Chapter 7

I opened the door to my dorm room. Declan stood inside, his back to me, examining the sparse bookshelves. He turned slowly, his eyes meeting mine. The air crackled with a tension thicker than anything I' d felt between us before. My gaze was cold, empty, a carefully constructed barrier. I didn't say anything, just raised an eyebrow, a silent question: What do you want?

He cleared his throat, a nervous gesture I hadn't seen in years. "Kisha... she confessed her feelings for me tonight," he began, his voice a low, hesitant murmur. He seemed to be picking his words carefully, navigating an unfamiliar conversational minefield. "I told her I wasn't interested. That I was with you." He paused, searching my face for a reaction, for any sign of the old Cayla, the one who would have clung to those words like a lifeline. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't, you know, get the wrong idea. Or think I was... leading her on."

My lips quirked into a humorless smile. His confession, his clumsy explanation, was astonishing in its self-centeredness. He was worried about my "wrong idea," not about the fact that he was holding another woman in his arms, stroking her hair, letting her declare her love. He was worried about managing my perception, not about the emotional wreckage he' d created.

"Declan," I said, my voice flat, "your romantic entanglements are no longer my concern. Who you are with, or not with, what ideas they have, or what ideas you need to 'manage' for them – it has nothing to do with me." The words felt like stones, each one carefully placed, building an insurmountable wall between us.

His composure wavered. His eyes widened slightly, a genuine confusion etched on his face. He clearly hadn't anticipated this response. He'd expected anger, tears, maybe even a desperate plea for reassurance. He hadn't expected cold, detached indifference.

I gestured towards the door. "Goodnight, Declan. I'm tired."

He didn't move. Instead, he stepped closer, blocking my path. "Cayla, what is going on with you? You're acting... different. You've been distant since we got back. You didn't pick me up. You sold the condo without consulting me. Now this. Is this about Kisha? Because if it is, I can assure you-"

"It's not about Kisha," I interrupted, my voice still calm, but with an underlying steel. "It's about me. It's about realizing that I deserve more than to be a convenient accessory in your meticulously planned life." I took a step back, reaching for the doorknob. "Now, please leave."

He put his hand on the doorframe, preventing me from closing it. His gaze was intense, analytical, as if he was trying to solve a complex equation. "This isn't like you, Cayla. You're upset. You're overwhelmed. Let's talk about this properly."

"There's nothing to talk about," I said, my hand still on the knob. I pushed the door shut with all my strength, not caring that his hand was still there, forcing him to yank it back just in time. The click of the lock echoed loudly in the small room.

I leaned against the closed door, my chest heaving, a dull ache throbbing behind my eyes. He thought I was "upset," "overwhelmed." He still had no idea. He saw my departure, my newfound assertiveness, as a temporary aberration, a tantrum that would eventually subside. He hadn't seen the decade of quiet desperation, the slow erosion of my self-worth.

My phone buzzed again, a sharp, insistent vibration against my palm. It wasn't Declan. It was Marcus. My new superior in Detroit. "Cayla, urgent call. I need you to confirm something about your project submissions. There's been a... discrepancy."

My blood ran cold. Discrepancy. The word hung in the air, heavy with unspoken implications. I answered, my heart pounding. "Marcus? What's wrong?"

"It's about the research paper you submitted for the Detroit community revitalization model," he said, his voice grave. "The one you completed before your transfer. It's been published, Cayla. But... you're not the primary author."

My breath caught. "What? That's impossible. I wrote that paper. Every single word."

"I know, Cayla," Marcus replied, his tone sympathetic. "I saw your drafts. But the official publication, the one that just landed on my desk, lists Kisha Fleming as the lead author. Your name is relegated to a junior contributor. And Declan Sharp is listed as the corresponding author."

A cold, icy wave of betrayal washed over me, chilling me to the bone. Kisha. Declan. My design. My paper. My intellectual property. Stolen. Again. Publicly. My hands trembled, the phone almost slipping from my grasp.

"I'll call you back," I choked out, ending the call abruptly. My fingers flew across the keyboard, navigating to the journal's website, my heart hammering against my ribs. I found the paper, the title screaming my own words back at me. And there it was. "Kisha Fleming, primary author." My name, a tiny footnote. Declan Sharp, the architect of this latest, most heinous betrayal, listed prominently.

My mind reeled. This wasn't just about a design concept anymore. This was about my professional integrity, my future, my very identity as an architect. That paper was my culmination of years of research, my original thought, my unique approach to urban renewal. It was mine. And he had given it away. To Kisha. To solidify her position, to boost her career, to appease her, perhaps, after his public rejection of her. He had sacrificed my hard work, my reputation, my entire professional future, to protect his new protégé.

Rage, pure and undiluted, surged through me. This wasn't just a tantrum. This was a war.

I dialed his number, my thumb hitting the call button with a force that made my knuckles ache. It rang once, twice. Then he answered, his voice brusque. "Cayla? I'm busy. What is it?"

"The paper," I said, my voice shaking with suppressed fury. "The Detroit revitalization paper. Kisha Fleming is the lead author. My name is buried. What have you done, Declan?"

A beat of silence. Then, his voice, calm and infuriatingly dismissive. "Ah, yes. That. Kisha was quite upset after the presentation tonight. I thought it would lift her spirits. Give her a little boost, you know."

"A boost?!" I exploded, my voice rising. "You gave her my paper! My work! My intellectual property! To 'lift her spirits'? Are you out of your mind? That paper was the culmination of months of my life! My research! My ideas!"

"Cayla, calm down," he said, his tone one of mild irritation, as if I were being unreasonable. "It's just a publication. A small gesture. Kisha has a lot of potential, and this will help her make a name for herself. You're established. You don't need the credit as much."

"I don't need the credit?" My voice was a choked whisper, raw with disbelief and profound hurt. "You think I don't need the credit? Declan, I poured my soul into that paper! It was my ticket to a new beginning! And you just gave it away? To your little intern? To 'lift her spirits'?" The absurdity of it was staggering.

"I'm the corresponding author, Cayla," he stated, his voice now tinged with a cold authority. "I have the final say on all publications from my lab. You were a drafting assistant on the project. Nothing more. It's my prerogative to assign credit as I see fit."

Drafting assistant. That was my title now. My decade of devotion, my intellectual contributions, my very identity, reduced to a mere "drafting assistant." He had not only stolen my work, but he had publicly, brutally, stripped me of my professional value. The betrayal cut deeper than any physical wound. He saw me as a tool, a function, easily replaced, easily dismissed, easily exploited.

"You've always seen me as a tool, haven't you, Declan?" I choked out, the words laced with a pain so profound, it felt like my very soul was being ripped apart. "A replaceable, disposable tool." The line went silent.