Page 42 of My Forbidden Professor

“What?” I shouldn’t be hearing from them. They should still be on their honeymoon wrapped up in each other. My fingers feverishly tap to read the frantic messages.

Adeline: Oh God, Stephanie, I’m so so sorry.

Dad: I’m handling this. We’re doing everything we can to stop it.

Stop what? My heart hammers erratically as dread coils ever tighter in my gut. With a few more swipes, the picture becomes horrifyingly clear.

Staring back at me in vivid pixel detail is an image from Adeline and Dad’s wedding reception—a candid shot of me wrapped in an embrace with the two beaming newlyweds, our radiant smiles captured for eternity taken on the night of their wedding.

And based on the barrage of texts overloading my phone, that once private family moment has been leaked far and wide across all media platforms, along with my full name and connections to my high-profile father’s business empire.

A strangled sound catches in my throat as I frantically scan my surroundings. Sure enough, furtive glances and hushed whispers now seem to be directed my way from every angle, realization prickling ice-cold along my skin. That’s why people have been looking at me. The whispers and covert glances I’d noticed yesterday and all morning now make sense.

My anonymity, my simple life of blending into the background...it’s all been razed in one fell swoop. Now I’m exposed, a spotlight shining on my every move whether I want it or not.

“Steph, kiddo, I’m so sorry.” Dad’s gruff voice crackles over the line as soon as I answer his frantic call, his tone tight with anger and regret.

“How did it happen, Dad? We’ve been so careful.” Everyone at the wedding was our closest friends and family. Everyone there knows and has always respected mine and my father’s wishes when it comes to my privacy.

Dad’s voice growls down the line. “I don’t know how this happened, but I swear on my life, I’ll get to the bottom of it and make whoever did this pay for violating your privacy like this.”

But I already know who did this. The flash of blond hair I’d made myself think I’d imagined must have been real. Daniel was there. He did what he’s threatened to do for years and made good on his promise.

I draw in a shaky breath, panic constricting my airway because it’s too late to put this genie back in the bottle. The damage is done. Just like that, my quiet, beautifully insular life has been blasted wide open, no longer my own.

“Steph…”

“It’s all right, Dad. It was bound to happen someday.” I somehow choke the words out. He’s on his honeymoon. He deserves to have a handful of days where he can just enjoy himself. Adeline too. They’ve both been through so much.

“I’ll come home. We both will.” I hear Adeline in the background agreeing with Dad.

“Will you two just relax? I’m fine. Honestly, it was a small miracle we were able to keep me secret for so long. I’ll be fine. We’ll talk when you get back, but I don’t want to hear from you for at least another week,” I say.

The cell rustles. “Steph, as your new stepmom…”

I force cheer into my voice. “Adeline, as your new stepdaughter who is also an adult, I’m telling you to relax. We will get to the end of this, but a week won’t make any difference. I mean it. Go and enjoy your vacation.” I hit her where I know it will yield results when she begins to protest. “Dad needs it.”

Adeline pauses. “Just…we’ll find out who did this and then they’ll pay.”

“Absolutely.” I’ll say anything so they won’t worry.

We end the call but I know they won’t stop worrying. I’ll do my best to keep them on their honeymoon as long as possible but in order to do that, I’ll have to pretend as though my stomach isn’t hollowing out and leaving a deep, dark cavern in its place.

My cell pings again, and Daniel’s contact name flashes up. I open the stream and message after message pops up. Me at the wedding. Me at lunch with Maddy and Lily. Me shopping. Me waiting for a cab. Me smiling and chatting with Dad and Adeline when we went for a breakfast before the wedding. Photo after photo of candid shots of me revealing not only my private life, but those closest to me.

I have to call him.

The phone feels like a lead weight in my clammy palm as I muster the courage to dial Daniel’s number. My finger hovers over the call button, chest constricting because I know there’s no going back. He holds all the cards. There’s no use putting it off. With a fortifying inhale, I tap the screen and lift the phone to my ear with a trembling hand.

It rings only once before his instantly recognizable timbre grinds out a terse, “Well, well. If it isn’t the little princess herself, crawling back to beg for my mercy.”

Anger and dread war within me, but I keep my tone as steady as possible. “Stop releasing those photos, Daniel. I’ll...I’ll do what you want, just please, stop with the leaks.”

A harsh bark of laughter crackles through the speaker. “That’s more like it. I knew you’d see sense eventually.” The mocking tone makes my skin crawl with revulsion. “But just to be crystal clear on what I want—Tim’s job is mine. No more playing games.”

I squeeze my eyes shut against the roiling nausea in my gut, because we both know that request is utterly impossible on so many levels and yet, he can’t see it.

Maybe I can slow him down a bit. Get a few days to just think.

---