Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 234281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1171(@200wpm)___ 937(@250wpm)___ 781(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 234281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1171(@200wpm)___ 937(@250wpm)___ 781(@300wpm)
His mood remained black and destructive the next morning, and he had to take several deep breaths before entering his class, not wanting to risk fucking up and taking his anger out on her again.
But as soon as he entered the room, his gaze found hers, and he realized right away he had been worrying for nothing. A single glimpse of the shy but eager look in her sweet doe eyes, and the professor was done for. He was an animal in heat and mindless slave all rolled into one fucked-up mess, and even knowing this - he didn't give a damn.
God, how he wanted her.
And then he noticed the way his students were staring at him oddly, and the professor let out a cough.
Dammit.
He had been standing in front of his class like an idiot who had been asked to illustrate a correlation between the theories of nihilism and general relativity.
And all because she was there.
His gaze drifted towards her one last time, and he saw her bite back a smile.
Fuck.
He found that cute, too.
As well as being a massive turn-on—-
Ah, shit.
Get yourself together, idiot.
The professor snatched the clipboard on his desk and began rattling out names of students who had failed to propose something feasible in the last class. He noticed the way the whole class turned to Diana when he said her name, and regret bit into him as memories of their last encounter returned with a vengeance.
You're an even bigger idiot than I gave you credit for.
This was enough to make him wince, but when he caught sight of her in his peripheral vision, her face was a lovely blank canvas, and damned if he knew what to make of it.
Unlike before, students on their second round of submissions were given a tougher assignment by the professor. Aside from having to come up front and present their idea to the class, they were also required to submit the first three chapters of their proposal.
The professor had always thought this a fair price to pay for having another shot at his class.
Or at least he used to until now, and he had to bear the sight of Diana coming to stand next to his desk, knowing that he'd only have himself to blame if she ended up suffering any kind of embarrassment.
He saw her take a deep breath and felt like doing the same.
Goddammit, maybe he should make up some excuse—-
"I was waiting at the bus stop yesterday when I overheard two women talking their everyday lives, and from what I could glean from their stories, they were overworked and underpaid as well as being constantly subjected to various types of workplace abuse and harassment.
"One of them had a bedridden mother to support while another was a widow with two children. To say that they had a hard life would be an understatement. To say that they had every right and reason to feel depressed could even be considered a fact. But the thing is, they were not depressed and hadn't even seriously thought of committing suicide to end their torment."
By this time, practically the entire class was spellbound, and so was the professor, who had long realized that he hadn't anything to worry about. By now, it was so obvious to see that she had changed, with the way she was able to meet everyone's gazes with an earnest smile backed by purposeful determination.
A woman with a purpose, the professor thought, and soon it became clear what that purpose was.
"I had the chance to chat with them over dinner, and I was happy when they invited some of their friends over. We spoke for hours, and the whole time, I kept waiting for one of them to say they were sad or tired - that they were feeling so down they just wanted to end it all. But none of them did. All they spoke of was how they had to keep living no matter what - and that was when I realized what made them different. They had people to live for, people whom they were certain would not survive if they were to die, and—-"
She suddenly stopped speaking, doe eyes blinking rapidly, and his fist involuntarily clenched when he realized she was fighting back tears. He turned to his class and saw that it was the same for them, too.
"One of them s-said...if she killed herself, then she might as well have killed her own m-mother, too." Diana paused to swallow hard. "I know what I'm about to propose might not...might be too novel if there's such a thing, but what if - what if we were to give them something or someone to live for, something or someone that they would know with absolute certainty wouldn't survive without them - might that not be enough—-" Diana's voice caught, and this time she had no choice but to wipe the tears that had tracked down her cheeks. "Might it not be enough to keep them from committing suicide?"