Chapter 5

Emilia Jones

(The same morning)

I sat in the front row of the lecture hall with my notebook open and a pen that hadn’t moved in five minutes.

The professor hadn’t arrived yet. Students filled the seats around me, talking in low voices, scrolling on their phones, laughing at things that felt a million miles away from the mess inside my head.

Getting this degree was the only way out for me to get a better life, if I have to keep my family off my back. I kept convincing myself that the thrill of sleeping with him could replace the betrayal Mike planted into my heart.

Charlotte dropped into the seat beside me like she had been waiting all morning for this exact moment. Her brown hair bouncing as usual. She had always been the pretty one, the one who actually went to parties and stood out in the crowd. I was shocked she was even my best friend, most people wouldn't look twice at me.

Her bag hit the floor with a soft thud. She turned sideways in her chair and stared straight at my face.

“Okay girl... Spill. Where did you disappear to? I couldn't reach you the whole of yesterday And why do you look like that? Omg is that a hickey?”

I kept my eyes on the blank page in front of me. “Like what?”

“Like you had really good sex and then got hit by a truck. You’re glowing and dead at the same time. Don’t even try to lie, Is it Mike? The whole school knows about his cheating ass now.”

Heat crawled up my neck, I only wished the earth could swallow me whole.

"I don't want to talk about Mike right now," I said smoothly, drawing circles on my note book for no apparent reason.

I could still feel last night on my skin if I let myself think about it too long.

I shifted in my seat and tugged the sleeve of my hoodie lower.

“Emilia, you are keeping me in the dark... Please tell me the details girl..“ Charlotte pout her plump pink lips and grabbed my shoulders a little tighter.

“Keep your voice down,” I muttered.

Charlotte leaned closer instead. “Bestie..."

The name made my stomach twist. “Just… don’t talk about him right now.”

She opened her mouth to push harder, but the side door of the lecture hall swung open. I glanced over without meaning to and immediately wished I hadn’t.

Mandy walked in holding Mike’s hand like it was the most natural thing in the world. Her hair was perfect. Her smile was bright. Mike’s fingers were laced through hers the same way they used to lace through mine.

He scanned the room, found me in the front row, and held my gaze for a long second.

Then he turned his head, pulled Mandy in, and kissed her right there in front of everyone. They all stared at them in admiration, applauding them like they didn't know Mike was supposed to be mine.

He held her like he wanted me to watch.

I rolled my eyes and looked away. Disgust sat thick in my throat.

I had no energy left for his games.

My mind slid backward without permission.

Last night at the hotel room.

He hadn’t even offered me a ride home afterward. Just the money, counted out in thick envelopes, and a quiet reminder that the choice was mine. It had been a lot of money I had only dreamt of having.

This morning my mother’s voice had come through the phone thin and cracked, saying that grandpa was in the hospital and he has to get surgery.

The kind that cost more than any of us could touch. She had cried while she told me. Dad had stayed silent in the background. Another weight dropped on top of the ones I already carried.

I was stuck. Completely stuck.

The lecture hall faded around me. Charlotte’s voice became background noise.

The blank page in my notebook stared up like it was judging me. I kept replaying the way that man. I didn’t even know his name. was I supposed to ask? maybe not.

I wasn't going to desire a man of a stranger I had given my V card to just because of money.

Then I felt a light tap land on my shoulder.

I blinked twice. The room came back into focus too fast.

“I don’t tolerate slacking off in class, Ms. Jones.”

The voice was deep velvet voice. It sounded so familiar in a way that made my blood turn cold.

I turned my head slowly and looked up.

My eyes widened in shock, I felt beads of sweat form on my forehead.

Indeed it was the same dark hair, Same eyes that had watched me fall apart last night.

He stood in the aisle beside my desk in a fitted black shirt and dark trousers, looking every bit as powerful as he had in that dim hotel room.

There were shadows to hide me now. Just bright classroom lights and an entire lecture hall full of students.

My heart slammed so hard I felt dizzy.

Around me, chairs shifted. Voices rose in unison like they had practiced it.

“Good morning, Professor Charles Reed.”

The name hit me like a punch to the chest.

“Oh shit...I think I'm going to puke....“ I panicked, grabbing my phone.

Panic rose so fast I couldn’t swallow it down.

I shoved my notebook into my bag with shaking hands, stood up so quickly the chair scraped loud against the floor, and pushed past Charlotte’s confused face.

I didn’t even look back.

I ran.

Out of the lecture hall. Down the corridor then straight into the nearest bathroom.

The door swung shut behind me just in time. I dropped to my knees in the first stall and threw up everything I had left, the bitter taste of last night and this morning mixing until I couldn’t tell which one made me sicker.

“He is my professor...Oh shit! I am completely screwed.“