Chapter 31 #2
I was merely surprised that his curiosity warranted such an expensive gift.
Blue diamonds were exceptionally rare and unique.
When I was young, my mom had bought me a pair of blue diamond stud earrings.
They were barely half a carat, and it was still the most expensive thing I had owned.
One carat could easily exceed one hundred thousand dollars and these must at least be ten carats.
In fact, ten carats might be a conservative estimate. They were huge and drop-dead gorgeous.
I hovered over the box, admiring the stunning craftsmanship, before remembering myself. I closed the lid and pushed the box back. “I-I think, there has been a misunderstanding. What happened between us was a mistake.”
My voice was hushed in the bustling street, yet Professor Maxwell heard me loud and clear. “Excuse me?”
“W-what we did, it can’t happen again.”
His eyes suddenly turned dull and lifeless, but there was something else there—fury. “Why not?” he asked harshly, voice tinged with the familiar mask of anger I was beginning to recognize all too well.
A cold chill swept over my skin at his tone. My stomach tightened, bracing for impact, before remembering there was a modicum of safety in the public eye.
I let out a few shallow breaths and focused on the task at hand, except his ire was throwing me for a loop.
He had never expressed interest in me until our drunken night on the boat when he found out I was a virgin.
Perhaps it set me apart from other women he had been with.
But his warped fascination with the intact hymen and scars had to end sooner or later.
Setting our family rivalry aside, he was my professor—someone who could lose his life’s work for pursuing a student.
Surely, he knew this wouldn’t amount to much.
“Rose!” My name cracked like a whip out of his lips. My silence made him lean forward and snap, “What the hell are you talking about?”
Since I couldn’t tell him that I mistook him for his twin, I decided on a different avenue. “I-I was drunk on the boat and made a terrible judgment call. This should have never happened.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
I looked down at my intertwined hands. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” He scoffed. “I jeopardized my career for you because you didn’t know how to hold your liquor,” he asked sardonically.
I shook my head. “I-I tried to clear things up. But you were so angry when I saw you next that I didn’t have the chance.”
“I don’t believe this.”
“Professor Maxwell?—”
“Caden,” he corrected with a bark.
Oh God.
Everyone was staring at us now. I looked around, unsure if anyone recognized the famous scientist. I considered asking him to discuss the matter in private, then remembered what happened the last time we were alone. It only steeled my resolve to end things.
I kept my voice low. “I can’t call you that, you’re my professor.”
“That didn’t stop you on the boat. You made the first move, Rose— you kissed me .”
“You’re right. It was all my fault. You have no idea how much I admire you as a teacher and what your guidance has meant to me. I shouldn’t have done anything inappropriate. Can we please pretend that I didn’t and go back to how things were?”
“No fucking way.”
He towered over me, and my breath hitched.
Memories from yesterday returned with a vengeance.
I saw him in my mind—hovering above me, his expression unreadable, his presence overwhelming—as he took what he wanted without hesitation.
Suddenly, I wanted to wrap my arms around myself and rock back and forth like a mental asylum patient.
He scared the shit out of me, and he had never been more threatening than he was now.
My pulse drummed in my ears, each beat a warning, and I instinctively began backing away.
His gaze locked on me like a predator tracking its prey, and he followed my retreating form.
His footsteps approached me—measured, unhurried, but each one landed like a countdown.
I felt the oncoming panic attack even before it happened. The moment his hand closed around my elbow, the touch burning through the material of my sleeve, something inside me snapped, like a rubber band stretched too far.
“Don’t touch me!” The words tore out of my throat, raw and shaking.
I violently wrenched my arm, muscles straining in his clutches.
He had never seen me react this way, and it shocked him enough to loosen his grip.
I used the window to rip out of his hold, the sudden release stinging my skin where his hand had been.
For one taut, endless second, he didn’t move. The tension between us was coiling, seething. The hurt showed on his face in a fleeting glassiness before he forced his expression into neutrality.
When he stepped forward again, I flung both hands up as if they could shield me from the weight of him. The air around me thickened, pressing against my ribs until I could barely breathe.
“Rose—”
“Please, please stay away from me.” My voice cracked. “Please don’t touch me. I can’t bear to be touched.” With that, I turned and fled, my shoes scraping against the concrete as I ran, every step fueled by the desperate need to put as much distance between us as my legs could carry.