Chapter 1
Catherine
“What’s the last thing I just said, Miss Blaise?”
The question was so jarring, it abruptly shattered my thoughts and hurled me back to the present. My heart pounded hard as I blinked up at my professor looming over me right now. A gasp left my throat when his sharp, piercing gaze shifted to the opened book filled with my doddles, where I had just been scribbling in after getting lost in my thoughts.
The scribbles were about a student being bent over and spanked by her professor for being a little brat, and my professor… who just happens to be my ex-boyfriend’s older brother, just saw that!
Shame gripped me hard as I scrambled to close the note fast, my face flushed a bright red… but it was already too late.
“What’s that, Miss Blaise?” He asked, head tilted sideways as his dark eyes bored into mine. Despite the fact that we’ve been acquainted outside this class, he never treats me specially.
“You were busy doodling while I was teaching? Despite knowing how much I hate it when my students don’t pay attention in my class?” His voice was deep and heat crawled up my throat cause now everyone was staring.
Oh god.
I cleared my throat awkwardly, cursing myself out under my breath cause he looked mad right now.
And he rarely gets visibly mad.
“I- I’m so sorry, sir.” I breathed out, my throat feeling tight and hot when he arched a brow at me, then he held his hand out.
“Hand the note over.” He ordered flatly, voice tinged with disappointment and finality. My face flushed even more. He’s definitely beyond disgusted with me right now. And uncomfortable, cause he certainly assumed the professor in that doddle was him.
And it was… but that wasn’t the point right now.
Panic gripped me hard. To have him see the rest of the content of this book was too daunting.
However, as I opened my mouth to speak, a sharp look from him had me swallowing emptily and ducking my head. Aiden has always unnerved me since the first time I got introduced to him by my ex-boyfriend. He has this compelling, intense aura around him that commands respect from everyone.
My hands shook as I handed the book to him, wishing I could die from shame. He accepted the book, our fingers slightly brushing and making me abruptly pull away, my face aflame. His face was blank as turned away, smoothly heading for the front of the class to place the note on his desk, his dark pants tightly hugging all his muscles and his shirt looked like it was on the verge of being torn by his large biceps, biceps I’ve had the pleasure of seeing bare more times than I can count.
When he faced me again, I shivered as he spoke.
“You can come by my office after this class for it.”
A shaky exhale left me as I sat back down, wishing I could disappear into thin air right now.
Professor Aiden is well respected by the whole school, but he’s also feared for the same reason. His strictness. In such a short period, his reputation preceded him and he never hesitates to be as blunt as he wishes in any situation.
When I first met him some months ago, I never even knew he was a professor. Back then, he was just the successful older brother of my boyfriend.
Some months ago, due to my mother having a new boyfriend at home, she kicked me out of the house like she always does. My boyfriend had invited me to come stay with him until my mother got tired of her present boyfriend and kicked him out. I had been beyond relieved and had instantly accepted. I had no idea his older brother was around, having just returned from the states.
When we were introduced the night I started temporarily staying there, I remember how Aiden’s large hand had fully swallowed mine up and how deep his voice had sounded. We didn’t really talk much that night after exchanging pleasantries, but I remember him gently kissing my hand before leaving for his room that night. Everyone had laughed when he did that, claiming he was imitating a real gentleman, but for some reason, I thought about that kiss throughout that night.
The days that followed after that, were literal torture. One thing I quickly learned was that Aiden hated clothes. He was always in various states of undress around the house, either fully naked waist up, or in nothing but a tight pair of shorts that showed off his strong calf and thighs. I had constantly tried not to stare, always reminding myself that I shouldn’t be checking him out since I was dating his younger brother, but he still ended up haunting my dreams with his hot body.
Most times, we didn’t speak. I felt like he believed I was a child because of the few times he sometimes refers to me like I was too dumb to understand what certain words meant… and I hated that so much. I wasn’t dumb. I wasn’t even that younger than him, I was twenty one and he was thirty three.
And so, I began to try hard to impress him. I convinced myself I wasn’t doing that, but deep down, I knew the truth. I didn’t want him to see me as a kid. And so whenever I knew he was home, instead of hanging out with my boyfriend, I’d go lay by the pool in lingerie, pretending like I was reading a book, when I was actually watching him swim. The few times I did that, he never looked at me or even tried to find out what I’m reading, and that always had me fuming, cause I heard he liked books.
One time by the pool, I summoned the courage to strike a conversation with him. I asked him what kind of books he liked to read. That afternoon, I was clad in a boring white lingerie, cause I didn’t put much effort into my outfit since the previous times I did, he never looked.
But he basically ignored me.
Then I outrightly asked him if he hated me.
He had scoffed at that question, rolling his eyes before responding coldly, haughtily, a stark contrast to the polite way he sounds in front of his parents.
“Of what use would hating you bring me? You’re basically still a child. There’s a world of difference between us. I’d advise you to stop whatever it is you’re hoping to achieve by trying this hard. If you’re thinking doing all this would secure you a ring from my brother, think again.”
I had been utterly outraged and shocked by those words because that never even crossed my mind, and worse, I was too stunned to respond until he left. Since then, I grew a deep hatred for him.
Even after I moved back into my mom’s house, I still hated him.
Imagine my shock when about two months ago, I resumed school and realized that he was our new mathematics professor. I had been too stunned and had felt embarrassed whenever our eyes met, unable to stop thinking about our last encounter.
My boyfriend cheated and broke up with me shortly after that, so I never had to worry about running into Aiden when visiting him.
However, I never stopped hating Aiden for a second.
And after the way he just embarrassed me in front of the whole class today, my hatred for him has grown ten folds.
