All Chapters of My Professor Lectured My Heart: Chapter 31 - Chapter 38

The men’s locker room buzzed with the familiar sounds of after-practice activity. The whoosh of running showers filled the air, mixing with the metallic clang of locker doors as athletes changed. Ethan stood near one of the long wooden benches, a towel slung over his shoulder, toweling off the sweat that still glistened on his skin after an intense basketball practice. His body was present, but his mind was miles away, lost in thoughts about Ariel. Specifically, the kiss. He hadn’t seen her since the party, and her sudden departure had left him in a state of debate. Should he bring up the kiss? Or should he pretend it never happened? The idea of pushing her away, of making her uncomfortable, was the last thing he wanted. He valued their friendship, and the thought of jeopardizing it with an ill-timed conversation about a kiss filled him with so much dread. He wanted to understand what it meant to her, but he was terrified of the answer, terrified of scaring her off. “Hey, Ethan. Got a

Ariel was currently sitting with Stacy in the cafeteria, however, the morning was dull. She had barely touched her breakfast plate. Her focus was entirely on her phone resting on the table. The message was still there, a digital poison: “Do what I ask. Or everyone finds out.”“Girl, you’ve been staring at that phone like it’s going to explode,” Stacy said, pushing her own plate away with a sigh. She leaned closer, her voice dropping. “What’s going on? And don’t say ‘nothing’ because I know you better than that. You’ve barely spoken since you got here.”Ariel managed a stiff, strained smile, the effort of which made her cheek muscles ache. “Just… family stuff,” she mumbled, her eyes still flicking to the phone screen. She picked up her fork, stirring the eggs pointlessly, trying to look normal. Her heart hammered against her ribs.Stacy’s expression softened. “That’s terrible what happened?”“I’m fine. Really. Just tired,” Ariel insisted, turning her body slightly to shield the phone f

Ethan sat at the dining table in the Cross mansion, pushing his food around his plate without much interest. His mind was elsewhere, racing with a thousand thoughts about Ariel. She hadn’t spoken to him properly all day, and he hadn’t even been able to reach her on the phone. Each passing hour without her words felt like an eternity. He poked at the mashed potatoes again, sighing, wishing he could simply teleport to her side.“Ethan, sweetheart, you’ve barely touched your food. Are you feeling alright?” Eleanor, his mother, asked softly, placing a hand over his and giving him a concerned look.Ethan glanced up at her, forcing a weak smile. “I’m fine, Mom. Really. Just… tired, I guess.”Reginald, his father, raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair with a knowing expression. “You don’t look fine, Ethan. You look distracted. Is it about that girl you’ve been seeing? The one everyone seems to talk about?”Ethan’s fork clattered to the plate as he set it down, a flash of irritation cr

Ariel laid perfectly still inside her room, staring at the ceiling. She had not slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the same thing: images of her life falling apart, her mother’s crying face, and Luther being led away in handcuffs. The piercing sound of her morning alarm finally began to blare from her nightstand. It felt like a physical blow to her head.Ariel reached out with a trembling hand and silenced the noise. Her phone was right there, lying beside her pillow like a venomous snake. She had been checking it obsessively every twenty minutes throughout the long, dark night. She had been waiting for the next strike, the next threatening message from the person who was so determined to tear her world down.The 48-hour deadline was no longer a far-off problem. It was now less than 24 hours away. The clock was ticking, and with every second, the weight on her chest grew heavier, making it hard to even take a deep breath. “Twenty-four hours,” she whispered into the empty,