Chapter 276: Like Hell He Regrets It

Jonathan had no intention of telling Sierra how much the previous night had secretly thrilled him. They’d been together all night. Jonathan had been completely unhinged—Sierra couldn’t handle him. She’d hit him, cursed him, even cried, begging him to stop, but Jonathan had no plans of letting up. In fact, the more she cried, the more excited he became.

By the time Sierra arrived at the lab the next morning, she was late and received a death glare from her professor. Summer clothes didn’t hide much, and even her lab coat couldn’t fully conceal the evidence of the night before. The marks on her neck, behind her ears… were far too obvious.

Professor Martin gave her a long, complicated look before muttering, “You kids really need to take it easy.” Then he added, “That guy’s a menace. Don’t go spoiling him.”

Sierra had never been more embarrassed, discussing this with her professor of all people. She agreed with him, though. Jonathan was absolutely a menace. So, she made a unilateral decision to give him the silent treatment.

Thankfully, after that comment, Professor Martin said little else. He went right back to yelling at other students. Sierra’s research was the least of his worries. The last time he’d seen that level of talent was in Jonathan—that damn troublemaker. Thinking of Jonathan’s true nature when unguarded, Professor Martin gave Sierra a worried glance. She was deep in her work and didn’t notice.

Jonathan knew he’d gone too far the night before. He’d never lost control like that. But just thinking about Sierra’s online post—how she’d basically told the world she had no plans to replace him—sent another jolt of excitement through him.

Did that mean forever? The thought caught him off guard. Being with Sierra had always felt natural. He’d been drawn to her from the start. But forever? That was a long time. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. He wasn’t usually into long-term things.

Even in his research, it wasn’t so much about the pursuit of knowledge—it was about the rush, the thrill. It was the only way to keep the emptiness at bay. But now? When he imagined spending forever with Sierra? It didn’t sound bad at all. He could see himself loving her for a long time. Marriage, though… he could wait on that. He still needed to figure out his own heart.

Maybe that’s why he stopped by her favorite bakery for cake and picked up some barbecue. He was planning to pick her up after work; otherwise, she might not come home at all. Her face that morning had been like a thundercloud.

Still, Jonathan didn’t regret a single thing. If he could do it all over again, he’d probably go even harder.

Of course, he wasn’t going to let Sierra know that. He was still in a great mood… until he pulled up to the lab and saw Jose. His smile vanished instantly.

Jose didn’t dodge him like usual. This time, he walked straight up. “Did you really steal the Wynn Group project?” he asked flatly.

“I did.” Jonathan stared at him without flinching. “You here to pick a fight?”

Jose’s face twisted with pain. “Can’t we just coexist? You are my bro! I wasn’t trying to take anything from you, I—”

“You’re not that important,” Jonathan cut him off coldly. “Take something from me? You think you could?”

Seeing Jose’s face go pale, Jonathan sneered, “You think I don’t know what you’ve been up to? If you really didn’t want anything, you wouldn’t be trying so hard to get attention.”

“And one more thing. Stop calling me ‘bro.’ I won’t say it again.”

With that, he brushed past Jose and walked into the lab. Jose stood there for a long moment, his face full of pain. His hands curled into fists at his sides. After a while, he muttered, “You’re the one who pushed me. I didn’t want it to be like this.” Then he turned to glance at the building before walking away.

When Jonathan walked inside, no one stopped him. His face was practically a hall pass. Even though he hadn’t been a student at North Salem for years, his records had never been deleted. He was still a point of pride for the university.

And right now, that pride of the university was getting absolutely chewed out by Professor Martin. He’d been going at it for a solid thirty minutes. Autumn and the others were frozen in silence. The man’s firepower was too much for any of them.

Jonathan, though, didn’t seem to care. He even laughed. “Haven’t seen you in years, and you’ve still got that iron lung. Impressive.”

“Impressive, my ass!” Professor Martin jabbed a finger at his most infamous student. “You haven’t come back to see me once all these years! I taught you everything, step by step. And now what? You forgot this old man existed? If it weren’t for your girlfriend, you’d still be ghosting me!”