All Chapters of On My Professor's Desk: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Ava didn’t know how long she lay there after Louis left.Time lost its shape in the dimness of her room. Her tears had dried, leaving her eyes swollen and aching, her chest sore from crying too hard, too long. The silence pressed in on her, heavy and accusatory, as if the walls themselves were judging her choices.She wiped her face with the sleeve of her sweater and sat up slowly. Her phone buzzed on the bed beside her, making her flinch.A message.She didn’t need to check the name to know who it was from.Camille.Can I come over?Ava stared at the screen, her fingers hovering. Part of her wanted to say no. She wasn’t in the mood for questions, for probing looks, for pretending she was fine. But another part of her, lonely, unraveling, didn’t want to be alone anymore.Fine, she typed back. Door’s open.She dropped the phone and stood, pacing the small space of her room. She rubbed at her arms, suddenly cold despite the warm evening air. Her thoughts kept circling back to Dr. Reid,

Dinner had always been Vanessa Reid’s domain.The dining table was set with careful precision, cream linen, polished silverware, crystal glasses catching the soft glow of the overhead chandelier. The scent of rosemary and garlic still lingered in the air from the meal she had prepared herself, despite being well into her third trimester. Cooking grounded her. Gave her a sense of control in a life that lately felt as though it was quietly slipping from her grasp.William Reid sat across from her, loosening his tie as he finished the last bite of his food. He looked tired. Distant. He had looked that way a lot recently.Vanessa noticed everything.She always had.“So,” she said lightly, folding her napkin and placing it on the table. “Did you finish grading the midterms?”William nodded, reaching for his water. “Most of them. A few essays left.”She smiled faintly. “You’ve been working nonstop.”He shrugged. “Part of the job.”Vanessa studied him over the rim of her glass. There was som

The old Riverside Apartments loomed like a forgotten wound on the edge of the city. No one lived there anymore. No one came here unless they didn’t want to be seen.William parked two blocks away.He sat in the car for a moment, engine idling, forehead pressed against the steering wheel as he took a slow, steadying breath. His pulse was still racing, his mind a frantic tangle of damage control and fear. Vanessa’s face—pale, hurt, disbelieving—flashed before him, followed immediately by Ava’s trembling voice echoing from the speakerphone.There’s something you should know, Mrs. Reid.He pushed the memory away.This was not the time for guilt.This was survival.William stepped out of the car, adjusted his jacket, and scanned the empty street before heading toward the building. The entrance door creaked open with a groan, protesting his presence as though warning him it was too late to turn back.Inside, the stairwell smelled of dust and mildew. His footsteps echoed too loudly as he cl

The campus was already awake when William Reid arrived.Students clustered in small groups along the walkways, laughter drifting through the crisp morning air, backpacks slung over shoulders, coffee cups in hand. It was a familiar sight—one he had once found comforting. Orderly. Predictable. Controlled.Today, it felt like camouflage.William parked in his usual spot, stepped out of his car, and adjusted his tie with deliberate precision. He forced his shoulders back, his posture immaculate, his expression calm. To anyone watching, he was exactly what he had always been: Dr. William Reid, respected lecturer, model academic, a man who belonged here.Inside, however, his thoughts were sharp and singular.Control the situation.That was all that mattered now.He walked briskly toward the faculty building, nodding absently at a colleague who greeted him, returning a polite smile to a student who held the door open for him. Each interaction felt performative, as though he were playing a ro

Ava stood outside Dr. William Reid’s office longer than she meant to.The hallway was quiet that late afternoon. Classes were still in session, but this wing of the building had emptied out, leaving behind only the distant murmur of voices and the soft hum of the ventilation system.Her hand hovered near the door.For the first time since everything had begun, since secret glances and late-night calls and promises whispered in low voices, she wasn’t trembling.She was braced.Ava lifted her hand and knocked.Once.Twice.“Come in,” William’s voice called, clipped, controlled.She opened the door and stepped inside.William Reid looked up from his desk, and whatever mask he’d been wearing slipped for half a second before snapping firmly back into place. Surprise flickered first. Then irritation. Then something darker, anxiety he was trying desperately to bury.“Ava,” he said, already standing. “This isn’t appropriate.”She closed the door behind her carefully. “We need to talk.”His ja