The walk from the Boardroom to my office felt like a march to the gallows. Every step I took was a step toward destroying the only thing that made my life worth living. I could still feel the weight of the gold pen in my hand—the pen I had used to sign away our happiness.
I reached the door and stopped. Through the frosted glass, I could see her silhouette. Luna. She was sitting in the chair by the window, the grey light of the afternoon catching the soft curve of her shoulder. She was waiting for me. She was waiting for her hero to come back and tell her that we had won.
I took a deep breath, forcing the sob back into my throat. I had to be cold. I had to be the "Professor" again. If I showed her even a hint of my pain, she wouldn't leave. And if she didn't leave, they would take everything from her.
I pushed the door open.
Luna jumped up, her eyes wide and searching. "Alex! What happened? What did the Board say? Are we... are we okay?"
I didn't look at her. I walked past her to my desk and started shuffling papers, my movements stiff and robotic. "The Board was very clear, Luna."
"And?" she stepped closer, her voice trembling. "Alex, look at me."
I turned, but I kept my eyes fixed on the wall behind her. I couldn't look into those soulful, trusting eyes. I would break. "They offered me a choice. My career, my reputation, and my future... or a scandal that would ruin us both."
"So we fight them!" Luna cried, reaching out to touch my arm.
I flinched away from her touch as if it were a burning brand. "No. We don't. I've realized something today, Luna. Elena was right. My mother was right. I am a Professor at one of the most prestigious universities in the country. I have a legacy to protect. I have a name."
The room went deathly silent. I could hear the rain tapping against the glass like a thousand accusing fingers.
"What are you saying?" she whispered.
"I'm saying that this... this 'romance' was a mistake," I said, the words feeling like shards of glass in my mouth. "It was a distraction. I let my emotions get the better of my judgment, but the Board made me see the reality. You are a student, Luna. A scholarship girl. And I am a man with a future that doesn't include hiding in pantries and fighting with my mother."
"Alex, you don't mean that," she sobbed, the first tear tracking down her pale cheek. "Last night... you said I was your soul. You said you were claiming me!"
"Last night was a moment of weakness," I snapped, my voice rising to hide the fact that I was dying inside. "Today is the reality. I've already arranged it. The campus security is at the apartment right now. They are packing your things. You will be moving into the girl's dormitory tonight. Your scholarship is safe, provided you never contact me again."
"You're kicking me out?" Her voice was so small, so broken, it made me want to fall to my knees and beg for her forgiveness. "After everything... you're choosing your job over me?"
"I'm choosing my life," I lied, my heart screaming that she was my life. "Go, Luna. Don't make this more difficult than it already is. I have a lecture to prepare for. We are strangers now. Just a Professor and a student. Nothing more."
Luna stood there for a long time, her chest heaving, her eyes full of a betrayal so deep it felt like it was cutting through the air between us. She didn't scream. She didn't throw anything. She just looked at me as if she were seeing a monster for the first time.
"I thought you were different," she said, her voice a ghost of a whisper. "I thought you loved me. But you're just like them. You only care about your titles and your silk ties."
She turned and walked out of the office. She didn't look back. I heard her footsteps disappear down the hallway, getting fainter and fainter until there was nothing left but the sound of the rain.
The moment the door clicked shut, the mask shattered.
I fell into my chair, my head dropping into my hands. A violent, silent sob racked my body. I gripped the edge of the desk so hard the wood groaned. I had done it. I had saved her. She would get her degree. She would have her future. She would go on to be the brilliant woman I knew she could be.
But she would hate me for the rest of her life.
I looked at the empty chair where she had been sitting just moments ago. The scent of her—the soft, sweet smell of vanilla and old books—still lingered in the air, a cruel reminder of what I had just thrown away. I was the "Perfect Professor" again. I had my job. I had my reputation.
But as I sat in the growing shadows of my office, I realized I had never been more of a beggar. I had saved her future, but I had lost my world. And as the night fell over the college, I knew that the "punishment" I had promised her was nothing compared to the one I had just given myself.