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)
But even after this, a glance at the clock told her it was only five minutes to six, and she still had over half an hour to go before she could meet the professor for dinner.
What to do then?
Diana grabbed her phone on impulse, and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw she had 289 unread messages waiting.
Mairi: OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD.
Diana grinned. That was her sister-in-law, alright.
Mairi: YOUR NEW (HOTTIE) BOYFRIEND IS YOUR PROFESSOR.
She thought of answering Mairi's text but eventually decided against it. Her brother's wife might seem totally harmless, but the older woman also had a way of making people spill their guts, and that was something she could ill afford at the moment.
Diana moved on to the next message.
Katya: I take it he's no longer an asshole?
Realizing she had completely forgotten to update her best friend, Diana quickly started typing.
Diana: Long story. But yes, no longer an asshole.
Diana: And Damen knows about him.
Katya: And he's okay with it?
Diana: Yes.
Katya: Good enough for me. Call me when you're done bonking each other.
Diana could feel herself turning red after reading Katya's last message. Sheesh. But since it was true, and that was top priority in tonight's agenda, Diana decided it was best not to reply for now.
The next set of messages was from her chat group with Amine and Magnolia, and Diana choked out a laugh when she saw the screenshots they had sent. All of it were apparently tweets from women who used to have hopes of being the professor's next girlfriend, and while most of them were students from Helder Meer, there were also a good number made up by both his present-day and former peers.
One tweet included a photo of Jennifer Lawrence shouting 'I volunteer' from Hunger Games, and its caption: When T-PILF and his new girlfriend breaks up, and he's thinking of hooking up with another student.
The second screenshot had a photo of Diana and the professor kissing on the street, and its caption was pretty straightforward: When you see your secret crush kissing another girl, and you immediately start praying they choke on each other's saliva, and wish you had your own Drogon so you could Dracarys the shit out of them #pettyisaspettygoes
Another screenshot had two photos. The first was of her and the professor kissing again, labeled simply, What I Saw Earlier. The second photo was of a cat, its big eyes welling up with tears, and its label: How I Am Now.
But then she saw the last screenshot Magnolia had sent, and she started to laugh and cry. Its caption was from a student determined to move on now that her beloved T-PILF had a girlfriend.
Could you please find a way to make yourself just a little less hotter? I'm trying to get over you here.
And the photo attached to it was from several years back: a younger-looking professor, and he was up on stage to receive his Nobel Prize. He was beautiful as ever, and he was grinning. Grinning. Because at that moment, someone hadn't yet stolen his life from him.
But now...
Oh God, but now...
It hit her all of a sudden, how all this time, it had always been about her, and not once had they spoken of his risks, of the risks he still faced...
A sob broke out of her, and after that, there was no stopping it, and she found herself crumpling. Her phone fell from her fingers, but still she couldn't stop crying, her sobs as wild and uncontrollable as the fears strangling her.
I can't lose him. I can't. I can't.
Saint M, please, I can't.
Please.
Don't let God take him away from me.
Please.
Time passed by, and before she knew it, he was there, striding inside her room, his shadow falling over her as he crouched down to her level.
"Diana."
The quiet heaviness in his tone made her head jerk up. "Professor—-" And then she saw that it was back, bleakness once again darkening his eyes, and her trepidation turned into full-blown panic. He had been hurt so much - so, so much - that the thought of her causing him more pain was unbearable.
She shook her head frantically at him. "It's n-not what you think—-"
"Ssssh." He tried to pull her towards him, but she scrambled away, knowing that to let him embrace her, even if it was what she badly needed, was to let him think he was right.
"It's not what you think," she repeated doggedly.
"You said you were scared."
And so she did.
But the way he said the words, the way his face turned completely expressionless as he spoke—-
It told her that it was really as she feared, and another sob wracked her body.
"You don't understand," she choked out. "You just don't..."
"Of course I do." And the dullness in his voice had her crying harder. "And I promised you, didn't I?"