LOGINGwen's PovI lasted until we were two blocks away from campus.The car was too warm, the silence too loud, and Alex’s presence too overwhelming. Every time he shifted gears or glanced in my direction, my stomach did this stupid little flip that reminded me exactly why I had spent the last year rebuilding my walls. I couldn’t risk anyone seeing us pull up together. The rumours would start before lunch.“Stop the car,” I said suddenly, my voice sharper than I intended.Alex slowed down but didn’t pull over immediately. “We’re almost there.”“Exactly.” I unbuckled the seatbelt he had helped me with earlier, the memory of his closeness still made my cheeks warm. “I’ll walk the rest. I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.”He exhaled through his nose, jaw tight, but he eased the car to the side of the road near a row of campus-adjacent cafes. “Gwen…”“Thanks for the ride,” I cut him off, already opening the door and jamming it close a little harder than necessary. I stepped out befo
Gwen's PovThe email was open on my screen before I could talk myself out of it.Thank you for the student list. –Dr. Alexander ThorneThat was it. Five words. Polite. Professional. Cold as ice.I stared at it for a full minute, waiting for something more, an explanation, an apology, even a stupid emoji. Nothing. I let out a bitter laugh that echoed in my quiet apartment. Why did you expect anything else, Gwen? He had made it crystal clear a year ago that I was nothing but a temporary distraction. Of course he wasn’t going to suddenly pour his heart out over email.I tossed my phone onto the nightstand and flopped back onto the bed, pulling the covers over my head. The day kept replaying in my mind like a bad movie on repeat: Alex at the front of the lecture hall, the way my body still reacted to his voice, Nelson’s hopeful smile, the humiliating elevator moment, and now this neighbour bombshell.Sleep refused to come. I tossed and turned for hours, checking the clock every twenty m
Gwen's PovI stood there for a second, heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat. Part of me wanted to turn around and walk straight out the door. Just leave. But my bag was still on that chair, with my wallet, my keys, my notebook – everything important. I couldn’t just abandon it.‘Of course this would happen,’ I thought bitterly. ‘The universe really hates me.’I forced my legs to move. One foot in front of the other. I approached the table without saying a word, my arms crossed tightly over my chest like that could protect me somehow. Alex looked up when I got closer. For a split second, genuine surprise flickered across his face, like he hadn’t expected me to be here.But I wasn’t buying it. Not for a second. This was the same man who had once tracked my every move when it suited him. Stalking me to a random cafe? It wouldn’t be the craziest thing he’d done.I stopped beside the table, staring down at him. The silence stretched between us, heavy and uncomfortable. He l
Gwen's PovMy finger hovered over the send button, trembling slightly.The email was perfect. Professional, cold, nothing more than a simple list of names, IDs, and contacts. But the second I hit send, I would be opening a door I had fought so hard to slam shut. Alex would have my email. He could reach me anytime. And even though I had blocked him everywhere else for the past year, a small, stupid part of me still wondered if he had ever tried reaching me.Why does that even matter?I squeezed my eyes shut for a second. My brain kept skipping over the most important details, the ones that should have made this easy. A year ago, when I finally gathered the courage to leave, the universe had noticed my hesitation and shoved me off the edge without mercy.I had been traced. Kidnapped right off the street in broad daylight. Blindfolded, terrified, and forced to listen to a distorted voice deliver deadly threats: ‘Stay away. Disappear. Or next time, we won’t let you go.’ They never said wh
Alex's PovI kept my face like stone the entire lecture.It took every ounce of control I had not to let the storm inside me show. My hands stayed steady on the marker, my voice remained calm and professional as I went through the syllabus, but inside? I was raging. She was my freaking student.Of all the fucking universities in the country, of all the classes she could have been in, Gwen ended up right here. Sitting in the third row, looking like a ghost who had seen death itself when her eyes met mine. The horror on her face cut deeper than I wanted to admit. She had stared at me like I was her worst nightmare come to life.And maybe I was.I wasn’t going to infringe on her life. Not again. I had already caused enough damage the last time, the scandal, whispers, and the contract that had bound us in ways that still haunted me at night. I came here to teach for one semester, do my duty, and leave. I would maintain distance. As much as humanly possible. Shorten my stay if I had to. T
Gwen's Pov“Sheesh, it’s chilly in here.” A willowy young woman with short brunette hair came to perch on the bench beside me with no further introduction. At first glance, she seemed a bit older than the rest of the students I had met, and I wondered if she might be in a situation as peculiar as mine. Her gentle fabric softener scent tickled my nose, but it was rather pleasant and helped me relax. I didn’t know what to say, so I just smiled at her and turned my eyes toward the front of the class.It was almost 11am, time for the first class. The lecturer had never made it late and was usually here right on the dot. I shifted in my seat, trying to focus on the notebook in front of me. For the past few months, I had been doing everything possible to live a normal life again. To forget him. Alex. The man who had turned my world upside down and left it in pieces. After the scandal and the messy fallout, I threw myself into my studies with everything I had. I changed my routines, avoid







