The restaurant was beautiful. It was full of soft jazz music, white linen tablecloths, and the gentle clinking of wine glasses. Julian sat across from me, his blue eyes kind and full of admiration. He was a perfect gentleman. He asked about my favorite books, my dreams for the future, and the things that made me laugh.
But I wasn't really there.
Every time the door to the restaurant opened, my heart jumped. Every time a shadow moved past our table, I looked up, searching for a pair of stormy grey eyes that I knew weren't supposed to be there. I was wearing a simple black dress, one that didn't show too much, but Julian still looked at me like I was the most beautiful woman in the room.
"Luna," Julian said, reaching across the table to touch my hand. "You've been so quiet tonight. Is everything okay?"
"Yes," I lied, forcing a smile. "I'm just tired from the archives."
I didn't tell him the truth. I didn't tell him that I had told him everything about my past—about the scholarship, about the "scandal," and about the Professor who broke my heart. Julian knew. He said he didn't care. He said he wanted to be the one to help me heal. But in my mind, I knew why I had agreed to this date. I wanted to see if the "Perfect Professor" was still watching. I wanted to know if he was still alive inside that cold, professional mask.
What I didn't know was that Alex was only two tables away, hidden behind a large decorative plant, his face buried in a menu he wasn't reading. He heard every word. He saw every smile. The fire in his chest was so huge he felt like he was breathing smoke. Every time Julian touched my hand, Alex's grip on his water glass tightened until his knuckles turned white. He wanted to flip the table. He wanted to roar. But he sat in the silence of his own jealousy, a ghost at my feast.
The walk back to the dormitory was cold. Julian kissed my cheek at the door and promised to call me tomorrow. I walked inside, feeling a strange emptiness. The date was "perfect," yet I felt more alone than ever.
I climbed into bed, the silence of the room pressing down on me. I stared at the ceiling, thinking about the danger we were in. If Elena saw me with Julian, she would find a way to make it look like a new scandal. She would go to the Board and tell them Alex was still involved, or she would try to get Julian fired. The stakes were too high.
Click.
I sat up instantly, my breath hitching. The shadow in the doorway was taller than Julian. It was broader. And it carried the scent of sandalwood and rain.
"Alex?" I whispered, my voice trembling. "What are you doing here? If someone sees you, if the matron finds out... I'll be sent home! You'll lose everything!"
He didn't answer with words. He crossed the room in two strides and pinned me against the headboard, his body a wall of solid, vibrating heat. He was shaking—not from fear, but from a jealousy so intense it was frightening.
"You went with him," he hissed, his face inches from mine. His eyes were dark, almost black, and the scent of the restaurant's wine was on his breath. "You sat there and let him touch you. You let him look at you like you were his. Do you have any idea what it did to me to sit there and watch that?"
I looked at him, and for the first time in weeks, I saw the man I loved. He wasn't the cold Professor who kicked me out. He was a man drowning in his own possessiveness. Seeing his jealousy made a small, secret part of my heart sing with happiness. He still cared. He was still mine.
But I couldn't show it. I had to protect him from himself.
"Go away, Alex," I said, trying to make my voice cold. "You made your choice. You chose your job. You chose your reputation. Julian is a good man. He treats me like I matter. He doesn't hide me in pantries or throw me out of his house."
"He doesn't know you!" Alex roared quietly, his grip on my arms tightening. "He doesn't know the way your soul feels! I don't care about the Board tonight, Luna. I don't care about Elena or her wicked plans. I see the way you look at him, and it makes me want to burn this whole University to the ground."
"Then do it!" I challenged him, the tears finally falling. "Lose your job! Lose your life! Because if you stay here, that's exactly what will happen. Elena is watching us, Alex. If she sees us together, she will create a cause that neither of us can survive. You have to go. For your own good, go."
Alex looked at me, his chest heaving. He saw the truth in my eyes—that I was terrified for him. He leaned down, his forehead resting against mine.
"I am a man possessed, Luna," he whispered, a broken sound escaping his throat. "I try to stay away. I try to be the Professor they want me to be. But the thought of another man claiming what is mine... it's a punishment I can't endure."
He stayed there for a long time, just breathing the same air as me, his jealousy a heavy, invisible weight in the room. I wanted to pull him into the bed. I wanted to tell him I only went with Julian to make him come to me. But I stayed silent. I watched him finally pull away and slip back into the shadows of the hallway.
As the door closed, I collapsed back onto the pillow. I was happy because he was jealous, but I was terrified because the fire was getting out of control. Elena was out there, Julian was in the middle, and Alex was ready to lose everything. The "Perfect Professor" was a monster of jealousy now, and I knew that soon, the whole world would see the flames.