003

I groaned and threw a pillow at her.

“You’re not helping.”

Ela caught the pillow and laughed.

“Come on, let’s get out of this room. You’ve been stressed since morning. Let's have fresh air around campus and grab ice cream.”

I didn’t feel like going anywhere, but staying in the room replaying Professor Howard’s deep voice in my head felt worse.

“Fine. But if we see anyone I don’t want to see, we’re turning back immediately.”

We stepped out of the hostel fifteen minutes later.

The evening sun was milder now, and a light breeze moved through the trees lining the pathway. For the first time since the morning’s shock, I felt my shoulders relax a little.

We had barely walked ten minutes toward the central fountain when I froze.

Ethan.

He was leaning against a bench, laughing with a girl I recognized immediately …..Selena, one of the hottest and most popular girls on campus.

She was in a tight crop top and denim shorts, her hand resting possessively on his chest. The same guy who had shattered me just two weeks ago looked completely fine.

Ela noticed him a second later and grabbed my arm.

“Aurora, let’s go the other way—”

Too late.

Ethan’s eyes landed on me. His smile faltered for a second, then he smirked. He whispered something to Selena before walking toward us with her trailing behind him like a trophy.

“Aurora,” he said, voice dripping with fake concern.

“Didn’t expect to see you back on campus so soon. How was Texas?”

The audacity made my blood boil.

Ela stepped forward before I could speak.

“You’ve got some nerve talking to her after what you did, you cheating bastard.”

Ethan laughed lightly, looking at Selena.

“Babe, this is the girl I told you about. The one who showed up unannounced and caused drama on my birthday.”

Selena looked me up and down with a smug smile.

“Oh, the insecure one? The one who doesn’t put out? Poor thing.”

My hands clenched into fists. The pain I thought had numbed came rushing back.

“I came all the way to surprise you, Ethan. And you had another girl in your jersey. You kissed her right in front of me.”

He shrugged.

“Maybe if you weren’t so uptight and frigid, I wouldn’t have needed to look elsewhere. You should thank me. Clearly someone else got what you couldn’t give.”

The words hit like fresh slaps. I wanted to cry, scream, or slap him but before I could do anything, Ela pulled me back.

“Leave her alone, Ethan,” Ela snapped.

“You’re nothing but a walking red flag. Come on, Aurora. He’s not worth another second of our time.”

We turned and walked away fast. I could hear Selena’s laughter behind us. My eyes stung, but I refused to let the tears fall.

“Men like him don’t deserve your tears,” Ela said, squeezing my hand.

“He’s trash, forget him.”

I nodded but the encounter left a bitter taste in my mouth for the rest of the evening.

---

The next morning, Psychology class felt like walking into a battlefield.

Professor Howard stood at the front, looking unfairly good in a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up again. His voice was calm and authoritative as he explained cognitive biases, but every time his eyes scanned the room, they seemed to linger on me a little longer than necessary.

I kept my head down, scribbling notes furiously.

“Miss Finland.”

My pen froze.

“See me in my office after class. We’ll handle the tutoring session you missed yesterday.”

A few students turned to look at me and I was already hearing whispers.

“Has she decided to seduce Professor Howard since she got cheated on?”

“Or maybe she offered him her body”

“Yes, Professor,” I mumbled, ignoring the whispers

Ela shot me a wide-eyed look that screamed

*good luck*.

When class ended, I dragged my feet all the way to his office. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. I knocked softly.

“Come in.”

I stepped inside. Professor Howard was already seated, the folder from yesterday open on his desk along with several textbooks.

“You’re on time today,” he noted, voice strict.

“Close the door and sit. We don’t have much time.”

I sat down, clutching my notebook.

For the next forty minutes, he was nothing but professional. He drilled me on past quiz questions, corrected my answers sharply when I got something wrong, and made me explain psychological theories out loud.

I was starting to relax into the academic rhythm when we hit a quiet moment. He was writing something down while I reviewed a diagram.

Trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere and maybe test him…. I muttered without thinking,

“I guess some things are harder to forget than others… even when you slip away before sunrise.”

The words hung in the air.

It was a stupid, risky joke that only made sense if he remembered that night. My heart stopped as soon as I said it.

Professor Howard’s pen paused. He slowly lifted his gaze to meet mine.

Those sharp eyes studied me for what felt like forever.

For a second, I thought he would acknowledge …….say something, anything.

Instead, his expression remained completely neutral.

“Focus, Miss Finland. This competition is in four weeks. If you’re not serious, tell me now so I can replace you.”

I swallowed hard.

“I’m serious, sir.”

“Good.” He tapped the paper in front of me.

“Explain the difference between confirmation bias and availability heuristic again. Properly this time.”

I nodded quickly, cheeks burning with embarrassment and confusion.

But as I started explaining, I caught the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth. It was gone so fast that I thought I might have imagined it.

When the hour ended, he closed the folder and leaned back.

“Tomorrow. Same time. Don’t be late again.”

I stood up, legs slightly shaky. As I reached the door, his voice stopped me.

“And Miss Finland?”

I turned.

“you shouldn't be bothered about what Ethan did to you. he's not worth you"