All Chapters of The Professor’s Canvas : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

~Elena’s POV~The apartment door swings open before my key fully turns.That’s the first red flag.David never, ever leaves doors unlocked. He treats safety like a full time job, he double-checks stove knobs, he labels leftovers, he arranges his shirts by color, sleeve length and he checks windows twice before bed.After three years with him, I know his habits as well as the back of my hand, like I’ve learned quantum mechanics, with precision and absolute certainty.The second wrong thing is the sound.A moan, it sounds female. Definitely not from whatever boring documentary he usually watches on Monday afternoons.My leather bag falls off my shoulder. It hits the hardwood with a sound that should make everything stop, but the moaning keeps going, like I’m not even there.It sounds louder, too loud, too dramatic, like someone performing instead of feeling.My heart pounds, not quickly, but heavily.But my legs move forward anyway.Every step feels heavy and slow, like walking through

~Elena’s POV~“I asked you a question.” David steps fully into the office, his eyes jumping between Mateo and me. “What are you doing here?”My mouth opens but nothing comes out.Mateo moves first, putting calculated distance between us. “Miss Vega had questions about dropping my course, so I was advising her to reconsider.” His voice is perfectly neutral and professional. “Is there something I can help you with, Mr…?”“Chen. David Chen. I’m Elena’s boyfriend.”“Ex-boyfriend,” I found my voice, shaking but firm. My heart is still racing, “And I’m handling my own schedule, David. You need to leave.”“We need to talk…”“No. We don’t.” I grab my bag, pushing past him into the hallway. “Stop following me.”He holds my arm. “Following you? Elena, I came to speak with Professor Sandoval about auditing his seminar. I had no idea you’d be here.”I pulled my arm off his hand. “Audit somewhere else.”I don’t look back nor check if Mateo is watching. I just walk, faster, until I’m outside gaspin

~Elena’s POV~“What do you mean footage?” My hands freeze on my sweater. “There are cameras in your office?”“In the hallway, pointed at the door. They’ll see you going in. Coming out forty minutes later. Hair messed up, your skirt…”“Fuck.” The word slip out of my lips. “Who requested it?”His phone rings again. He reads, and his expression turns dark. “The ethics committee, someone filed a formal complaint.”We both know who.I wear my sweater over my head. “What happens now?”“Now?” He laughs, bitter. “Now I get called in front of the committee. Probably suspended and if they push hard enough maybe I’ll get fired.”“For what? We’re both adults…”“I’m your professor, Elena. In their eyes, one person naturally has more power than the other.It doesn’t matter that Friday happened first. Doesn’t matter that you initiated it on Tuesday.” He walks around worried with his hand through his hair. “This looks really bad.”“So we tell them the truth, we met on Friday and we didn’t know…”“And

~Elena’s POV~“She’s not my student.” The lie comes out of my mouth before I can stop it. “I’m his girlfriend.”Torres’s eyebrows rise. Mateo’s hand finds the small of my back, warning or support, I can’t tell.“Your girlfriend.” Torres doesn’t sound convinced. “Yet I’ve seen you on campus, Miss Vega. In the physics building.”“I audit his class sometimes. For interest.” I step forward, forcing confidence I don’t feel. “We met off campus. The relationship has nothing to do with the university.”“I see.” Torres crosses his arms. “And does the administration know about this relationship?”“It’s personal,” Mateo says. “Not university business.”“Everything is university business when it involves faculty and students, Professor Sandoval.” Torres glances at his watch. “Particularly when said faculty member is currently under investigation for inappropriate conduct.”I feel sick immediately. “How do you know about that?”“I’m on the ethics committee. I received the complaint filing this a

~Elena’s POV~Security escorts Mateo through the Gothic Quarter campus at 2 AM like he’s a criminal.I watch from the parking lot shadows as they disappear into the administration building. He didn’t look back, he told me to go home before they loaded him into their vehicle. Like I’m capable of going anywhere while they’re interrogating him.My phone buzzes.It’s Sofia. ‘Where the fuck are you? Your location shows campus. Get your ass home NOW!!’I ignore it, wait another ten minutes. Then I drive home because sitting in that parking lot won’t change anything.Sofia is on my couch when I unlock my apartment door.“You look like shit.” She doesn’t move, just studies me from her position sprawled across my cushions. “When’s the last time you slept?”“Friday.” I drop my bag, collapse beside her. “Maybe Thursday.”“Jesus, Elena.” She sits up. “Start talking, spill everything and no bullshit.”So I tell her. All of it. The hotel. The classroom. The office. The studio, the modeling, the s