Stole My Thesis, I Chose Overseas Study

Chapter 4

That evening, I got a notice from our class monitor about the graduation trip scheduled for the next day. I was leaving the country soon, and we'd been classmates for all these years, so I agreed to join.

But when I boarded the bus, I spotted Daniel there too, sitting right next to Ramona.

Catching me staring, the monitor hurried over to make introductions.

"This is Ramona's husband, Daniel. He graduated from our department a few years back, you know, he's a total legend in our department."

I didn't say a word, just headed straight for the last row and sat down.

The light beside me dimmed a second later, and he appeared on the seat next to me.

He began to speak, "I thought you wouldn't come. Ramona said there's been some nasty gossip going around her class, so she asked me to tag along."

I curled my lip in a cold half-smile. "Nasty gossip? It's about me, isn't it?"

His face fell. "I know I messed up, I owe you an apology. You have to believe me—"

"I don't," I cut him off flatly, snapped my headphones over my ears, and leaned back to try and sleep.

Ramona walked over right then and sat down on his other side.

"Chelsea, I get you're upset, but what's done is done. There's no use fighting it anymore."

"No use fighting what?" I shot back, not able to resist replying as I pushed one headphone to the side. "You stealing my work? Or you stealing my boyfriend?"

My question made a few students in the seats behind us start murmuring among themselves.

She tensed up immediately. "What are you talking about? I was being nice when I told the monitor to invite you on this trip! Instead of apologizing for what you did, you're here slandering me!"

"Slandering you?" I flicked a glance at Daniel, silently begging him to do the right thing for once, for the sake of what we used to have. "Ask him. He knows the truth."

"Chelsea, even though we used to date, you can't talk about Ramona like that." He looked at me, his eyes pleading. "She's… she's my wife now."

Muttered conversations immediately bubbled up around us.

"I told you no one would lie about getting married."

"Ugh, Chelsea is so shameless. First she plagiarizes, now she's trying to be a homewrecker?"

The words sent a sharp, burning pain through my chest, and I pressed a hand to my heart to steady myself.

"Daniel," I bit out, "I hope you never regret what you just said today."

Not long after, the bus pulled up to the stop. I stormed out off the vehicle as fast as I could and walked away.

He tried to follow me, but Ramona grabbed his arm to hold him back. "Babe, my dad said, you've been here before. He told you to show me around, remember?"

Daniel hesitated for a long moment, then finally stopped in his tracks.

I kept my head down and walked for ages, and when it was time for the next part of the itinerary, I hurried back to where the bus had parked. But there was no one there.

No bus, no classmates. Nothing.

I called the monitor right away, but he just said, "Ramona said the next spot is way better, so everyone agreed to head out early."

"You could have at least texted me! You can't just leave me behind here!" I exclaimed.

"Chelsea, come on, let's be real here... you're the one who acted out of line. No one wants to travel with you. Daniel said this place isn't too far from where you live, so you can just grab a taxi back home." With that, the class monitor hung up right in my face.

I stared at the phone in my hand, the fast busy beep of the disconnected call blaring in my ear, and the tears I'd been fighting so hard to hold back finally spilled over. I hated how weak I looked right then, but I couldn't stop them.

Whatever. The graduation ceremony was tomorrow, and I'd make sure everyone knew the truth. I'd prove my innocence, no matter what.

The day of Maple University's graduation ceremony arrived in a flash. I gathered all the files and original drafts of my design work, plus all the data from my creative process, and handed the whole stack over to my advisor and the department office.

I headed back to my seat in the crowd.

Up in the front row, Ramona sat glowing. She'd been named an Outstanding Graduate, all thanks to the final year project she'd stolen from me.

Right next to her was Daniel, invited back by the school to encourage the new graduates.

He was clearly on edge. He fidgeted nonstop, craning his neck and scanning the crowd over and over until his eyes finally landed on me.

He made a move to get up and come over, but she grabbed his arm and held him back before he could move.

I didn't even spare him a single glance.

The ceremony kicked off. First up was the university president's speech, then the dean's address, and right after that, the school leadership team started calling graduates up on stage to turn their tassels on their caps and hand out diplomas.

Two hours dragged by. The last student walked off the stage after getting their tassel turned, and I was still glued to my seat.

The emcee announced, "The tassel-turning and diploma presentation ceremony is now officially concluded..."

All of a sudden, a familiar voice cut in over the microphone, loud and clear.

"Wait a second. We're not done yet. There's one more student who hasn't gotten their tassel turned."