5- not a joke

The little smile that had made a home on Hellen's lips vanishes. Hellen, Miranda, and Lisa gasp.

“How dare you?” Maria points a finger at Mike. "Let me remind you in case you forgot.”

I can't believe that in my previous life I used to beg for this man's approval.

“You three leeches are standing in Lynn's mother's house, and you dared raise a hand to her.”

As if she just snapped out of a spell, Miranda rushes to Mike's side. "You lowly servant, you just hit the head of this house?”

Hellen then comes, "We'll have you sued for this." She raises a hand, about to slap Maria, and I stop it midair, slapping her in return with the back of my hand.

Another set of gasps fills the room. “Maria is working for me; touch her, and I will sue you for more than abuse”

Mike looks at me with shock. "What happened to you?”

“I got tired of following a kept man”

Mike shakes his head. "You are not my daughter”

I scoff, "Of course I am not." I then point at Hellen, “She is your daughter”

There is a lump on my throat; my own father is choosing another woman and her daughter. He stares at me with rage in his eyes. "What have you done to my daughter”

“Ask yourself that” I grab Maria's hand and lead her to the room where Hellen's clothes are scattered.

The moment the door closes, tears begin falling.

“My father is siding with outsiders”

Maria pulls me into her hold, where I find comfort. “One day he will see just how blind he is being, and when he does, it will be too late”

“I just can't believe how I always wanted to make him proud of me, to make him notice me after Mom passed."I sniff. “I spent every waking day investigating how to make him proud”

I wile away the tears. I was foolish, but now I'm going to make them pay with their lives.

The next day I am waiting for Valerian at his office entrance. “You're here?” He sounds surprised.

He looks at my cheek. "What is that?”

His hand reaches out to touch my cheek before stopping midway.

I can still feel the sting on my cheek.

“Just a mosquito bite” I respond nonchalantly, but I see Valerian's jaw clench.

“Must have been a massive one."I swallow, changing the subject.

“I want my grades up before the end of this semester, Professor”

“Hmm” is all I get; his eyes are still on my cheek. He opens his door, then steps aside, letting me enter before him. "Thank you." He is a gentleman; I dance internally.

In his last life, Kai had never opened or held a door open for me.

“What areas do you want to work with first?” Straight to business.

I don't know anything in psychology; I already have so much on my plate. Studies, revenge, and taking back control of my mom's assets

“The very beginning?” I ask, and he pauses, staring at me; maybe he is reading me. I mean, that is his subject.

“You do realize that this is your eighth semester?”

“I was slacking” is my weak excuse. No, it's not an excuse; it is the truth.

“Slacking?” He sounds disappointed

“because of Kai." The first is a question, but the second is a statement, yet I answer anyway “ Yes,I didn't know any better."

“Define the following terms. Introduction to psychology, development, social, abnormal, counseling, and industrial psychology.

“What is psychology?”

“The study of… human behavior?” I pause. “And mental processes.” He writes something down in his notebook.

"Developmental psychology?" I stare at him.

“You've spent an entire semester avoiding your coursework.”

“Yes.”

"Why?"

“Kai.”

He looks at me.

“That wasn't a joke.” I bite my lower lip.

Valerian pinches the space between his eyes

" I see"

He leans back in his chair, studying me with an expression I can't quite decipher.

"From today onward, you'll report to me every morning before your lectures and every evening after them."

I blink. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"Professor, are you planning to teach me psychology or imprison me?"

A faint smile tugs at the corner of his lips. "That depends on how difficult you intend to be, Lynn."

I fold my arms across my chest. "You can't just order me around."

His smile disappears.

"Miss Lynn, I don't repeat myself."

I stare at him.

For a moment, something about his expression makes me reconsider my next words. There is an authority in his voice that makes arguing with him feel like a terrible idea.

Unfortunately, I have never been particularly good at following instructions.

"Is that supposed to scare me?"

He studies me for a moment before standing.

"No." He straightens his jacket. "It's supposed to save us both time."

I press my lips together, fighting a smile.

This man is unbelievable.

He walks around his desk and stops in front of me, his gaze dropping to the faint mark on my cheek.

"Who did that to you?"

My smile disappears.

"Nobody important."

His jaw tightens.

"I didn't ask whether they were important to you. I asked who did it."

For some reason, the quietness of his voice is more unsettling than if he had shouted.

"My family," I answer reluctantly.

Something changes in his expression. It's subtle, but I catch it.

"Family," he repeats, almost as if the word leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

I shrug, pretending it doesn't bother me anymore.

"It's complicated, Professor."

"Then simplify it for me."

I look up at him. "Why do you care?"

For a few seconds, he says nothing.

Then he reaches for the notebook on his desk.

"Because I don't tolerate people hurting someone under my watch."

My heart does something strange.

Under his watch?

I'm his student, not his responsibility.

Before I can point that out, he opens the notebook and gestures toward the chair.

"Sit down, Lynn."

I obey, mostly because I don't want to risk my grades any further.

He takes his seat, his expression returning to its usual calmness.

"Now, let's see how much damage Kai has done to your education."

I gasp. "Professor!"

"What? You said it yourself."

I glare at him while he picks up his pen.

And for the first time since my rebirth, I find myself wondering whether getting my grades back on track will be more difficult than getting my revenge.

Something tells me Professor Valerian won't make either task easy.