A Yearning Beyond Years
“We…shouldn’t be doing this,” Stacey moaned as she felt Noah’s lips kiss the side of her neck.
“Tell me to stop, and I will,” he whispered.
“I’m twelve years older than you; what would the world say?”
“I don’t care what the damn world says. The only thing I care about is the woman in front of me.” He kissed her on that same sensitive spot on her neck.
“So I say again, Professor, tell me to stop and I
will.”
******
32-year-old Stacey Smith's life comes crashing down when she discovers her husband's betrayal. Seeking comfort, her best friend drags her to a club where she ends up having a one-night stand with a stranger.
Stacey is shocked to realize the guy she slept with is one of her students, the popular star basketball player of her school, 20-year-old Noah Baker.
What happens when an unlikely romance blooms between the two? In an era of scrutiny and criticism, how would they handle the world's reaction to their unusual love?
And with Noah’s future hanging on the line, her ex-husband and a new love interest her age after Stacey, would they be able to overcome all the challenges they face, or would they cave in and walk different paths?
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Chapter: Chapter Fifty Six Stacey’s POV:The roar of the stadium was thunderous, echoing off the high ceilings and pulsing through the bleachers like a living heartbeat. Even from the upper tier, I could feel it vibrating in my chest, the electric buzz of adrenaline, tension, and pride.But I wasn’t listening to the noise.I was watching him.Noah Blake.Number 7.Tall. Focused. Commanding.He stood at the edge of the court, bouncing the ball once, twice, then handing it off to the ref. His face was all sharp lines and steel. No trace of the boy who kissed me with trembling fingers that night in the hospital hallway. No hint of the softness he showed when he whispered he wanted me by his side for this very moment.He was all athlete now. All fire and hunger.And he was magnificent.Around me, the whispers still lingered.“That’s her, yeah, the teacher.”“Ugh, I can’t believe she showed up.”“Shameless.”“She’s literally cheering for him? Like, get a grip.”I blocked them out.Let them talk.Let them gossip and
Last Updated: 2025-07-31
Chapter: Chapter Fifty FiveStacey’s POV: The mirror caught my reflection as I slid in the last gold hoop earring. My lips were glossy, cheeks softly blushed, and the tight, crimson blouse I wore gave a confident illusion I was far from feeling. Chloe clapped from behind, holding my coat in one hand and a makeup brush like a wand in the other. “Damn, girl. If hotness was a sport, you’d be the one playing interstate,” she teased, tossing the coat over my shoulders. I laughed, smoothing my blouse. “It’s Noah’s big day. I need to look my best.” Chloe raised her brow. “Noah’s big day, but I feel like you’re the one scoring tonight.” I threw a pillow at her, and she ducked, still laughing. Everything felt light. Normal. Good. Until the buzz came. My phone lit up with a ping. A message. Nothing out of the ordinary. But something in my gut shifted when I saw the preview: “You’re disgusting!!” My fingers froze in midair. “What is it?” Chloe asked, noticing the sudden change in my expression. I didn’
Last Updated: 2025-07-30
Chapter: Chapter Fifty FourStacey’s POV:The week leading up to the interstate game moved in a blur of adrenaline and whispered prayers.Noah's injury had finally healed completely. The limp that once accompanied every step was gone, replaced by a fierce determination that shimmered in his eyes every time he walked into practice.That Monday, he sent me a video of himself sprinting full-court, finishing with a perfect layup. My heart soared watching it. He looked strong again. Free. Hungry.We'd built this secret world together, one made of quiet evenings, stolen kisses, and hidden smiles, but this? This was his world. The court. The noise. The roar of the crowd. And now, he was ready to reclaim it.Every evening that week, he'd train till sweat soaked through his shirt. He'd call me after, sometimes too tired to say much beyond, "I'm coming back. I can feel it."I believed him.How could I not?Even when he was broken, he was extraordinary. But now? Now he was unstoppable.He didn’t just train with his body. H
Last Updated: 2025-07-29
Chapter: Chapter Fifty ThreeTessa's POV:I walked out of the café with a strange ache in my chest. Not the kind that came from heartbreak, but the kind that followed a long-overdue closure. Liam had always been a chapter I kept open out of pity or nostalgia, but sitting across from him that afternoon, watching him insist that he could win me back, I knew it was over and had been for a while.His words lingered as I crossed the street, the city humming around me. “I’m going to keep trying.”I should have felt flattered. Touched, even. But I didn’t. I just felt tired. And ready. Ready to move forward.The next morning, I found myself back on campus, hiding behind my coffee cup and pretending I was more composed than I felt. My lectures flew by in a blur, the same way clouds roll past a window when your mind is somewhere else entirely.And my mind was definitely somewhere else.I hadn’t forgotten the other conversation I needed to have. The one with Michael.After my last class, I saw him from the hallway, standing
Last Updated: 2025-07-29
Chapter: Chapter Fifty TwoStacey’s POV:It had been a long day.The kind of day that wrapped itself around your shoulders like a weighted blanket. Endless emails, back-to-back lectures, and the constant juggling of motherhood and secrecy. By the time I stepped into the house, the smell of lavender bath soap lingered in the hallway; Chloe must've bathed Tessa already.“Hey,” she called from the kitchen. “She’s busy in her room with coloring books.”I dropped my bag with a sigh and kicked off my shoes. My feet throbbed.“You’re a miracle,” I murmured.She grinned. “You say that every Thursday and Friday and every time.”“Because it’s true.”I went to see Tessa. She sat on the rug with all the seriousness she could muster while coloring what seems to be an animal of some sort.“Mommy!" She shrieked when she saw me at the doorway. She ran to me with one big smile, and I scooped her into a big hug, inhaling the soft smell of her soap.“How's my baby?" I asked as we moved into her room. The butterfly stickers on the
Last Updated: 2025-07-26
Chapter: Chapter Fifty OneStacey’s POV:We didn’t count the days anymore.They just passed like scenes in a quiet, golden film, melting into each other, each moment more delicate than the last. Three weeks could feel like three lifetimes when you were hiding love inside hallway glances and whispered goodbyes.And somehow… that made it all more intoxicating.Noah and I had slipped into a rhythm, a secret one, known only to the floorboards of his room and the shadows cast by his lamp at dusk.On my free evenings or days off, I slipped into something softer than being a professor. Something private. I’d make sure Tessa was with Chloe or had everything she needed for a few hours. Then, I’d drive over to Noah’s neighborhood and park a block away, nerves fluttering like the first time every single time.He’d open the window for me like always, arms outstretched like clockwork, like I was his favorite part of the day.We’d talk. Or sit in silence. Sometimes we’d lie side by side on his bed, fingers brushing, music pl
Last Updated: 2025-07-25
Chapter: Chapter 27Hannah’s POV:Social media has been buzzing for the past few days. The story was on everyone’s lips. Lenora’s name was everywhere—basically anyone with internet access had heard about her. And her conference livestream? It had spread like wildfire, with the whole city excitedly watching.But the big question on everyone’s mind was—would the violent wife, Hannah, show up?The answer?Yes.I stepped into the packed hall, black heels clicking against the tile, and a red leather coat contoured my body outline. It was a statement piece, announcing to the room before I even spoke that I wasn’t here to play the victim or win sympathy. No! I was here to blind the lies with the truth and destroy everything that propagated that lie in the first place.Immediately I entered, all eyes turned to me, camera lights flashed like there was a thunderstorm, and the hall itself rattled to its very foundation from the uproar.“She actually showed up?”“She’s all dressed up like she has nothing to be asham
Last Updated: 2025-07-05
Chapter: Chapter 26Lenora’s POV:I stormed into the house. “F!ck!!” I roared as I flung my bag across the room.“She won again. She freaking won again, like she always does!!” I seethed with the anger hot in my head, boiling in my veins. I felt like I could literally murder someone, and I knew exactly who my target would be…Hannah.Everything had been perfect before she showed up in Hayes's life. Hayes used to love me; he adored me more than anything in this world, and that love had only increased as we grew up. Growing up with Hayes, I always knew he was the man destined for me. He was the one fate had chosen and curated perfectly for me—my soulmate, my other half.Ever since I was a little girl, I had pictured it: me in a white, flowing wedding gown and beside me, Hayes, in black, standing handsomely and complementing my dress. We would have three kids, a boy that takes after him, and two little angels that would be a replica of me.It was all perfect. All planned out in my head.Until Hannah.She s
Last Updated: 2025-07-04
Chapter: Chapter 25Hannah’s POV:Lies never hold still for long. When light cuts through the constructed walls of lies, the structure crumbles, the mask falls off, and the truth is laid bare. Nothing is hidden under the sun.And the thing with lies is that they are infectious for the ones who tell them; they spread like poisonous vines. They find themselves building up more lies to cover up for their previous lies. But it gets to a point when the dam fills up so much it begins to pour out, all the lies flooding out in all their sinful glory.Today was one of those days when the dam of lies pours out and the light cuts through its thick constructed walls.The courtroom was drenched in loud silence, the tension palpable in the air; you could almost taste it on your tongue. The warm lighting of the room cast a light shadow on the judge's face, who looked like he was in his late forties. His slant eyes hidden behind round glasses whispered years of experience in his field.I was seated in the defendants sec
Last Updated: 2025-07-04
Chapter: Chapter 24Hannah’s POV:Josh looked at me like I had just declared we launched WWIII. His face was doe-eyed, his face had visibly gotten paler, and there was still a dribble of coffee droplets on his chin.He blinked himself out of oblivion. “You can’t possibly be serious!” He said in disbelief.I just looked at him, my expression calm but serious. I wasn’t joking.“Hannah! Stop!!” He gasped, his hands covering his mouth in stunned amusement as he realized I was being a hundred percent serious.He shook his head. “But that is madness! Just purely insane.” His legs were starting to wobble, and he sat back down, pushing the coffee cup a short distance away before folding his hands together. “So let me get this straight. You want someone to remind Lenora that she could sue you and ask for a huge amount for compensation?”“Yes,” I said simply.He burst into a deranged laugh. His head fell backwards before he brought it back forward, and his expression changed. “Are you burning up? Perhaps the whol
Last Updated: 2025-07-03
Chapter: Chapter 23Hannah’s POV:My mouth went dry, the metal glass of the phone still pressed against my ear. “What do you mean revoke my spot from the competition?” I asked.I heard Josh’s heavy breathing from the other end, like he was trying to process something that shouldn’t be happening in the first place. “It’s the news, Hannah; it has spread like an infectious vine.” He paused. “These lies they’re spreading about you, are you okay? This must be intense for you.”Intense wouldn’t be the word I would use to describe what I was feeling right now. It would be something around ‘expected.’ I had expected this kind of feigned plot from Lenora. This playing the victim act was her logo, and she wore it like it was a badge of honor. The second word I would use to describe how I was feeling would be ‘unimpressed.’ I was unimpressed that Lenora chose to be this predictable and play this blaming game.Josh’s voice sounded through when he didn’t hear me respond. “I’ll be back in town tomorrow; let’s meet up
Last Updated: 2025-07-03
Chapter: Chapter 22Hannah’s POV:Their eyes scanned me from head to toe, like you would a designer bag at a pop-up store, trying to find faults in its authenticity. I didn’t waver, I didn’t flinch, and I didn’t move.Let them look till their disbelief dissolves like morning dew.They broke into a loud chatter, each voice tripping over the other as they questioned, still not believing what I had said. “It is your face that is on TV.”“Do you think lying would get you out of this?”“A wolf can never hide behind sheep’s clothing for long. It’s too late for you; you’re exposed now.”They all voiced out.Adam’s hand rested on my shoulder, an act to remind me that he was there as a source of support for me through it all. He was there, and he was never leaving.I raised my hand up, they hushed, and their eyes followed my hand. I shook my wrist, causing the hospital tag wristband to wiggle. “Look at the name. I’m not his wife.”Not anymore.I pushed my hand forward, allowing them to see the name written on the
Last Updated: 2025-07-01
Chapter: Chapter NINETY Tessa's POV: Some mornings, I still wake before the sun.Old habits, I guess.There was a time when waking up early meant preparing for battle, whether emotional or physical. A time when I carried the weight of other people’s expectations like armor. When I didn’t know who I was. But now?I wake for peace.For the little giggles echoing down the hallway. For the scent of cinnamon and fresh air drifting through the estate windows. For the love that fills every crack I once believed would never heal.I rolled onto my side, smiling as soft fingertips brushed along my cheek.Lucian.Even in sleep, his hand instinctively reached for me. His brow softened when he found me there beside him, like the storm of his past still needed reassurance that I hadn’t left.“I’m here,” I whispered, kissing his knuckles. “I’m not going anywhere.”He stirred slightly, his lashes fluttering. “Mmm. You say that now… But wait till she throws oatmeal in your hair again.”I laughed softly. “She’s your daughte
Last Updated: 2025-07-11
Chapter: Chapter Eighty NineTessa's POV: The pain came in waves, fierce and wild, like a storm crashing against cliffs. My cries echoed through the estate halls, but I wasn’t afraid.I was ready.Lucian knelt beside me, gripping my hand with a strength that made me know that he couldn't lose me. He didn’t flinch when I screamed. He didn’t waver when I sobbed his name. He was just there, whispering encouragement, pressing kisses to my sweat-soaked hair, his eyes never leaving me. “You’re almost there,” he murmured, his voice raw with emotion. “You’ve got this, moonlight. Just a little more.”I gasped, breath hitching, as another contraction tore through me. My mother stood near the foot of the bed, calm and focused, guiding the process with ancient magic that soothed the sharpest edges of the pain. Beside her was one of the estate’s most trusted she-wolves, Marra, the head healer, and Kate, one of my former maids who had stayed despite the havoc caused by Olivia. They moved around me with practiced hands and so
Last Updated: 2025-07-11
Chapter: Chapter Eighty EightTessa's POV: The mating ceremony wasn’t the kind of wedding I ever imagined growing up. There were no white dresses. No flower girls tossing petals. No fancy chairs lined up in rows.Instead, there was a circle.A wide, open clearing under the full moon. The air was heavy with the scent of pine and the hum of ancient magic. Wolves surrounded us, shifters from every corner of Lucian’s territory, some in human form, others padded and noble in their fur, all standing in reverent silence.And at the center of it all, him.Lucian.The Lycan King. The Alpha.He stood shirtless, barefoot, draped in a ceremonial sash made of braided threads, black, silver, and deep crimson, the colors of the Alpha line. The mark of the moon was etched in ash across his chest.He looked feral and beautiful. Mine.His dark eyes found mine as I stepped into the circle.I wore nothing elaborate. Just a deep blue silk gown and a crown of wild white flowers threaded with moonvine across my hair. My feet were bare.
Last Updated: 2025-07-11
Chapter: Chapter Eighty SevenTessa's POV: The wind that drifted through Lucian’s estate smelled different now. Not of blood, not of fear, but of wildflowers and ash, burnt sorrow giving way to something green again.We had returned a week ago.Not to pick up where we left off. That was impossible. Too much had been lost, too many truths had cracked open. But we came back to rebuild. Not the walls, but ourselves.Lucian’s estate was quieter than I remembered. Most of the staff had either fled during the chaos of Olivia or were reassigned by the Council until the dust settled.So it was just us.And strangely… I liked it that way.Our wounds, physical and otherwise, were still fresh. My ribs still ached when I twisted too far. Lucian winced when he moved his shoulder, where Olivia’s claws had nearly ended him. But the deepest healing wasn’t of the body.It was of the soul.He sat at the edge of the garden now, sunlight streaming through the overgrown vines above his head. His eyes were closed, his face tilted upwa
Last Updated: 2025-07-11
Chapter: Chapter Eighty SixTessa's POV: Dawn had barely begun to touch the horizon when the silence broke, low growls rumbling in the distance. Not from enemies. This time, they were different.I turned slowly, blood still drying on my skin, my breath catching as dark shapes approached through the woods. They came without sound, seven in total, cloaked in deep gray robes, faces partially masked in silver. Their eyes glowed faintly with ancient magic, and the moment they stepped into the courtyard, the very air bent around them.The werewolf council enforcers.Behind them came another group, less cloaked, more armored, already moving swiftly to begin evacuation. They carried stretchers, sacred warded tools, and whispered spells that lifted bodies with reverent silence.Olivia's still-bound form was hauled to her knees. She didn’t fight. Her eyes were blank now, devoid of the fire that once consumed her.One of the enforcers passed close to me, his silver eyes sweeping across the carnage. “We intercepted the dis
Last Updated: 2025-07-11
Chapter: Chapter Eighty FiveTessa's POV: Olivia groaned under the crushing weight of my magic, slumped against the courtyard wall like shattered porcelain. Her limbs twitched weakly, still bound by the living vines I’d summoned from the earth itself. Her hair was tangled and streaked with blood, and her once-fierce eyes now brimmed with a trembling disbelief.Olivia.The Alpha who tore everything apart.The sister who murdered her own blood.Now she lay broken.And still, I wasn’t done. My palms pulsed white with power, raw and ancient. I could feel it in the wind, in the soil, in the ache of my grief; it surged through me, responding to every thought, every breath.But then…Something shifted in the air.A ripple.A soft hum, like magic brushing against memory.I turned quickly.And there he stood.“Noah.”He stepped out from the smoke and shadows like a vision from another lifetime.Still tall. Still steady. Still carrying the sadness in his eyes that had never really left since we were kids.His brown curls
Last Updated: 2025-07-11
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