My stomach churns at the sight of him.
How could he?! After all the cruel things he had done to me, he comes back into my life now, disguising himself as a human and my professor?!
Immediately, I grab my backpack and push the classroom door open to walk out. While running down the empty hallway, I put my hand to my mouth to stop myself from vomiting.
Behind me, I heard Hazel's voice calling out to me, but I didn't look back.
The hell do I care about History class!
I don't need to see my mate. It's driving me crazy, both physically and mentally. I don't need to see his face because it only reminds me of his rejection!
I went to one of the cubicles in the restroom and closed it. Sitting on the toilet bowl, I grasped my hair and thought about Steven's face. His eyes... those were the same eyes that rejected me!
"Why did you come back?" I whispered to myself, feeling a tear forming in the corner of my eye.
I cried for about three minutes inside the restroom when someone opened the door. Sniffing, I shouted at the intruder, "I'm alright, Hazel! Go back to class!"
I assumed it was Hazel who had entered the restroom because she was looking for me, but when I saw a pair of shiny jet-black shoes outside the cubicle I was in, my heart started to hammer against my chest.
"Miss Bentley, are you alright?"
It was Steven's voice!
I began to have a panic attack inside the cubicle.
What if he attacked me? Of course, he wouldn't be foolish enough to do that inside a school full of humans! His identity as a werewolf would be revealed!
"Miss Bentley, you are worrying me. Please, can you come out of the cubicle? Let's talk about your behavior earlier."
Hearing the word "worry" coming from him made me feel sick.
"No! You're going to kill me..." I stifled my sobs and tried to think of how to escape from this tiny room.
I heard a loud sigh from outside. "Miss Bentley, why would I kill one of my students?" he said, letting out an anxious laugh. "I would never do that. That's immoral," he continued.
Was he trying to sway me with his words so that I would come out?
Before I could respond, he said, "Besides, I don't know who you are apart from being my student. If I intended to kill you, I would have nothing to gain from it."
I remained silent afterward.
Does this mean he's not the Steven I knew from the past?
But they look so much alike!
Is it possible to have a doppelganger?
He knocked on the door again. "Miss Bentley? Please, come out now and follow me."
I sighed and slowly turned the doorknob. Bowing my head, I looked away and pinched my fingers.
"Are you sure we haven't met before?" I asked him.
He nodded but didn't answer. I returned my gaze to the professor in front of me. He was neat and clean, even his hair styled with gel in a clean-cut hairstyle. My mate was rugged and dark, but this man exuded a different vibe.
His eyes were hazel brown, much different from my mate's eye color. So, I asked him, "Are you wearing contacts?"
He let out a sarcastic laugh. "I have eyeglasses, Miss Bentley. If I wore contacts, what would be the purpose of these?" he adjusted the frame of his eyeglasses on his nose.
I nodded and followed him out of the room. For the first time, I went to the Dean's Discipline Office with the man who resembled Steven. I found out he was our new History Professor.
His name is Professor Evan Hughes.
The Dean let me off with a warning for my rudeness in Professor Evan's class because he saw I had high grades and was an excellent student. I lied to the dean, claiming I just had a bad stomach, which was why I went to the restroom.
"You're a good liar," Professor Evan said as we walked together in the hallway. He was smirking, but I could sense a hint of anger in his voice.
"I hate liars," was all he said before excusing himself due to his next class. I saw Hazel coming toward me. She asked what had happened, and I told her about my supposed bad stomach and the misunderstanding with Professor Evan.
She acknowledged what I said and asked if I was okay.
"I'm alright now. Can we go to the library? I need to read some materials!" I said, hoping to divert her from asking more questions about Professor Evan. It seemed like my best friend had developed a mini crush on him!
That afternoon, Hazel and I spent our time in the library, immersed in books. Eventually, she fell asleep at the table. I left a sticky note for her, saying I had gone out to run some errands, but in reality, I was on a mission to investigate our new History teacher.
"Mrs. Lee, please? Can I have his details? I'm just curious!" I pleaded with my Calculus teacher in the teacher's office.
I needed to know more about Professor Evan.
He unnerved me for reasons I couldn't quite pinpoint. Beyond the resemblance to my mate, I don't trust him enough.
"Really, Nathalie? I didn't expect you to be one of those girls asking for his details, too! Gosh, I get that he's hot and handsome, but he's too old for you, Nat!"
Mrs. Lee had always been like a second mother to me at school. I excelled in her class, which made her particularly fond of me, but it seemed I might not get what I wanted this time.
"I'm not interested in him, Mrs. Lee! I just need to confirm something! Please, please, please, can you give me his credentials?"
I showed her my best puppy eyes, and finally, she relented. She made me promise to keep this a secret, warning that we'd both be in trouble if anyone found out we had accessed his transcript!
"Thank you so much," I mouthed to Mrs. Lee, holding one strap of my backpack.
I gave her a hand salute and quickly left the teacher's office, a smile spreading across my face, armed with the information I needed to delve deeper into Professor Evan's life background.
I checked my wristwatch and saw that it was almost six in the evening. It was getting late. Usually, I would hitch a ride in Hazel's car to go home.
But this time, it was different because I had an agenda.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out to read Hazel's text.
Hazel:
Fuck you for leaving me in the library T_T
I chuckled at Hazel's cute emoticon before pushing my phone back into my pocket. I looked for an empty and open room on the second floor of our building. The lights were now off, and the guard usually roamed around a quarter to six.
I had only 30 minutes left to read Professor Evan's records.
Finding an empty room, I made sure no one was following me inside.
My heart beat against my chest so hard I thought it might burst.
Why was I doing this again?
Oh, yes! I needed to know more about the new professor's identity!
Grabbing a chair, I sat down and slowly opened the brown envelope. I spread the papers in front of me, and the first thing I saw was Evan's birth certificate.
It listed basic details like his full name, date of birth, and place of birth. However, these details weren't what I was looking for.
I needed something that would give away his past, something that connected him to my mate—or confirmed he was not the same person.
Determined, I dug deeper into the envelope, searching for any employment history, previous addresses, or anything out of the ordinary that could provide me with the answers I sought. My fingers brushed against a sheet of paper that listed his educational background and previous employment.
This was it. This was my chance to uncover the truth about Professor Evan Hughes.
He was born in London.
Why was he here, then?
He was twenty-four years old and not married. He graduated with his PhD in History from a prestigious British school in London.
My mouth dropped open as I read all of his credentials.
He was good, really good.
He was an achiever!
No wonder many women and girls at my school liked him, even though he was still new.
I looked for his family background. There was none.
"Impossible," I whispered, reading it again. I was using my phone as a flashlight to read the letters and numbers when the door swung open.
I jolted in my seat, my phone falling to the floor, and my head whipping around to see the man who had entered.
"What are you doing, Miss Bentley?" Professor Evan's voice boomed in the empty and quiet room.
He was holding the doorknob, looking at me with glaring eyes.
And damn...
He looks so dangerously handsome when he is angry.
I can't even deny it!
All of a sudden, the temperature in the room dropped.