LOGINhe said flatly, before turning his back on me like I was nothing.
“What a fucking waste of time,” he muttered as he walked back into the room, shaking his head softly. I stood frozen in the hallway. From inside, I could hear his muffled voice as he told his friends, followed by their laughter, loud and careless. The sound echoed in my ears, slicing through me like knives. My body felt hollow. My mind— blank. Then security appeared, one in front of me, another behind. “You’re not allowed to be here, ma’am,” one of them said, gripping my arm. “I— please, I just—” I tried to explain, but they didn’t listen. They dragged me out, my protests drowned beneath the noise of celebration spilling from the auditorium. --- THREE DAYS LATER. The Vice Chancellor’s Building. The elevator hummed as it carried me upward, its wall pressing cool against my back as I leaned into it, trying to steady myself. It’s been three days since I told Tony I was pregnant with his child, and in that short time, everything has spiraled from bad to worse. Now I’ve been summoned to the vice chancellor’s office. I didn’t need anyone to explain why. The CCTV cameras had been there— hidden in the conference hall backstage— watching, recording. They caught every word of my confession. And somehow, the footage had leaked. Now I was infamous. The girl everyone whispered about. The liar. The whore. The one who dared to claim she was carrying the golden boy’s child. Half the campus spat my name like venom, convinced I was staging a scandal for attention. The other half stared at me with wide eyes, stunned, curious, wondering if maybe— just maybe— what I said was true. My phone had become a weapon against me. Messages poured in, each one sharper than the last— insults, threats, curses. One girl even stopped me in the hallway yesterday, her voice dripping with hatred as she warned me to stay away from “her man.” Her insults had burned, but the fury in her eyes was worse. The elevator chimed, the doors sliding open with a hiss. The corridor stretched out before me, polished floors gleaming under the lights. My heart hammered against my ribs, each beat louder than the last. For a moment, I stayed frozen, staring at the path ahead. Then, with a breath that felt like a prayer, I stepped forward. Down the hallway, a boy and girl approached, their phones angled slyly, recording me. I dropped my gaze to the floor instantly. “That’s her,” the girl whispered, laughter tucked into her voice. “It sure is,” the boy replied, giggling openly. Their laughter trailed behind me, echoing, clawing at my skin. I forced my legs to keep moving, each step closer to the large door at the end of the corridor. The nameplate gleamed: The Vice Chancellor’s Office. I exhaled sharply, then drew in another breath, before I tapped gently against the it. “Yes,” a woman’s voice called. I pushed the door open. A woman sat at her desk, posture straight, expression unreadable. “I’m Av—” I began, but she cut me off. “I know who you are. You’re the girl trending. You’re here because of the email you received from the VC’s office? I sent it myself. You’re right on time. I’m the VC’s secretary. He’s waiting for you in his office.” She gestured to the door beside her desk. “Thank you, ma’am,” I murmured, awkward, my feet dragging toward the door. My hand lifted, tapping once. “Come in,” a masculine voice answered. I swallowed hard, twisted the handle, and stepped in. Inside Tony lounged lazily on a couch at a corner in the room, his brown eyes locking onto mine the moment I entered. My heart spiked violently. It always did when he was near. His gaze pierced me, steady, unyielding. “Hey Ava, welcome,” another voice said. I tore my eyes from Tony, shifting to the man behind the desk. Vincent Blackwood. The vice chancellor himself. His smile was faint, unreadable. “I’m glad you could come. Not that you had a choice,” Vincent said, his tone calm, deliberate. He gestured to the chair opposite his desk. “Have your seat.” My legs felt weak as I lowered myself into the chair. You’re about to get expelled. The sentence repeated in my mind, over and over, louder each time. Vincent leaned forward slightly, his eyes locking onto mine. “I know you’re scared. You should be. This scandal you’ve wrapped my son into is not something I find funny.” His voice was low, dangerous, his gaze unwavering. My lips parted, but no words came. My heart pounded too fast. “You’ve successfully dragged us into a big mess. Now we manage and control it. The footage of you confessing to my son is out there. It’s even been aired on national TV. This college is prestigious. Globally recognized. This is not the light we want the world to see us in.” His voice rose, sharper now, cutting through the silence. My chest tightened. My fingers dug into the fabric of my backpack straps. “You’ve left me no choice but to bind you two together.” Vincent paused, his gaze hardening. “If you can fucking sleep together, then you can play the perfect couple. For the world to see we’re united.” “What the fuck?” Tony whispered. “Yes. My decision is final,” Vincent continued. “Miss Ava will move in with you.”"Good morning," I continued, forcing an awkward, gentle smile to form on my lips despite the knot twisting in my stomach."Morning," he responded. The word was entirely flat, devoid of any warmth.The silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating.I lifted my hand to my hair, nervously scratching the back of my neck as my gaze dropped to the floor, my voice lowering significantly."I... I tried using the card you gave me yesterday at a restaurant, but the payment declined due to insufficient funds. I'm just really confused about what happened. Because I know there's supposed to be thousands in that account.""You shouldn’t be," Tony’s response came almost instantly.His voice wasn't loud, but the sheer coldness of his words made me freeze.His face remained locked onto mine, his features hardening."I removed all the money in it.""Why?" the word slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it, my lips parting slightly in shock."Why?" Tony responded, a mocking tone bleeding into
I rose back up to my feet, walking the short distance back to the crib. His rhythmic, warm breaths felt incredibly gentle against the skin of my neck. I lowered him carefully onto the mattress, laying him flat on his back, my movements painfully slow to ensure I didn't wake him. Once he settled, I turned to my own bed. I slid the heavy tote bag off my shoulders, letting it drop onto the surface of the nightstand with a dull thud before I finally settled onto the edge of the mattress. The moment the room fell perfectly still, the memory from the restaurant flooded back into my mind like a tidal wave. My card getting declined. The sharp, negative beeps of the payment terminal. The cashier looking at me across the counter and telling me there were insufficient funds. How is that even possible? The question hit me with a physical force, making my chest tighten. The card has a daily limit of five hundred dollars, and I know for a fact there were thousands left in the account. So how?
Hours LaterThe dull thud of the cab door closing behind me echoed through the quiet street. I pulled my canvas tote bag tighter against my shoulder, turning on my heel to cross the paved road toward the glass penthouse. The early evening air was starting to cool, but my skin still felt flushed from the stress of the day.I navigated the sleek driveway, my boots clicking softly against the concrete as I ascended the short steps onto the front porch. Reaching the heavy steel door, I extended a finger and pressed the doorbell. The muted chime reverberated inside, and I stood there, shifting my weight from one foot to the other, waiting.In less than a minute, the sharp mechanical click of the deadbolt releasing cut through the quiet. The door swung inward.Maggie stood in the threshold, a professional smile resting on her face. “Hey. Welcome back.” she greeted warmly."Hey," I replied, forcing a weary smile onto my face as the absolute exhaustion of the past few hours threatened to pull
Mary looked at me for a long, silent second. She took another bite of her food, her sharp eyes never leaving mine as she chewed. The moment she swallowed, she spoke again, her words slow and etched with heavy skepticism. "I don't want what has happened to weigh you too far down." "I'm fine," I repeated, my voice steady. But she didn't stop watching me, her eyes searching the micro-expressions on my face for the truth. I smiled again, giving her a firm, reassuring nod. "I'm fine." The words were meant to convince her, but deep down, they were a desperate attempt to reassure myself that I would be. After a few more tense seconds, Mary finally lowered her gaze and continued eating. I did the same. With the tension broken, the conversation slowly drifted away from the stolen vehicle, shifting into lighter topics about schoolwork and upcoming projects. Shortly after, we finished our meals. I rose from my seat first, and Mary followed, both of us carrying our bags back toward the
Professor Wilson paced slowly back and forth across the elevated podium, his voice projecting clearly as he dived into the complexities of the day's topic. Soon, the rhythmic scratching of pens over paper and the muted clatter of laptop keys filled the air.Rows of eyes moved back and forth from their computer screens to the brightly projected diagrams on the white wall above the professor's head.An hour passed in what felt like a blink.I only realized the time had evaporated when the professor stepped toward the console, resting his hand on the projector controls before clicking it off."See you in the next class," he announced, gathering his notes."Thank you!" a chorus of students echoed in unison.The entire hall erupted into a cacophony of noise. People stood up, the folding tablet arms of the chairs snapping back into place with a collective, rattling clatter.Professor Wilson packed his briefcase and walked out, blending seamlessly into the dense crowd of students exiting thr
Moments later, the sedan glided smoothly through the busier roads of the main campus. Outside my window, the university was teeming with life— staff members in sharp blazers and students with backpacks slung over their shoulders and backs hurrying along the concrete walkways, entirely absorbed in their own daily routines. The driver made a crisp right turn, the tires humming against the asphalt. A minute later, the familiar modern glass-and-brick facade of my faculty buildings materialized in the distance. The car slowed to a halt directly in front of the main entrance where my lecture was scheduled. My phone rested in my palms, which were locked over my lap. My thumbs danced across the screen, pulling up the ride-share app to settle the fare. Within seconds, a satisfying green verification checkmark flashed across the display, confirming that Apple Pay had successfully processed the transaction. "I’ve made the payment," I said, raising my eyes from the screen to address the driver
A few minutes later, I stood fully dressed in the middle of my room.The oversized orange round-neck shirt I wore hung loosely over me, the sleeve falling just enough to expose the white bandages wrapped around my left arm.Below it, the black maternity pants hugged my lower belly and waist perfect
“Good morning, sir,” the class echoed back loudly.And just like that—The lecture began.---About An Hour Later.The lecturer’s voice flowed across the lecture hall as he stood in front of the class, one hand resting against the desk while the other held his marker.“See you all on Friday.”“Than
That Same Hour.NOAH.A Multimillion-dollar Condo Apartment Off Campus.Noah sat comfortably against the backrest of the long cream-colored couch in his living room, one arm stretched lazily along the cushion beside him while the other held the TV remote loosely against his thigh. The massive flat-
Over an hour later.The Fourth Quarter.The roar of the stadium pressed faintly against the glass, like a distant storm I could see but not fully hear.I remained in the private room Tony had left me, leaning back into the leather seat, eyes fixed on the field below, fingers curled against the armr







