I smiled and told them, "It's fine. I'll have another chance."

Only I knew that night I locked myself in the lab and cried until morning.

I thought my sacrifice would make him cherish what we had.

Instead, what I got was him taking my international conference slot without a second thought.

What I got was him talking soft to another woman while I was on the edge of dying.

When I came back to the lab, every pair of eyes carried the same look: pity, laced with something harder to name.

I had always been the hardest-working young researcher on the team. My track record was strong. Professor Hale used to call me "a future star in the making."

And I'd let one relationship turn me into a joke.

Professor Hale called me into her office. She looked at my pale face and let out a long breath. "Madge, be honest with me. Is this because of Les Gilbert?"

I kept my head down and said nothing.

"I told you a long time ago—Les Gilbert is too proud, too self-absorbed. You were never going to hold him, and you couldn't afford to burn yourself trying."

Professor Hale's voice was heavy with frustration. "Do you have any idea how disappointed I was when you gave up your spot at the Core Research Lab last year? People would kill for that chance. And you threw it away for a man, just like that."

"Professor, I was wrong." My voice cracked.

"It's not too late to fix it." She slid a folder across the desk. "This year's National Core Research Lab selection has opened again. I've already submitted your name. This time, don't sacrifice yourself for anyone. You were never meant to stand behind someone else—you belong at the top."

I looked down at the words National Core Research Lab on the cover, and my eyes burned.

A second chance at something already lost was more precious than anything.

"Professor, I won't let you down again." I gripped the folder, my voice steady.

"One more thing," Professor Hale said, as though something had just come back to her. Her expression turned serious. "The overall lead for this year's selection is Dustin Vance."

My heart jolted.

Dustin Vance. In the research world, that name was practically a god's.

Barely past thirty, already academy-level, running a National Key Research Lab, leading multiple state-level major projects, publishing in the highest-tier international journals. Everyone knew him as young, low-key, and impossibly brilliant.