Betrayed and Dumped She Rose Stronger Than Ever novel Chapter 204

Andy, the student Martha nudged, adjusted his glasses. “She’s not one of Dr. Palmer’s students yet, but she will be soon.” Then he explained to Martha that Rebecca had gotten into Dr. Palmer’s part-time graduate program, ranking first in the written exam.

Martha finally remembered where she had seen Rebecca before. She frowned. “A part-time grad student? What could she possibly have to offer? Why should she get to sit with us?”

Andy held up a finger, hinting for her to quiet down.

Martha rolled her eyes. “What’s the big deal? She probably just pulled some strings to get in.”

At lunchtime, Rebecca and Caleb headed to the cafeteria.

“Settling in all right?” Caleb asked with a smile.

Rebecca nodded. “It’s not bad. It’s actually way less stressful than working.”

Caleb grinned. “You make your job sound terrifying. Now I’m scared to ever start working.”

“You’ll get it once you start. Work is the root of all evil,” Rebecca said, half joking, half serious.

Caleb burst out laughing. “Guess I should try to stay in school as long as possible.”

Not far away, Martha watched them, not liking what she saw. She turned to Andy, clearly annoyed. “Why is Caleb so chummy with Rebecca?”

Andy scratched his head. “I don’t really know. Caleb didn’t say much. He just mentioned Rebecca might join our lab and that we should be nice to her.”

Then Andy, never one for subtlety, looked right at Martha. “Hey, be honest. Are you into Caleb?”

Martha’s face went bright red. “W-what are you talking about? That’s ridiculous.” She grabbed her tray and hurried off.

Of course she wad into Caleb, but he didn’t seem to notice her at all. She used to think that being around him every day would eventually pay off, that he’d come to like her over time. But now that Rebecca had shown up, she felt a real sense of panic. She knew she couldn’t beat Rebecca in looks, but when it came to ability, she was confident.

Caleb stared in surprise, then it clicked. “I get it now! You used a math formula to solve it. That’s genius.”

Rebecca smiled. “It just so happens I saw that formula on the exam, so it came to me right away.”

Everyone else still looked lost. Caleb explained the formula Rebecca had written, and suddenly it all made sense.

Just like that, everyone’s opinion of Rebecca changed. People looked at her with real respect.

“Wow, Rebecca, you really keep a low profile. We totally underestimated you.”

“You are so talented, what are the rest of us supposed to do?”

“Hey, where did you do your undergrad? What did you major in? Why go for a part-time program instead of full-time?”