All Chapters of Professor Lucien : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Lucien's Pov"Lucien, are you crazy?" Michael’s voice tears through the house the moment I step in. He barged in, as always. After that brutal clash with reporters, forced into a statement about the lawsuit, I almost expect him to throw a punch at me.I head straight for the stairs. Sofia’s mother is a maniac—she leaked the address I’ve kept hidden for years, throwing me to the wolves."What did you tell them? That you manipulated that girl into kissing you?" Michael follows, voice rising. "Don’t you realize if she takes the blame, the repercussions will be smaller?""For who?" I snap over my shoulder. "For the company?"I reach for my door, but his hand clamps down on my arm, halting me."Lucien, do you love this girl?""It was my fault, not hers.""That’s not an answer," he grits. "Her mother’s an attorney, and she’s suing the company. You need to make a stance.""I need a shower." I tear my arm free, shove the door open, and slam it shut behind me.At thirty-eight I’d thought I’d c

Lucien's Pov.“We need to come up with a plan, Lucien. I won’t let you leave with just a gun. You should let her mother handle this with the police.”Micheal’s voice is quick with worry.I don’t answer. I move past him, close enough that his shoulder brushes mine. The jacket rubs against my palm. “You know Sofia is in trouble because of me. Dani wants me and I won’t let anyone get in danger.” Saying it makes it more real — this small, hot knot of responsibility in my chest.Micheal’s laughs. “You sound stupid. You think she’d just let that girl go because you turned yourself in?” His words hit like slaps.My fingers fiddle with the zipper, thumb catching on the metal. Dani wants my blood for Sofia. I yank the jacket closed harder than I need to. Habit, maybe. Fear.“Wait. Call her and ask her what she wants.” He’s trying to anchor me to reason. He keeps repeating it as if repetition will turn suggestion into plan.“You know she destroys the line so it won’t be traced back to her.” The

Lucien's Pov"I'll open the door. You shut it immediately." I say. She eyes me briefly. I cut her off. "You shut it immediately." I repeat. "Bolt it." I only break eye contact when she nods.The door splinters under the kicks — they’re seconds away."Why don't you wait till the police get here? How do you even know they'll come?" Her panic-struck eyes lock on mine. Her cracked, bruised lips twitch. I can't help reaching to wipe the blood from her mouth."Trust me," I say, though my voice is thin.Hours earlier —"If we put a tracker in your clothes, she might notice," Michael says. I push past him — he's been stalling for thirty minutes.I pull the gun from the cabinet. "Put it in my shoes," I suggest. It's absurd, but my head's scrambled. I won't forgive myself if anything happens to Sofia."She'll notice the clothes," he says. "What if we hide it somewhere she won't check?" His eyes moves down."Stop." I warn. "Be serious. A life is at stake.""Yours too," he says. "You go there,

Sofia's Pov.“God, I still can’t believe the most conservative of us turned out the wildest. Sofia and Professor Lucien, and then Keira and Leo.” Mia bursts out laughing.I haven’t been allowed to leave the hospital. My brain still needs monitoring, so Mia and Keira decided to stay with me. We’re all cramped on the hospital bed, watching a movie on Keira’s phone.Mia nudges me, grinning. “Keira actually punched Ivy because of you. But she deserved it…”“Yes, she called you a slut. I couldn’t take that,” Keira sneers. “Everyone knew she wanted the Professor, but when it turned out you were the one who actually had a chance—of course they got jealous.”My musketeers. I smile, eyes drifting back to the tiny screen. Just a simple love story — no impossible complications like mine. It’s easy, finding someone you can work things out with. But finding someone who makes breathing hard, who makes your body vibrate just by walking into the room, who suffocates you with nerves the moment you spo

Sofia's Pov“Leave me alone! Just leave me all alone!” Another glass shatters. I’m on the third stair, frozen, listening to Brianna’s screams spilling out of her room. “It’s hard for me too! Why did she have to die? They all abandoned me, didn’t they?”“Brianna, calm down!” Her dad’s voice ricochets off the walls.“I’m trying to be calm! Mom abandoned me — she doesn’t call, she doesn’t visit. Aunt Susan’s dead, my best friend’s dead, and my stepsister treats me like trash. She thinks she’s better than me!”“Sofia doesn’t think she’s better than you… that’s just the way she is,’ Mom says quietly."Of course she does. She hates me and now you want me to go for therapy huh. You think something is wrong with my brain.."Another plates smashes. She’s being too dramatic, but still I creep closer, every step a fight not to turn and leave.All eyes swing toward me as I reach the doorway. ‘Sofia… why are you back?’ Mom asks, shocked.Brianna’s tear-streaked eyes snap to mine, widen. Blood drips