I hadn’t checked my phone all day. I was too afraid of messages and of what people were saying. But when I finally turned it on, one message flashed on the screen.No name. No number. *8PM. Greenhouse storage behind the old Bio lab. Come alone. Don’t tell anyone. —W*My fingers trembled around the phone. My heart ached just seeing that dash and a single letter. He was still out there. Still trying. I pulled on a hoodie, tucked my hair under a cap, and masked up like the Dean said. I looked like someone in hiding. Someone guilty.The campus was quiet at night. The greenhouse storage was tucked behind overgrown hedges and a rusting door. Abandoned.I knocked once.The door creaked open from the inside.And there he was.Wolfe.No blazer. His sleeves were shoved up to his forearms like he’d been too restless to sit still. His jaw was tight like he was clenching down words too dangerous to speak. But his eyes—God, his eyes found mine instantly, like they’d been waiting. Burning.It had o
Straight to a room at the end of the hall was a conference room. Curtains drawn. A table already filled, two school administrators, one student liaison, and a legal rep. There was a camera set up in the corner. My palms started sweating. “Miss Clarke,” the older woman said, nodding. Dean Harrow. She looked like she hadn’t slept either. “Please. Sit.” I did, without meeting anyone’s eyes. “This will be recorded for documentation purposes only,” the legal advisor said. “This is not a criminal proceeding. Yet. But you are advised to speak carefully and truthfully.” “Understood,” I murmured. Dean Harrow folded her hands in front of her. “Let’s start from the beginning. We need you to confirm the nature of your relationship with Professor Wolfe.” I swallowed. My throat was so dry it burned. “We were involved… personally.” “And how long has this relationship been going on?” I hesitated. “A few weeks.” A beat of silence. Pens scratched paper. “Were you aware that faculty-student r
I must’ve fallen asleep sitting up, arms wrapped around my legs like they were the only thing holding me together. The floor was cold. My body was sore. And my head felt too heavy for my neck.I didn’t hear the door open until someone cleared their throat.“Let’s go,” said a voice. The same staff member from earlier. His expression was unreadable. “Your father’s waiting outside.”I didn’t say anything. I just stood. My legs were stiff. I felt like I was walking underwater.The ride home was silent. My father didn’t look at me. Not once. Not when I got in the car. Not when I sat beside him in the back seat. He stared out the window like I wasn’t even there.When we pulled up to the house, I saw the lights were on.The front door opened before we reached it.A familiar feminine figure was already waiting.My mother.The woman who hadn’t come to my convocation. Who always had work, meetings, clients. Who was rarely home, and when she was, it was more in presence than spirit.But now, she
The screams didn’t come. Not for me.Not yet.The kind of silence that followed wasn’t mercy; it was a massacre. The auditorium, moments ago filled with pride and celebration, now breathed only shame and shock. Eyes that had adored me, applauded me, were now daggers. Staring. Judging. Consuming.And then came the whispers. The poison.“Is that really her?”“God, that’s disgusting…” “With a professor?”“She probably slept her way to that award.”“Slut.”“She’s not even denying it—look at her!”Each word sliced through my skin, raw and humiliating. My hands trembled around the trophy I’d earned. The once-glorious trophy felt like a joke now. I turned, my eyes scanning the crowd through the blur of tears and blinding lights, searching for something—someone to ground me.There.My gaze found him. Professor Wolfe.Frozen.He stood at the side like the impact had knocked the air out of him. His broad shoulders were stiff, but his jaw ticked. Once. Twice. A muscle feathered under the sharp
The auditorium falls silent as the noise of conversation stops. A name echoes clearly over the microphone.A slow smile crept across his face as he announced, “The Highest Honor of Distinction—awarded to the single most exceptional student in our university’s history... Ava Clarke.”My name.My heart pounded like a drum in my chest as I stood, trying to steady myself, desperate to keep my excitement in check. That's right. Spine straight, chin high, my red gown flowing like fire. As I climbed the stage, all eyes followed me. Cameras flashed. Applause thundered.Applause burst like a wave.Bright lights hit my face. The Dean was waiting at the center of the stage with a wide smile and a thick certificate in hand. Cameras flashed. Someone in the crowd screamed my name proudly—my father, maybe.When I reached the Dean, our hands met in a firm handshake. Photos clicked, capturing this moment I’d fought for. He pressed the certificate into my trembling hands, along with a heavy, gold-embos
After that day, everything went back to normal. I threw myself into studying like usual—maybe even harder—because the convocation ceremony was right around the corner, and I had to be the best. No excuses.Professor Wolfe was always there, lecturing, mentoring, and supporting me in the way only he could. I was grateful—really. As for Sienna Cross? She never missed a chance to get under my skin. Every day, she made sure to flash that smug, evil smirk at me in passing. At first, it made my spine itch. Now? I just flipped her off and kept walking. I knew it was one of her tired little tactics to throw me off my game.Another favorite? Trying to steal Wolfe’s attention in class by answering questions no one asked and leaning a little too close when she didn’t need to. I swear, there were moments I wanted to launch my notebook at her head. But Professor Wolfe always managed to calm me before I snapped.She’d been clawing for the spotlight since the day she transferred here, desperate to ou