Chapter 1
The door creaked open, and two figures stumbled into the room. Both were visibly drunk.
The moment they stepped inside, they started kissing right in the entryway. Their heavy breaths filled the room, thick with heat and desire.
Kelly Valencia gasped as the man effortlessly lifted her into his arms. She curled up against his chest, her petite frame making the contrast between them all the more striking.
He carried her straight to the bed and tossed her onto it. His eyes were bloodshot, and the usual calm in his expression had been replaced by a fire that burned through his every move. His control started slipping away.
…
“Kelly.”
“Kelly!”
Kelly jolted awake, drenched in a light sheen of sweat.
There it was again. That dream. It had been over a month, and she was still dreaming about that night almost every single day.
It happened during summer break—on Jude Yarrow’s birthday. She had shown up all smiles, only to discover he’d invited not only her but also other classmates from their major… including Celeste Kessler, who was gorgeous.
The two of them sat close, whispering and laughing together like a couple. The others kept glancing at her, clearly curious to see how she’d react.
Though she and Jude were in the same major, they weren’t in the same class. Everyone knew she’d had a crush on him for two years. Even Jude was well aware, but he’d never turned her down.
And judging by the looks on everyone’s faces, it was clear she was the only one who didn’t know about Celeste. He’d been stringing her along while flirting with someone else behind her back.
The way everyone was looking at her stung. Kelly silently vowed to end this ridiculous one-sided crush right then and there.
That night, she had a few too many drinks because of the anger building up inside her.
While heading to the restroom, she accidentally bumped into someone. When she looked up, her eyes met a pair far deeper and more intense than Jude’s. He was far more handsome too—more rugged and masculine.
Before she knew what she was doing, she grabbed him by the collar and whispered, “Do you want to have some fun with me?”
The next thing she knew, things had spiraled out of control. They entered a hotel room and spent an unforgettable night together.
Alcohol might’ve given her liquid courage, but when she woke up the next morning to find herself naked in bed with a complete stranger, she was shell-shocked. Kelly threw on her clothes and fled without a backward glance.
She knew she’d made a huge mistake—one she couldn’t talk to anyone about. She didn’t dare to find out who the man was either.
Yet, the memory haunted her. Even a month later, she dreamed about it almost every night—the tangled bodies, the heavy breaths, and those deep, intense eyes…
“Hurry up, Kelly! Stop spacing out! Do you want to be late on the first day of school?” Melissa Murray’s voice snapped Kelly back to reality. She shook off the lingering fragments of the dream and scrambled out of bed.
After washing up, she grabbed her books and rushed off to class with Melissa.
“Slow down, will you?” Kelly huffed, struggling to keep up with her.
“We have anatomy class today, remember?” Melissa responded. “You’ve been so out of it lately that you barely remember anything.”
Oh, right. Word around campus was that their school had spent a lot to hire an incredible anatomy professor—a prodigy who had graduated from Johns Research University. The guy was apparently so impressive that they had hired him straight away, making him the youngest professor in the history of the medical school.
Because the professor had some personal issues to deal with and couldn’t arrive on time, the school had no choice but to postpone the anatomy course by more than a month. Now that the national holidays were over, today was finally their first class with him.
“Guess what? A few students have already met the professor this morning!” Melissa gushed. “I heard he’s unbelievably good-looking, so much so that everyone’s talking about it in the group chat. People are actually regretting not signing up for his class.”
Melissa tugged on Kelly’s arm. “Hurry up, or we won’t even be able to squeeze into the lecture hall!”
That had to be an exaggeration. They were already in their third year, and this was just the first class. Most students who couldn’t get up on time would have their roommates sign in for them. Empty classrooms with full attendance lists were nothing new.
But the moment they reached the lecture hall and saw the massive crowd, Kelly was shocked. The place was packed like a mob fighting over free eggs at a supermarket.
Melissa didn’t look surprised at all. “The professor’s handsome and from a prestigious school. This is basically a fan meet.”
Dragging Kelly along, she weaved through the crowd. “Excuse us, real students coming through! If you’re just here to fangirl, at least leave us some seats!”
It took a while, but they managed to snag two spots. As soon as they sat down, Melissa noticed something and scowled. “Ugh, what a mood killer.”
Kelly followed her gaze and spotted Jude and Celeste seated just ahead of them. Some of the major courses were held in large lecture halls with students from several classes, but still, she didn’t think she’d run into them that day.
Jude leaned in close to Celeste, whispering something in her ear that made her giggle behind her hand.
Melissa sighed when she noticed Kelly staring at them. “No wonder you’ve been out of it lately. It sucks when the person you’ve crushed on for two years starts seeing someone else.”
As soon as her words fell, Kelly looked at her in disbelief. “They’re seeing each other?”
“Yeah. They made it official on his birthday. Why does it seem like you’re only just hearing about this?”
“I did just find out,” Kelly muttered.
Melissa tilted her head. “Then, why have you been moping around?” It had been almost a month since school started, and she had noticed Kelly wasn’t quite herself.
Kelly fell silent. She couldn’t exactly admit it was because she’d slept with a stranger.
Melissa took her silence as denial and patted her shoulder. “It’s fine. I believe you.”
Kelly was rendered speechless. After all, she did just find out.
“I don’t even get what you see in Jude,” Melissa added. “Sure, he’s good-looking and has decent grades, but he’s still a jerk! There are way better guys out there. Like the new professor, for example; he’d easily outshine Jude. Maybe you should go for someone else, Kelly.”
Kelly looked at her, baffled. “Go for who?”
“The new professor, of course,” Melissa teased.
“Melissa really had no filter,” Kelly thought.
Then, she gave Melissa a light smack on the head and said, “You’re unbelievable!”
Right then, the classroom buzzed with excitement. “He’s here! The professor’s here!”
The whole room turned into a sea of craning necks and hushed excitement. Kelly was no exception. She was curious to see what all the fuss was about.
Was he really that good looking? What, did he have a third eye or something?
Then, a tall figure appeared in the doorway. He was tall and lean, and his features were striking—clean-cut, sharp jawline, perfectly straight nose, full lips, and eyes so deep it felt like he could see straight through anyone. His graceful, refined presence felt like a breath of fresh air.
Melissa heard Kelly suck in a breath. “See? I wasn’t exaggerating. He’s gorgeous!”
However, Kelly had already slumped forward onto the desk like her soul had just left her body.
