Lydia’s POV
By Wednesday, I’d stopped bothering to pretend I didn’t hear them.
“There she is,” someone murmured as I passed the supply closet, not even attempting to lower her voice. “Guess that’s one way to climb the ranks.”
I kept my eyes forward, my grip tightening around the folder in my arms until the edges dug into my palm. Three days. It had only been three days since the meeting, and already the story had mutated into something unrecognizable, something filthy and humiliating that followed me down every hallway in the building.
She slept her way into Hopkins.
That’s the only reason Dr. White defended her.
I heard it’s not even the first time.
None of it was true, but none of it mattered. The rumor had a life of its own now, feeding on itself, growing uglier with every retell
