Chapter 42: The Simp Levels Up

Olivia covered her face, staring at Jason as though she couldn’t believe what had just happened.

For several seconds, she simply stood there.

Then the shock broke.

"You... you actually hit me?"

Her voice rose into a shriek.

"You actually dared to hit me?!"

Rage replaced the disbelief in her eyes. She lunged at him without thinking, swinging wildly as tears of humiliation streamed down her cheeks.

Jason didn’t retreat.

The moment she came within reach, he caught her momentum and struck her again, sending her stumbling backward onto the dusty ground.

Olivia landed hard.

Dust rose around her as she scrambled backward, staring up at him with a mixture of fury and fear.

Jason stood over her, his expression cold.

"Are you sober now?"

Olivia’s lips trembled.

She had never seen him like this.

The Jason she knew had always been easy to control. He had apologized first, chased after her, and swallowed every insult she threw at him.

This man standing before her was different.

He wasn’t pleading.

He wasn’t begging.

He wasn’t even angry in the way she expected.

He simply looked at her as though something inside him had died a long time ago.

"You’re insane!" Olivia screamed. "I’m calling the police! I’ll tell my brother what you did! I’ll make sure you pay for this!"

She wiped at her face, her breathing ragged.

"You’re a grown man! How could you hit a woman? This proves you have violent tendencies!"

Jason gave a humorless laugh.

Olivia’s anger only grew.

"I should be grateful I didn’t stay with someone like you! Who knows what you would’ve done to me if we’d remained together?"

She pointed at him with a shaking finger.

"And don’t think violence is going to silence me. I’ll tell everyone what you did. I’ll make sure everyone knows exactly what kind of man you are!"

She sounded almost righteous now, as if she were delivering a speech instead of sitting in the dirt with tears running down her face.

Jason watched her quietly.

The hypocrisy was almost impressive.

She had spent years preaching about independence, dignity, and never allowing anyone to control her.

Yet when the consequences finally reached her doorstep, she was already looking for someone else to blame.

Jason stepped closer.

Olivia instinctively moved backward.

"Stay away from me!"

Jason stopped a few feet away.

His voice was quiet.

"You keep talking about how awakened you are."

Olivia swallowed.

"So what?"

Jason stared down at her.

"Where did all that confidence go?"

She glared at him, but there was fear behind her eyes now.

"You’ll regret this."

"Maybe."

Jason’s expression hardened.

"But you’ll regret something else a lot more."

Olivia’s heart skipped.

"What are you talking about?"

"Professor Malcolm Whitlock."

The name hit her like a bullet.

Her face drained of color.

For a moment, she couldn’t breathe.

Jason noticed the change immediately.

There it is.

He had been waiting for that reaction.

"You..."

Olivia’s voice came out barely above a whisper.

"How do you know that name?"

Jason smiled faintly.

"So you do know him."

"I don’t!"

The denial came too quickly.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about!"

"Of course you don’t."

Jason folded his arms.

"He’s your finance professor. Malcolm Whitlock. An associate professor at the university."

Olivia’s eyes flickered.

"There are dozens of professors at Olivia University. How am I supposed to know what you’re talking about?"

She tried to sound confident.

But her hands were shaking.

Jason almost laughed.

"Still pretending?"

He reached into his pocket.

"Fine. Let’s play your game."

Olivia watched his hand nervously.

"You’re only a sophomore," Jason said. "Yet somehow you’ve suddenly managed to publish two impressive academic papers."

Olivia’s breathing became uneven.

"What’s strange is that you weren’t exactly an outstanding student before."

He tilted his head.

"Back then, you struggled just to pass some of your classes. Then suddenly, your academic record takes off."

"I worked hard!"

Olivia’s voice cracked.

"People are allowed to improve!"

"Sure."

Jason nodded.

"I’m not saying they aren’t."

He slowly pulled out his phone.

"That’s why I brought something more convincing than my opinion."

Olivia’s stomach dropped.

Jason turned the screen toward her.

The photograph showed Olivia walking beside Professor Malcolm Whitlock.

Their hands were intertwined.

They were entering a hotel together.

Olivia stared at the screen.

The color disappeared from her face.

"No."

Her voice trembled.

"No, that’s fake."

Jason said nothing.

"It’s edited!"

She pointed desperately at the phone.

"Anyone can make something like that these days!"

Jason swiped to another photograph.

Olivia’s eyes widened.

This one was taken inside the hotel.

There was no innocent explanation for what it showed.

Her breathing became shallow.

"No..."

She shook her head repeatedly.

"This isn’t real."

"You’re right."

Jason’s voice was almost calm.

"Let’s say they’re fake."

He put the phone away.

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

Olivia stared at him.

Jason smiled.

"I’ll simply let everyone see these fake photographs."

Her expression collapsed.

"You wouldn’t."

"Why not?"

"Jason, if you spread those pictures, I’ll sue you!"

"Go ahead."

His voice remained steady.

"Call the police. Hire a lawyer. Tell everyone they’re fake."

He took another step toward her.

"But if they’re fake, why are you so frightened?"

Olivia’s mouth opened.

Nothing came out.

Her mind was racing.

She could already imagine the headlines.

Her professors finding out.

Her classmates whispering behind her back.

Her academic career collapsing.

Her carefully constructed image being destroyed overnight.

Everything she’d spent years building could disappear in an instant.

She had dreamed of becoming a respected academic. She imagined herself eventually standing at the top of the university world, surrounded by admiration and prestige.

She had even fantasized about one day creating an institution of her own.

Now all of it suddenly felt fragile.

One photograph.

One accusation.

One mistake.

And everything could come crashing down.

Jason watched the realization settle over her.

"What’s wrong?"

His tone was almost mocking.

"Weren’t you just calling them fake?"

Olivia’s body trembled.

Her pride was disappearing piece by piece.

She lowered her head.

"Jason..."

He said nothing.

"Please."

The word was barely audible.

Jason’s eyes remained cold.

She forced herself onto her knees.

"Please, Jason. I know I was wrong."

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Please don’t do this to me."

Jason stared at her.

He remembered the past.

He remembered the hospital.

He remembered his mother lying sick while the bills kept piling up.

He remembered begging Olivia for the money back.

Fifty thousand dollars.

Money he had saved for years.

Money that could have helped his mother.

And Olivia had laughed.

She had called it compensation.

She had told him that her youth was worth more than his money.

She had even mocked him when he told her his mother was seriously ill.

Those memories had never disappeared.

They had simply been buried.

Now they were standing in front of him again.

"You don’t regret what you did," Jason said quietly.

Olivia looked up.

"You regret getting caught."

Her lips trembled.

"That’s not true."

Jason gave her a cold look.

"You’re only afraid of losing the life you’ve built."

Olivia couldn’t answer.

Because she knew he was right.

"Please," she whispered again. "I’ll do anything."

Jason looked at her for a long moment.

Then he shook his head.

"You really are something."

Olivia’s face tightened.

"What do you want?"

Jason didn’t answer immediately.

He simply looked at her.

For the first time, Olivia realized something terrifying.

The man she once considered completely under her control was gone.

Whatever power she thought she had over him had disappeared.

And she had no idea how to get it back.

"Please, Jason."

Her voice broke.

"Give me a chance."

Jason’s expression remained unreadable.

"A chance?"

He let out a quiet laugh.

"You had plenty of chances."

Olivia lowered her head.

Her shoulders shook as she cried.

She had finally realized that the man standing before her wasn’t asking for forgiveness.

He was collecting a debt.

And she had no idea how much it was going to cost her.