Chapter 26

Daniella’s Pov

My heart beats so fast I think it will jump right out of my chest.

"Outside the university?" I ask. My voice sounds very small and shaky. I look up at Kent, and his dark eyes look right into mine. There is no teacher in his eyes right now. There is only a man looking at a woman, and it makes my stomach do a happy, scared flip.

Kent nods slowly. He does not take his eyes off my face. "Yes," he says softly. His voice is deep and quiet, just for me. "I want to see you where no one else can watch us. No students. No books. Just you and me."

My mind screams at me to say no. I think about Gareth and his angry, jealous eyes. I think about the red marks still stinging on my wrist where Gareth grabbed me too hard. I think about Freya, the rich girl Kent is supposed to marry, and her powerful family who can destroy both of our lives with just one phone call. Everything tells me to step back, to shake my head, and to run away as fast as my legs can carry me.

Instead, I whisper, "When?"

A tiny smile touches the corner of Kent’s mouth. It makes him look less like the strict professor everyone fears and more like the boy I fell into a secret world with that rainy night at the penthouse. "Tomorrow night," he says. "There is a small diner on the other side of town. Not many people from the campus go there. Do you know the one on Maple Street?"

I nod. I know it. It is dark, quiet, and far away enough that nobody will ever guess we are together.

"Eight o'clock," Kent says. He slowly takes his hand away from my lower back, and the sudden cold air where his warm palm used to be makes me shiver. "I will wait for you in the back booth."

Before I can answer him, the heavy door of the staff room clicks and starts to open.

Panic hits me like a bucket of cold water. We jump apart instantly. I grab my bag off the wooden chair, my fingers shaking so badly I almost drop my notebook on the floor. Kent turns around quickly and picks up a stack of grading papers from the table, looking completely calm and professional by the time Professor Davis walks into the room.

"Ah, Professor Kent. Still working?" Professor Davis asks, adjusting his thick glasses as he looks between us.

"Just finishing up, Davis," Kent replies smoothly. His voice does not shake at all. He sounds cool and normal. "Daniella was just asking me a question about her final essay topic."

"Right. Yes. Thank you, Professor," I manage to say, keeping my head down so Professor Davis will not see the red blush burning bright on my cheeks. I rush toward the door, muttering a quick goodbye, and practically run down the empty hallway.

My feet barely touch the ground as I hurry out of the building and into the cool evening air. The sun is setting, painting the sky in deep shades of orange and purple, but I cannot enjoy the view. My head is spinning.

What am I doing?

I am already in a messy relationship with Gareth, a man who gets angrier every single day. I am hiding a huge secret—a baby growing inside me that belongs to my university professor. And now, I am secretly agreeing to go on a date with that same professor, a man who is officially engaged to another woman.

It is a terrible idea. Every smart part of my brain tells me to call him, to text him, and to tell him I cannot come tomorrow.

Yet, when I get to the bus stop and sit down on the cold metal bench, all I can think about is the way his hand felt on my back. For a few minutes in that quiet staff room, I did not feel scared or trapped. I just felt safe. And that scares me more than anything else.

By the time I reach the small apartment I share, the clock on the wall reads nearly seven o'clock. I push the front door open, hoping for a quiet night where I can hide in my bedroom and try to calm my racing thoughts.

Of course, I am not that lucky.

Gareth is sitting on the worn-out sofa in the living room. The television is playing loudly, but he is not watching it. He is staring straight at the front door, his jaw clenched tight. The empty bottles of beer on the coffee table tell me he has been here for a while, drinking and waiting.

My heart sinks straight to my toes.

"You're late," Gareth says. His voice is dangerously low. He stands up slowly, towering over me like a storm cloud.

"I was... I had extra work at the university," I say quickly, keeping my voice as flat and calm as possible. I close the door behind me and try to walk past him toward the hallway.

Gareth steps sideways, blocking my path. His dark eyes narrow as he looks down at me. "Extra work until this late? With who?"

"Just Professor Davis," I lie. The lie tastes bitter in my mouth, but I know what happens if I say Kent's name. Gareth hates Kent even more than the other professors because he thinks Kent looks down on him. If Gareth ever found out about the penthouse, or about the way Kent looks at me, he would probably tear the whole university apart.

Gareth reaches out, his fingers wrapping around my wrist. He doesn't squeeze hard this time, but just his touch makes my skin crawl. He pulls my arm toward him, looking closely at my face.

"You look different," Gareth accuses, his eyes narrowing further. "You have this stupid look on your face. Like you're hiding something."

"I'm just tired, Gareth," I say, pulling my arm away from his grip. I step back, putting some safe distance between us. "I had a long day. I just want to go to sleep."

Gareth stares at me for a long, heavy moment. I hold my breath, terrified that he can read my thoughts, that he can somehow see the secret of tomorrow night written all over my face. Finally, he snorts, turning back toward the sofa and picking up another bottle.

"Go to bed, then," he mutters, not looking at me anymore. "We're going to my parents' house for dinner tomorrow night, so don't make any plans."

My blood turns to ice.

"Tomorrow night?" I repeat, the words flying out of my mouth before I can stop them.

Gareth stops and looks back over his shoulder. "Yeah. Tomorrow night. My mom called. She wants to see us. Is there a problem?"

"No," I whisper, my throat suddenly dry as dust. "No problem."

My mind races in absolute panic. Tomorrow night at eight o'clock, Gareth expects me to sit at a fancy dinner table with his loud, critical parents. But tomorrow night at eight o'clock, Kent will be waiting for me in the dark, quiet booth of that diner on Maple Street.

I am trapped. I cannot be in two places at once. And as I walk slowly down the dark hallway to my bedroom and lock the door behind me, I realize that my secret life is about to blow up right in my face, and there is nowhere left for me to run.