"See? You've always had a connection to Valkenheim. You even got accepted into the Cambridge exchange program back then. Too bad you never went."
My fingers slowly curled into a fist.
Five years ago, I'd earned a spot in Cambridge's exchange program. Two full years.
It was the opportunity I'd dreamed of my entire academic life.
Cambridge's aerospace engineering program ranked in the top three worldwide.
My advisor had told me himself.
"This kind of opportunity doesn't come around twice. Once you're there, your entire academic perspective will change."
I was ecstatic. I started packing immediately.
Then, one month before my departure, Robert was diagnosed with acute appendicitis.
The surgery was minor. Three days in the hospital, a month of recovery, and he'd be fine.
But he grabbed my hand.
"Don't go. Stay with me."
I hesitated.
"But this opportunity is so rare..."
"There'll be other opportunities."
He cut me off, a note of impatience creeping into his voice.
"I'm sick. Shouldn't you be here taking care of me?"
In the end, I stayed.
And that once-in-a-lifetime spot went to Vivian Blake.
Looking back now, there was nothing coincidental about it.
Vivian wanted that spot, so he engineered it for her.