In Love With The Dangerous Professor のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 21 - チャプター 30

Celine's POVSafe house. Again.The word was a sick joke. There was nothing about this place that felt safe. There was nothing safe about any of this.Maddie was on her couch, a blanket draped over her despite the warmth of the room, shaking violently enough to chatter her teeth. I picked her up and clutched her, her tiny frame hugged tightly by my arms, while she sobbed into my shirt.“It’s fine,” I muttered, the lie sticking like a bitter aftertaste. "You're safe now. It's over."But we both knew it was not over.Caelum's crew held each entrance and all the windows. Gun-toting, stoic professionals with guns out in the open, ready for any threats that may come at any time. The cabin that had felt nearly cozy with it being just Caelum and me was now a cage.Or a target.Wearing a path between the wall and window, Caelum's head was hunched over while speaking into his phone so rapidly in such low tones I could barely hear him but I could tell he was giving orders. He had his injured sh

Celine's POVFlashback – Earlier That MorningI woke up cold and alone.Beside him on the spot where Caelum had been lying was vacant, his bed sheets cool. He'd been gone for a while.I rose cautiously to a sitting posture, and my bones creaked. The cabin was quiet. Too quiet."Caelum?" I called out softly.No answer.I stood and tugged on one of his shirts, padding barefoot to the front room. That's when I saw them.Two of Caelum's guards were on the ground, out like burnt matches. Not dead — I could see their chests rising and falling — but out.Terror flooded through me."Caelum!" I screamed this time.The front door crashed open.Black-clad men filed in, clear-eyed and on military time. I ran for the bedroom, for Caelum's gun that I knew was in the nightstand, but they were too quick.Hands grabbed me from behind. I screamed, fought, kicked, bit. Landed one and only one good shot — my elbow connecting with somebody’s nose. D. Heard the gratifying crunch of cartilage.“You the feis

Celine's POVThe woman stood outside the black car like she owned it all. Maybe she did.She was graceful in a way no amount of money could buy, the grace born of generations of breeding and power. She is probably in her sixties, with dark hair streaked with silver pulled back into a perfect chignon. Clothes, which were undoubtedly worth more than my tuition combined. And eyes — cold, judging eyes that I knew right away.Because I saw them when I looked at Caelum."Caelum?" I squeezed his hand, sensing him shake. "Who is that?"He couldn't speak. Did nothing but look back at the woman as if she were a ghost.The woman’s smile was unpleasantly razor edged and predatory. "Hello, son. We need to talk.""Your mother?" I whispered. “I thought you told me she was dead?”"I thought she was." His voice was choking, hardly to be distinguished.The woman —Vivienne, I would later find out her name was — fixed her cool eyes on me. Eyed me up and down the way a spider examines its prey before it s

Celine's POVThe villa was like something out of a movie.Large country estate, an hour or more from the city. Manicured gardens, marble fountains, architecture that shouted old money and older power. The sort of place that had undoubtedly borne centuries of secrets and blood.The circular driveway was already crowded with a dozen other luxury cars when our car pulled up. Each one, I would imagine, cost more than the house were I spent my childhood.“Keep the distance with me." Caelum whispered as he pulled me up. His hand was resting its warm weight in the small of my back. “Don’t talk unless someone talks to you. Don't accept drinks from anyone. Don't go anywhere alone."“Now I feel so confident about this.”The corner of his mouth twitched but the tension remained. "You can do this. Just remember—they're testing you. Every word, every gesture. They want to see if they can get you to break.”"Then I won't break."Kent and Ryker joined us on either side as we made our way to the fron

Celine's POVThree hours.Three hours to my mother’s place. And three hours of highway stretching on indefinitely while my mind whirled in the world of worst case scenarios.I couldn't stop shaking. Couldn't breathe properly. I closed my eyes, and I saw my mother’s face, heard her terrified voice being cut off in mid-sentence.“They’re fine,” Caelum repeated, one hand on the wheel, the other clutching mine too tightly. "They're okay. And he won't hurt them until he has you.”"You don't know that—""I know men like Dante. This is about power. He’s going to keep them alive for leverage.” His voice was cold, controlled. "I will get them back. I swear."His phone kept ringing. Kent calling with updates. Ryker coordinating backup. Others I didn't recognize, all activated because Caelum called the shot.“This is all my fault,” I whispered. "If I hadn't said that—""This is Dante's fault. Not yours." He squeezed my hand. "You defended me. He’s trying to punish you because he is a coward.”"M