be the reason five other people lose theirs.”
The words settled heavily inside me.
Until that moment, my fear had been personal.
Losing my scholarship.
Losing Liam.
Losing everything we had just begun to build.
Now I finally understood the true weight of the situation.
This wasn’t only about us anymore.
If the university believed the accusations...
The fellowship could lose its place at the national championship.
Professor Monroe’s reputation could be destroyed.
Months of work by Eli, Mason, Kai, Owen, Liam, and me could disappear because of a relationship no one outside the investigation even knew existed.
For years, I had believed survival meant protecting my own future.
Now I realized something infinitely more frightening.
Loving Liam no longer threatened only my dreams.
It threatened the dreams of every person who had become my family.
And for the first time since I had admitted my feelings, I found myself wondering whether love could demand a sacrifice neither of us was prepared to make.
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