Rubbing my eyes roughly, I turned to leave, but Simon stopped me at the door. 

“Laila has to stay at the healing hut for treatment, and she won’t be able to finish her Werewolf Academy thesis,” he said. “Aren’t you working on the Belladonna Cure thesis? It’s exactly the same as Laila’s. Why not let her refer to yours?” 

A pang of bitterness hit me. I knew there was more to his words. 

Laila’s health had always been fragile, so I had always done her Werewolf Academy homework for her. She had even asked me to cheat for her in exams. 

She didn’t want my grades to surpass hers, yet through plagiarizing my work, she became the top student in the Werewolf Academy. 

In truth, she hadn’t even started her thesis yet. She was just waiting to copy mine. 

Noticing my silence, Mom spoke in a low voice. “You know how bright Laila is. It’s just her health… You’re her sister. Help her out, okay?” 

I had heard this over and over again for the past five years, and I should’ve been used to it by now. But every time those words echoed in my ears, my chest tightened. 

I forced a smile and nodded. “Alright. I’ll go get it now.” 

This was the last time. I wondered if Laila could still graduate smoothly without someone to plagiarize from after I was gone. 

“I knew you’d say yes!” Simon exclaimed. “So when I left home, I brought your thesis with me.”