Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed novel Chapter 801

Clap, clap, clap—

Edna’s hands came together in a slow, mocking applause.

“But perhaps you’ve forgotten—I’m your advisor. If anything happens to me, do you still want to graduate?”

She flashed a cold smile. “For old times’ sake, I’ll give you one last chance. All you have to do is post a statement saying you orchestrated this whole thing, publicly apologize, admit your mistake, and maybe—just maybe—I’ll pretend none of this ever happened. You’ll graduate as planned.”

Carlson’s lips twitched. “If I’ve come this far, regret isn’t an option.”

His eyes were bloodshot—clearly, he hadn’t slept well in days. But as he looked at Edna, his gaze was razor-sharp. “And can you honestly say, hand on your heart, that the evidence I submitted isn’t true?”

Edna let out a sneer, her eyes brimming with contempt. “So what if it is? Does it even matter?”

“If you insist on making this difficult, don’t blame me for forgetting whatever ‘bond’ you think we share as mentor and student.”

Carlson almost laughed at that. A bond? Did she really believe that?

To Edna, he had always been nothing more than a dog—summoned when needed, dismissed when not. She’d never seen him as a person.

He could have stayed silent. Just muddle through until June, collect his diploma and degree, and finally be free of Edna. But what about people like Arkle?

Arkle wasn’t the first, and he certainly wouldn’t be the last. As long as Edna was free to take on new students, there would always be more victims.

Carlson could survive, escape, and finally breathe easy—but what about those who couldn’t? What if someone, unable to endure, decided to end it all?

He realized it was time to act. Not just for himself, but for all those who would come after him.

He’d once admired Roseanne’s courage. Now, maybe he could become that kind of person, too.

The conversation ended in a bitter deadlock.

Before storming off, Edna spat out a final warning. “My patience is running out. Take my advice while you still can. Otherwise—once the deadline passes, even if you come crawling back, it’ll be too late!”

…

That night, Carlson didn’t sleep a wink.

The next day, a user posted on Streamline—a popular social platform:

I don’t know how many promising young people will have their passion for research and for life snuffed out.

What I can do is little. Against someone as powerful as Edna Moore, I may be nothing more than an ant against a mountain.

But that’s okay.

If this act of courage spares even one more person from suffering, it will have been worth it.

Even if it’s just one, that’s enough.

Within two hours, the post’s video had over half a million likes, a hundred thousand comments, and was shared more than a million times.

Netizens flooded Kingswell University’s official account, demanding answers for Carlson.

Supporters boosted the video’s visibility, rallying for justice.

The comment section was filled with words that brought tears to the eyes:

[Carlson could have escaped with just a few months of silence. But instead, he looked back at the students about to fall into the abyss, and chose to turn around. Even if his path forward will be muddy and full of thorns, he never hesitated.]