LOGIN_Aurora’s POV_I smoothed my hands down the front of my dress for what had to be the hundredth time tonight, staring at myself in the mirror.The navy fabric hugged my waist before flowing to my knees, simple enough that I didn’t feel like I was trying too hard, but elegant enough to make me wonder how Nikolai got the perfect dress.Elena stood behind me, arms folded, inspecting me like a proud artist admiring her masterpiece.“There,” she declared. “You look hot.” She finished up the touches of my makeup, bringing two strands of hair out to the front. “I look like I’m going to a royal banquet.” I said as I stared at myself. I wasn’t sure what Nikolai had planned, but it low-key felt like I was wearing too much? But at least I didn’t ask what brand it was like I would have done previously. Elena scoffed.“You wish.”I rolled my eyes before turning towards the mirror again.For a second, I barely recognized the girl staring back at me.My hair fell in soft waves around my shoulders
_Aurora’s POV_I stared at Nikolai, my mouth opening and parting as I struggled for what to say. Even the words I wanted to say to him had evaporated from my brain.“What did you say?” I asked, like I hadn’t heard him the first time. Heck, I could bet I misheard what he had said actually. Nikolai pushed up to his feet, walking towards me slowly. My heart skipped a beat as he stopped a few inches before me, his citrus perfume drifting into my nostrils. I always thought those smelled like spoilt oranges, but I couldn’t say anything about that. I heard a little scurry behind me and, so quick, handed him a blur of colors, then zoomed off. Was that Elena? That little traitor. My gaze zoomed into what he held in his hands and I almost melted.They were flowers. Different flowers. “I wasn’t sure what your favourite flower was, so I got you one of everything.” He rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly looking almost shy.“I hope I can help you find a new favourite.”I stared at the r
Aurora’s POVMy chest burned as I watched her lips on his cheeks, the smile disappearing from my face.And then I tore my eyes off them. I couldn’t understand why I was feeling the way I was. Nikolai and I weren’t even an actual thing but I couldn’t shake off the bad taste on my tongue. The woman stopped beside Nikolai’s desk as though she had done it a hundred times before. She rested one hand against the edge of the desk and looked up at him with an easy familiarity that made something unpleasant settle in the pit of my stomach.“I’ve been looking all over for you,” she said with a laugh. “I should have known I’d find you buried in class.”Nikolai returned her smile, though it was polite rather than warm.Who was she?“Jealous much?” Elena murmured in my ear, letting out a light yelp when my elbow made contact with her ribs.“I was finishing up after class.” Nikolai glanced at us both, but I instantly forced a tight smile, trying to act casual.“I can see that.” The woman glanced
_Aurora’s POV_The second Professor Volkov dismissed the class, the lecture theatre exploded into chatter.Chairs scraped against the floor as students stood, backpacks were slung over shoulders, and conversations overlapped until it became one loud blur. I stayed exactly where I was, staring at the front of the room as though my body had forgotten how to move.I still couldn’t believe it.Nikolai was a professor.Not just any professor, judging by the way everyone around me was talking.He was THE professor.“You look traumatized.”I slowly turned my head toward Elena and I blinked baxk a few times.“I am traumatized.”How could I not be?She laughed, slipping her notebook into her tote bag.“You’ll get over it.”“I don’t think I will.”“You dated him before you knew he taught here.”Well technically we were game dating Anf I thought the bar was all he did.How was I supposed to know he was a professor as well?I sighed dramatically and gathered my things, shoving my notebook into my
_Aurora’s POV_My fake boyfriend……was my professor.There had to be some kind of mistake here.I blinked once.Then twice.Surely if I blinked enough times, Professor Nikolai Volkov would disappear from the front of the lecture theatre and be replaced by whoever was actually supposed to teach this class.Instead, he calmly set his laptop on the lectern, connected it to the projector, and adjusted the microphone clipped to the collar of his shirt.He looked as though he had done this hundreds of times before.No.Thousands.Everything about him was effortless.The crisp white shirt rolled neatly to his forearms, the dark trousers, the expensive watch peeking out beneath his sleeve—it all screamed professionalism. His dark hair was combed back instead of falling messily over his forehead like it usually did at home, and the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose somehow made him look even more intimidating.I had never seen him wear glasses before. Heck, I had never seen him dressed
Aurora’s POVI stared at him for several long moments before a laugh escaped me.“You cannot possibly expect me to believe that.”It had to be a joke, Nikolai was just messing with me.“I do.”His face remained completely serious, which only made me laugh harder.“You’ve got to be joking.” Please, tell me it's a joke. “I’m not.”“Nikolai.”“I asked you because I feel sorry for you.”I folded my arms across my chest and tilted my head, studying him carefully. If he expected me to believe that ridiculous excuse, then he clearly did not know me as well as he thought.“You feel sorry for me?”“Yes.”“And your solution is to date me?”He gave a small shrug, as though the answer was painfully obvious.“It seems like the easiest solution.”I rolled my eyes so dramatically that my head almost hurt.“Yeah, right.”His eyebrow lifted slightly.“You don’t believe me.”“Not even a little.”“I’ve never lied to you.”I snorted.“You expect me to believe that the man who practically interrogates e







