CHAPTER 96: CLASS FIASCO

Alexia’s POV

The whole class passed by without me daring to look up at Professor Sinclair. Not even once.

Meanwhile, Lucy had apparently made it her personal mission to nudge me every single time he so much as glanced in my direction—which, according to her, was a lot.

I gritted my teeth as she jabbed her elbow into my ribs again.

"Stop it," I hissed under my breath, keeping my eyes glued to my notebook, even though I hadn’t actually written anything down.

She stifled a giggle. "He’s looking again," she whispered dramatically.

I clenched my jaw, gripping my pen so hard I was surprised it didn’t snap. Of course, he is. Because why wouldn’t he be staring at the student whose jealous, overgrown man-child of a fiancé called him an asshole over the phone?

I didn’t need to look up to know Professor Sinclair was still irritated. His usual calm and collected demeanor probably masked it well, but I knew he was mentally cursing me out every time his eyes flickered in my direction.

Lucy nudged me again, harder this time.

"Would you quit it?!" I whisper-yelled, shooting her a glare.

She just grinned. "I’m just saying... If looks could strip, you’d be naked right now."

I nearly choked on air. "Lucy!"

A few students turned to glance at me, and I quickly lowered my head, pretending to be deeply invested in my notes. My ears burned as Lucy snickered beside me.

I was never listening to her again.

The class finally ended—thank God—and I was about to bolt out the door like my life depended on it.

But of course, it was never going to be that easy.

"Alexia, can I see you for a moment?"

Professor Sinclair’s calm, collected voice rang out, stopping me dead in my tracks.

My stomach dropped.

I knew this was coming, but a small part of me had been praying I could just disappear into the hallway and avoid this entire mess. No such luck.

For the first time since I walked into class, I actually looked up at him—and of course his eyes were dancing with amusement.

Fantastic. He was enjoying this.

I swallowed hard and gave a stiff nod before snapping my gaze to Lucy, silently screaming for help.

She leaned in quickly, whispering, "Two options. Either you pretend you don’t know anything... or you apologize."

I stared at her, horrified. "Apologize?" I whispered back. "For what?"

She smirked. "For your possessive husband calling him an asshole at seven in the morning, maybe?"

I groaned internally. Right. That.

Before I could respond, Lucy was already backing toward the door. "I’ll be waiting for you at our spot," she said with a wink. "Come with juicy details."

I shot her a murderous look as she practically skipped away, abandoning me to my fate.

With a deep breath, I turned back toward Professor Sinclair, who was still watching me with way too much amusement.

Yeah. This was not going to be fun.

With my heart pounding, I forced my feet to move, making my way toward Professor Sinclair. Okay, play it cool.

I had already decided—if he brought up the whole Aiden-calling-him-an-asshole situation, I’d apologize. Maybe even try to explain. But if he chose to ignore it? Well, then I sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one to bring it up.

I stopped a few feet from his desk, clasping my hands together in what I hoped looked casual and not panicked as hell.

"Yes, Professor?" I asked, keeping my tone light. Innocent. Like I had zero idea why he was calling me over.

He leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers as he studied me.

The silence stretched.

I swallowed.

He knew.

He definitely knew.

"Interesting morning, wasn’t it?" he finally said, his voice smooth and unreadable.

I blinked. "Uh... was it?"

His lips twitched—he was enjoying this

.

"Mmh," he hummed. "A rather unexpected phone call to start my day. Quite memorable, really."

I cleared my throat. "I... um, I wouldn’t know about that."

He raised an eyebrow. "No?"

I shook my head, keeping my face painfully blank. "Nope."

He leaned forward slightly, his sharp gaze locked onto mine. "So you’re saying you had nothing to do with a very irate man calling me this morning and calling me, let’s see... what was the exact word? Ah, yes. An asshole?"

I nearly winced. Damn it, Aiden!

I forced an awkward laugh. "Wow. That’s, um... quite a way to start the day. I mean, people can be so... rude."

His lips pressed together like he was barely holding back a smirk. "Indeed."

I shifted on my feet, my resolve crumbling. "Okay, fine." I sighed, dropping my shoulders. "I might have some idea of what happened."

Professor Sinclair tilted his head, clearly waiting.

I let out another sigh. "I apologize. Aiden... he, um, overreacted."

His eyebrows lifted. "Overreacted?"

I winced. "Okay, seriously overreacted. But in my defense, I didn’t tell him to do that."

"I would hope not," he said dryly. "Otherwise, I’d have to wonder if you wanted me to get verbally assaulted before my morning coffee."

I groaned. "No! Of course not. He’s just—" I cut myself off, biting my lip.

Professor Sinclair watched me expectantly.

I sighed again. "Possessive."

He hummed again, but this time, there was something unreadable in his gaze. "I see."

I hesitated. "So... are we, um... good?"

He exhaled through his nose, almost like a laugh. "Alexia, I’m not going to fail you over your husband’s jealous tantrum."

I definitely winced at that.

"But," he continued, his eyes sharp, "I do expect you to handle your personal affairs so that they don’t interfere with my class again. Understood?"

I nodded quickly. "Yes. Completely. Absolutely. It won’t happen again."

He studied me for a second longer before finally nodding.

As I turned to leave, Professor Sinclair’s voice halted me.

"Alexia," he called, prompting me to face him once more. His expression was neutral, but there was an unmistakable hint of disappointment in his eyes. "I waited for you all day yesterday. You didn’t come as we agreed."

I swallowed hard, guilt gnawing at me. "I apologize, Professor. An emergency came up that I had to attend to." I paused, gathering my thoughts. "If it’s acceptable, I’d like to come by your office this evening after my classes to make up for the missed appointment."

He regarded me for a moment before nodding. "I’ll be waiting," he said, his tone firm yet understanding.

As he gathered his belongings and walked toward the door, I followed suit, maintaining a respectful distance. Just before we parted ways, he glanced back at me.

"Don’t keep me waiting," he added, his voice carrying a subtle warning.

I nodded earnestly. "I won’t, Professor. Thank you."

With that, he headed toward his office, and I made my way to meet Lucy, my mind racing with thoughts of how to handle the upcoming meeting.

I turned on my heel and hurried toward where Lucy was waiting.

The moment I reached her, she immediately wiggled her brows.

"So... what did he say?"

I huffed, throwing myself into the seat beside her. "Nothing."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Liar. Spill."

I groaned. This was going to be a long day.

Lucy wasn’t going to let this go. I could see it in the way she leaned in, her eyes practically glittering with mischief.

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "He just said he waited for me yesterday and that I didn’t show up."

Lucy gasped dramatically, placing a hand on her chest. "You stood up Professor Sinclair?"

"Not on purpose!" I hissed, glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "I had to deal with Aiden."

Lucy scoffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Ugh, don’t even bring him up right now. This is way more interesting. So... what else did Sinclair say?"

I hesitated before mumbling, "He told me not to keep him waiting."

Lucy’s grin stretched impossibly wide. "Oh my God. That man wants you."

I nearly choked. "Lucy, shut up!"

She giggled, nudging my arm. "Alexia, do you realize how hot that is? He’s literally giving you smoldering academic dominance energy, and you’re just—" she waved her hands around— "standing there like an oblivious virgin."

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "It’s not like that."

"Oh, honey," she cooed, patting my head. "It is exactly like that."

I lifted my head to glare at her. "I don’t even like him like that."

"Right," she drawled sarcastically, "which is why your face is redder than a tomato and why you’re going to see him after class instead of ghosting him completely."

I opened my mouth, then closed it.

Damn it.

She had a point.

Lucy smirked in triumph. "You, my dear, have a thing for your professor."

"I do not—"

"You so do."

I groaned again, grabbing my drink and dramatically chugging the rest of it. "Can we please talk about something else?"

Lucy sighed, leaning back against the bench. "Fine. But if you don’t tell me everything after your little office visit, I swear I’ll text Aiden and tell him you have a crush on Sinclair."

I gasped. "You wouldn’t."

She smirked. "Try me."

I narrowed my eyes. "You’re evil."

"And you love me."

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help the small smile tugging at my lips. "Unfortunately."

Lucy just laughed, and I let myself relax—at least for now. But as much as I wanted to ignore it, I couldn’t shake the feeling that tonight’s meeting with Professor Sinclair was going to be anything but normal.