Chapter 1

I was the target of a vicious rumor started by a male classmate.

He claimed he'd seen me, disheveled, emerging from Professor Thorne's dorm.

I asked Professor Thorne to help clear my name, but he just shrugged it off.

"People will talk, Hazel. Let them say what they want."

"If you make such a big deal out of it, they'll really think there's something going on."

The next time the guy spread rumors, I didn't deny it. I just owned it.

"Yeah, you're damn right! He totally slept with me!"

"Hello, police? I've been drugged and assaulted by my professor, and I have witnesses right here!"

Professor Alistair Thorne had only just finished his Master's, barely a few years older than us.

He was approachable, always down to hang out with students.

Everyone called him Alistair, or just "Professor Alistair" casually.

When I walked into the classroom, Derek Stone was holding forth, gesticulating wildly, spinning tales about me and Professor Alistair.

"Seriously, Professor Alistair is a legend!"

"Hazel usually plays the innocent act, but turns out she's totally wild behind closed doors, into all sorts of kinky stuff!"

The class erupted in whispers.

"No way, really? Hazel seems so shy and introverted. She doesn't look like that kind of person."

"Derek, where did you hear that? You shouldn't just spread rumors!"

Derek stood up, waving his arms, spitting as he spoke.

"I saw it with my own two eyes, damn it!"

"A few days ago, they were totally getting it on in the media lab, almost got caught. I was the one who distracted the security guard!"

"And last night, Ryan and I went to the faculty dorms to find Alistair for something, and I saw Hazel coming out of Alistair's room, blushing like crazy."

"Her shirt buttons were undone, her cheeks were flushed—"

"Ryan, back me up here! I didn't make up a single word!"

Ryan Hayes was Derek's roommate and our class president.

He was a genuinely good guy, often getting breakfast for everyone in their dorm.

If anyone in class needed help, he'd be the first to offer. His word usually carried a lot of weight.

Hearing Derek, Ryan pushed up his glasses and shook his head.

"I didn't notice anything about her shirt buttons."

"But yes, we did see Hazel coming out of Alistair's room last night, and her face was pretty red."

"Still, that doesn't mean anything, Derek. You really shouldn't spread rumors."

Ryan tried weakly to defend me, his voice quickly drowned out by the rising tide of gossip.

"Holy crap, it's actually true? I can't believe it. Hazel, of all people!"

"You're blind then. I knew it all along. Her figure? How else do you think she got it? It's from being all over men. And you guys actually bought into her innocent girl act!"

A few guys loudly discussed it, pressing Derek for more details. Derek looked incredibly smug.

"This isn't free info, you know."

"Come on, let's grab dinner at the street food place. Who's paying?"

They turned around, only to see my face, ashen with fury, standing at the classroom door.

Everyone froze as if a remote control had hit the pause button, the chatter dying instantly.