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“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I thought I could handle it.”
“Don’t apologize, love,” Hardin growls from above me. I glance up at him to find him with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes firmly locked on Gabe. “I thought we had a deal, Verver. You stay the fuck away from Rosalind, and I don’t beat your fucking ass again.”
Hardstark pushes to his feet as I lean back in my chair, no longer feeling like I’m going to die, like I’m back on the forest floor. “The four of you will leave this room at once. You have no reason to be here. Miss Sweeney knows that the proof is irrefutable.”
“Fuck yeah, it is,” Gabe mutters. “That’s why she’s freaking out. She knows we caught her red-handed.” He laughs at his joke. No one else joins him.
“Show me the proof you have,” Fielder demands.
I expect Hardstark to deny him, but he sighs and runs a hand down his face before playing the video again. Ezra stands up and turns to face the desk, one of my hands caught in his, his thumb stroking over my knuckles gently.
Gideon presses into the back of my chair and my head rests on his abs. So much better.
My gaze fixes on the computer screen, and I see the girl move down the hall. Only this time… This time the girl doesn’t lookexactlylike me. It’s close, but not a replica. Ezra squeezes my hand when a surprised sound escapes me.
Fielder shakes his head. “That’s not, Sweeney.”
Hardstark hasn’t been watching his screen. He’s been standing all smug as shit behind his desk, watching them watch what he assumes is going to be irrefutable proof. “How can you say that? That is obviously Rosalind!”
Hardin tilts his head, before shaking it slowly. “That’s definitely notmyRosalind. It’s close, but not her.”
“When was this taken?” Ezra asks, still stroking my knuckles.
“This morning,” Cohen answers, without hesitation, like he knows this information is going to make a difference. “At seven am.”
I snort out a laugh and shake my head. “I was still in bed at seven this morning.”
“Do you have proof, slut?” Gabe snarls.
I shake my head at the same time that every one of my guys says, “I was with her.”
My cheeks heat to epic proportions, flushing the color of a tomato. They aren’t wrong. All of them were with me this morning. I just don’t really need Cohen and the dean to know it.
Hardin gives me a cheeky little smile and then focuses his gaze back on Gabe. “I’m going to rip out your spine for making her go through this.” His tone is pleasant enough, but there is a definite threat in his tone.
“If we could please remain civil,” Hardstark sags down into his chair. “You cannot deny the proof of this video.”
“Actually,” Ezra says, releasing my hand and stepping forward. “We can. That girl is not Rosalind Sweeney, and further, we have video evidence of her leaving her room shortly before eight. I’ve watched the video from the time that this one took place until she leaves and during that time she does not return to her room before leaving it again.”
“When did you do that?” Cohen asks, his tone sharp.
“As soon as we heard Rosalind was being dragged in here. I figured Gabe, being the asshole that he is, had done something like this. And we would need some proof of our own.”
The dean turns the monitor around and plays the video again, his brows drawn low. His mouth falls open, and I know the moment he sees what I did. That girl on the screen is not me. His gaze flicks up to me and then back to the screen like he’s comparing us.
He sighs and leans back. “You’re right. I apologize, Miss Sweeney.”
My mouth falls open. “Just like that? You apologize?”
He arches a brow at me as Gabe splutters out something that I don’t pay any attention to.
“An apology is not enough,” Fielder states. “Rosalind has been the victim of a bullying campaign, and this is the last straw. You should expel Verver for what he’s done here.”
“WhatI’vedone?” he shouts. “I’m the one whose room was broken into! I haven’t done anything to that bitch.”
“Framing an innocent girl because she wouldn’t fuck you is doing something, asshole,” Gideon growls.
“Framing! You can deny it all you want, but that was Rosalind in that video! You did something to it.” He jabs a finger at Fielder, who arches a brow and shakes his head.
