The next morning at Blackwood began with rain.

The rian came as just a soft drizzle that settled over the ancient campus, making the ivy-covered buildings appear even older.

Emilia stood in front of the mirror fastening the final button of her white blouse.

She stared at her reflection.

"You can do this." She mumbled to herself confidently. The words sounded far more confident than she felt.

Behind her, Rowan was already dressed.

Unlike Emilia, she somehow looked as though she’d been awake for hours. She sat at her desk, calmly reading while sipping black coffee.

Emilia genuinely wondered if the girl ever slept.

"You’ve been staring at yourself for three minutes," Rowan observed without looking up from her book.

Emilia sighed. "I’m trying not to look terrified."

"You’ll survive."

Emilia smiled despite herself. "I hope so."

Rowan finally closed the book. "You got in here on a scholarship." She looked up at Emilia. "So statistically, you’re probably smarter than most of the people you’ll meet today."

Emilia blinked. "I never thought of it like that."

Rowan simply nodded once. Then she picked up her backpack. "We’re going to be late."

...

The corridors of Blackwood were already crowded.

Students filled every hallway with designer handbags, luxury watches, and tailored jackets.

Their voices echoed beneath the high stone ceilings as people greeted old friends after summer break.

Emilia suddenly became painfully aware of the fact that every item she owned could probably fit inside one of the handbags walking past her.

"This place is intimidating," she admitted quietly.

Rowan shrugged. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, and responded. "They’re just people."

Easy for her to say.

She looked perfectly comfortable. Almost invisible despite being beautiful. Emilia wished she possessed that ability.

When they finally got to the business building, it looked more like a government palace than part of a university.

Massive marble columns framed the entrance.

Inside, polished floors reflected the chandeliers overhead.

Emilia slowed. "This is part of a school?"

Rowan nodded. "Unfortunately."

They climbed another flight of stairs before stopping outside Lecture Hall A. Students streamed inside.

"This is me," Rowan said.

Emilia frowned. She cluncbed her back consciously. "You aren’t coming?"

"I have Advanced International Law."

"Oh."

Rowan gave a single nod. "I’ll see you later." Then she disappeared into another hallway.

Emilia inhaled deeply. This would be her first class. She could do this. She walked inside calmly.

The lecture theatre was enormous.

Rows upon rows of seats climbed toward the ceiling, and most of them were already occupied.

Students chatted comfortably, clearly familiar with one another.

Emilia quietly chose a seat halfway up the room beside the window. She sat exactly where she could disappear.

She placed her notebook onto the desk, then someone sat beside her. She frowned. There were hundreds of empty seats.

Why here?

She turned, and her stomach dropped.

Noah smiled at her. "Morning."

Emilia stared at him. "No."

His smile remained. "No?"

"No." She picked up her notebook. "What are you still doing here."

He reached over, placing one hand on it before she could move. "I just want to sit with you."

"There are literally two hundred seats."

"I like this one."

He glanced around the lecture hall before looking back at her, silently reminding her that everyone was watching.

She stared at him.

He actually sounded serious.

"You can’t keep following me."

"I told you." His voice remained calm. "I’m not following you."

She glared at him, disgusted. "You transferred universities."

"For us."

She hissed under her breath, and snatched her hand from his touch. "There is no us."

"There will be." He assured her confiden

Students around them had begun glancing over.

Emilia lowered her voice. "Move." She ordered him.

"No." He smiled, and leaned back into his seat.

Her eye twitched. "Please don’t embarrass yourself."

"I’m embarrassing myself?"

"You are."

He leaned slightly closer. "I missed you, baby. Think about how I’m feeling for a second."

She looked at him as though he’d spoken another language. "You missed me?"

"Every day." He drawled.

She slowly removed his hand from her notebook. "I didn’t."

His smile finally faded a little. "You’re saying that because you’re angry."

"I’m saying it because it’s true."

Before he could answer, girl slid into the seat on Emilia’s other side. She looked between both of them.

"Am I interrupting a divorce?"

Emilia blinked.

Noah frowned.

The girl sighed dramatically.

"I knew I should’ve sat somewhere else."

Emilia took in a calm breath. Then she simply replied, "You aren’t interrupting anything."

"Excellent." The girl opened a packet of chewing gum. "Because emotional conversations before nine in the morning should be illegal."

Noah looked irritated.

The girl ignored him completely.

She offered Emilia a piece of gum. "Wanna?"

"Sure." Emilia nodded with relief.

"I’m Lucy."

"Emilia."

Lucy smiled. "Nice to meet someone who doesn’t look terrifying."

Noah cleared his throat.

Lucy finally looked at him. She blinked. "You’re still here?" She swept her eyes over him, unimpressed.

Emilia bit the inside of her cheek. This girl was unbelievable.

Noah looked ready to argue.

Thankfully, the room suddenly became quiet.

The door at the front opened, and every conversation faded. Students straightened as though someone important had arrived.

Emilia looked toward the entrance.

Several professors walked inside together.

Older men and a woman carrying files. Another lecturer cpuld be seen adjusting his glasses.

Then, one more figure entered behind them, and her heartbeat stopped.

He wore a charcoal-grey suit that wad perfectly tailored. His white shirt was crisp beneath it.

One hand held a folder while the other rested casually inside his pocket.

He looked exactly the way she’d remembered. Calm, unreadable, and devastatingly handsome.

The same dark hair, the same dark eyes.

The same man.

Her one-night stand.

The man who had disappeared from the hotel.

He walked to the front of the lecture hall without once looking aroind, as though standing before hundreds of students was something he did every day.

Emilia forgot how to breathe.

This couldn’t be happening.

Beside her, Noah noticed she’d gone completely still. "You okay?" He asked.

She didn’t answer.

Her entire world had narrowed to one man. The stranger placed his folder onto the lectern.

Another professor smiled at the class.

"Good morning, everyone."

The students greeted him in unison.

"We have a new addition to Blackwood’s faculty this semester."

Scattered applause broke out. The older professor gestured toward the man beside him.

"It is my pleasure to introduce Professor Adrian Ashford."

The name hit Emilia like lightning.

Professor?

No.

No, no, no.

Her jaw slowly dropped.

The stranger’s gaze lifted.

His eyes swept calmly across the lecture theatre, and impossibly, when they stopped, they rested on her.

Recognition flashed across his face for barely a heartbeat. However, it left so quickly anyone else would’ve missed it.

Emilia certainly didn’t.

Her mind screamed.

’Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.’ she screamed inwardly, feeling like she might throw up.

She had slept with...

Her professor.

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