CHAPTER 109: THE PROFESSOR IS INTO ME

Alexia’s POV

No, I didn’t tell Lucy. But she found out.

And now she wouldn’t shut up about it.

Since she believed my marriage with Aiden was completely normal—and real—she was convinced that Aiden had gotten jealous and ravished me to prove a point. Her words, not mine.

She pieced it together when she dragged me across campus, trying to get me to chase after some guy who had taken her hat. I had vehemently refused, saying something about my legs not being able to handle running after what happened last night.

Yeah. A slip of the tongue.

But that was all it took. Lucy gasped, her eyes widening in that mischievous, I-knew-it kind of way, and then she grinned.

"Oh. My. God."

I groaned, already regretting opening my mouth. "Lucy—"

She clutched my arm. "You did it. You actually did it."

I glanced around quickly, lowering my voice. "Can you not announce it to the whole world?"

"You don’t understand!" She practically vibrated with excitement. "This means my plan worked!"

I rolled my eyes. "You mean your plan to get me killed by my own husband?"

"Not killed—claimed." She wiggled her eyebrows. "And from the way you’re walking today, I’d say he was very thorough."

My face burned. "Lucy!"

She cackled, clapping her hands. "Oh, this is perfect. Aiden saw you and the professor getting close and just had to mark his territory."

I groaned, covering my face with my hands. "Can we not talk about this?"

"No way. This is huge." She looped her arm through mine, grinning like she had just won the lottery. "So... how was it?"

I shot her a glare. "I’m not answering that."

Lucy pouted. "Fine. I’ll just take the way you can barely walk as my answer."

I smacked her arm, but she just giggled.

I sighed, shaking my head. The problem wasn’t Aiden. Well, it was, but there was a bigger problem now—one that Lucy conveniently forgot about.

She had pushed me into trying to make Aiden jealous, and now that he was paying attention to me, she had completely forgotten that she was also the reason I had started something with Professor Sinclair.

Something I wasn’t sure how to handle.

Back when he was just my professor who occasionally glanced at me in class, things were fine. I could pretend I didn’t notice. I could act like it was all in my head.

But now?

Now, he wanted me to see him after classes.

Now, there was a weird tension every time we spoke.

I had stupidly complimented his dressing style—and from the look in his eyes when I said it, he had taken it as something more than just an innocent comment.

It’s not like I like the professor.

My heart is already treading on dangerous grounds with Aiden—I don’t need to get tangled up in another situation with Professor Sinclair.

I just used him to get back at Aiden. That’s all.

I never intended to give him some go-ahead card to start getting closer to me. But judging by the way he’s been acting, I might have done exactly that without meaning to.

And when I explained this to Lucy?

Let’s just say she did not see the problem.

"You’re overthinking it," she waved off my concerns, munching on a granola bar like we weren’t in the middle of my personal crisis.

"I am not overthinking it, Lucy! I was trying to make Aiden jealous, not start a whole thing with my professor."

She gave me a pointed look. "And? Mission accomplished, babe. Aiden was seething with jealousy. I mean, did you see the way he was all over you last time he picked you up? That man was staking his claim in broad daylight."

I huffed, crossing my arms. "That’s not the point."

Lucy smirked. "Oh? And what is the point?"

"The point is—" I groaned, rubbing my temples. "The professor is acting different now, Lucy. He told me to see him after class again, and I feel like I led him on when I didn’t mean to."

She shrugged. "So? Just tell him you’re not interested."

"It’s not that simple!"

"Why not?"

"Because..." I hesitated. "Because it’s awkward, okay? I have to see him every day. He graded my last assignment harshly. I swear he’s being weird."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Babe, that man was already weird. Have you seen the way he looks at you? He’s had a thing for you from day one."

I scowled. "That doesn’t make this any better."

"Relax," she drawled. "Worst case scenario, Aiden swoops in and punches him in the face."

I gawked at her. "Lucy!"

She grinned. "I’m just saying, I wouldn’t be mad if your husband threw hands for you. He’s definitely the type."

I groaned. "How did you even become my best friend?"

She winked. "Fate, darling."

I sighed, shaking my head. I really, really hoped she wasn’t planning to throw me under the bus when things inevitably got weird. Because let’s be honest—this was her mess.

And if it spiraled out of control, I was not going down alone.

With a deep breath, I made my way to Professor Sinclair’s office.

Lucy, of course, had way too much fun teasing me before I left.

"Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do," she had said, waggling her eyebrows.

Which, frankly, didn’t help because Lucy would do a lot of things.

Now, standing in front of the professor’s office door, I hesitated before knocking. I hated this. I hated how I felt like I had set something in motion that I couldn’t undo. I hated how my stupid plan with Lucy had actually worked on Aiden—but at the cost of making Professor Sinclair think I was into him.

I wasn’t.

I mean, sure, he was good-looking, but so what? Aiden was good-looking, too. No—scratch that. Aiden was infuriatingly hot, and that was a much bigger problem.

But I wasn’t thinking about Aiden right now.

I needed to deal with this.

Before I could change my mind, I knocked.

"Come in," came his deep voice.

I exhaled, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.

Professor Sinclair was seated behind his desk, flipping through some papers. When he looked up, his gaze flickered to my neck.

Right where Aiden’s stupid hickey was.

I internally cursed.

His expression didn’t change, but there was a slight tightening in his jaw as he leaned back in his chair. "Alexia," he greeted.

"Professor," I replied, keeping my tone neutral.

He gestured to the chair across from him. "Sit."

I did, smoothing out my skirt, trying really hard to seem relaxed when, in reality, I wanted to disappear into the floor.

He set his papers aside, folding his hands over them. "I was expecting you yesterday."

I swallowed. "I got caught up."

He studied me for a moment before nodding slowly. "I see." His gaze flickered to my neck again before he leaned forward slightly. "Is there something going on, Alexia?"

I forced myself to meet his gaze. "No. Why would there be?"

There was a pause. Then he chuckled, shaking his head. "You’re a terrible liar."

My hands clenched in my lap. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

He exhaled, then stood up, walking around his desk until he was standing beside me.

I stiffened.

"I thought we had... a connection," he said smoothly, watching me. "But now, I see I may have misread things."

I let out a breath. "I didn’t mean to—" I stopped myself.

I didn’t want to explain. I just wanted this whole thing to end.

He smirked slightly. "It’s fine, Alexia." He reached down, brushing his fingers along my jaw, tilting my face up slightly.

I froze.

I swallowed hard, my entire body tensing.

Professor Sinclair’s fingers lingered against my jaw, his touch light but intrusive. My skin prickled with unease, and I had to fight the instinct to jerk away.

"It’s just a shame," he murmured, his voice smooth, calculated. His gaze flickered down to my lips, then back to my eyes. "I think I would’ve liked you."

I stiffened. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

He leaned in slightly, his smirk deepening. "But that doesn’t mean I can’t approach you."

A sinking feeling settled in my stomach.

No.

I suddenly felt like I had made a huge mistake coming here.

What had I gotten myself into?

"I know you’re married to the famous CEO," he continued, voice calm and confident. Too confident. "But that doesn’t deter me at all."

My breath caught.

He knew.

Of course, he knew. Everyone knew about my marriage to Aiden.

But the way he said it—like it was an inconvenience rather than a boundary—sent alarms ringing in my head.

"I know he can never give you what I can," he added smoothly.

My stomach twisted.

This was wrong.

This was very, very wrong.

"I should go," I said abruptly, pushing back my chair and standing up.

Professor Sinclair didn’t move, but the smirk never left his face.

"Did I say something that upset you?" he asked, his voice calm—too calm.

I clenched my jaw. "No. But I have class."

"Skipping one session wouldn’t hurt," he countered, his gaze holding mine, testing me.

I forced a small, polite smile. "Actually, it would. I take my studies very seriously, Professor."

I turned toward the door, my pulse racing.

"Alexia."

I paused.

Don’t turn around. Don’t turn around.

But I did.

He was still watching me, his expression unreadable now.

"You don’t have to pretend around me," he said, his voice quieter this time. "I know what you want."

I nearly laughed. Did he, now?

I straightened. "I think you’re misunderstanding something, Professor."

He chuckled, shaking his head slightly, as if I had just told a joke. "Am I?"

I didn’t respond.

Instead, I turned on my heel and walked out, my heart pounding the entire way.

I didn’t stop until I was outside, the fresh air hitting my face like a slap.

I had played with fire.

And now, I was starting to get burned.

*******

By the time I stepped out of Professor Sinclair’s office, the next class had already started. Great. Not only had I wasted time entertaining a conversation I wanted no part of, but I also missed my chance to tell Lucy what had happened.

I hurried to class, slipping into my seat at the back, but my mind wasn’t focused on the lecture. Professor Sinclair’s words kept repeating in my head.

"I know what you want."

A shudder ran down my spine.

No, you don’t.

I kept my head down, taking notes just for the sake of it. The minutes dragged on until class finally ended, and I rushed out, spotting Lucy already waiting for me at our usual spot.

She waved me over. "Where the hell did you disappear to?"

I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "Professor Sinclair."

Her brows shot up. "Oh? That sounds juicy."

I gave her a look. "Not the good kind."

Lucy’s smirk faded. "What happened?"

I hesitated, glancing around, then pulled her a little further from the crowd of students. "Okay, so, he basically implied that my marriage doesn’t matter and that Aiden can’t give me what he can."

Her eyes widened, and for once, Lucy was actually speechless.

"Yeah," I muttered.

"The audacity," she finally said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Wait—was he, like, hitting on you?"

I frowned. "I don’t know... maybe? It didn’t feel like flirting. It felt more like he was stating a fact."

Lucy scoffed. "More like wishful thinking. What a creep."

Before she could continue, a sleek black car pulled up in front of us.

Aiden.

Lucy sighed dramatically. "Welp, guess we’ll analyze this later."

I rolled my eyes and turned toward the car, watching as Aiden stepped out, his gaze immediately finding mine. His eyes flickered over me, as if assessing whether I was okay.

I wasn’t sure what to make of that.

He walked around to the passenger side and—oh.

He opened the door for me.

Lucy made a noise beside me, and I could practically feel her smirk burning into the side of my face.

I ignored her and got in, settling into the seat.

Aiden closed the door behind me before turning to Lucy. "Do you need a ride?"

Lucy grinned. "Aw, look at you, being all polite. No, I’m good."

Aiden gave her a curt nod before walking around to the driver’s side. As soon as he got in, he reached over and pulled my seatbelt across my body, clicking it into place himself.

I stared at him.

Okay, that was new.

"You could’ve just told me to put it on," I said, raising a brow.

He shrugged, starting the engine. "You take too long."

I huffed, crossing my arms as he pulled away from the campus. "You’re acting weird."

Aiden smirked slightly but didn’t respond.

I glanced at him, noticing how relaxed he looked—too relaxed. I expected him to be his usual brooding self, but instead, he looked like a man who had just won something.

What was going on with him?

I shook my head, staring out the window.

One thing was clear: today was just full of surprises.