Page 51 of My Forbidden Professor

“Oh, I think I have some idea.”

The woman’s eyes glint with sharpness. There’s something intuitive about her, something that perceives far beyond the superficial layers someone like me usually hides behind. I can see why Steph would be friends with a woman like this.

“I know you’ve done something, which is why I’ll allow you to see her. If nothing else, she needs to hear you beg for her forgiveness. Lay it all on the line—every jagged piece of how you feel.” The razor-edged command slices through me, honing each word into cutting clarity. “And if she sends you away after that, you respect it. Walk away without a fight and leave her be.”

The thought of losing Steph entirely constricts around my throat. But the woman isn’t done, her tone cold, and I can tell she means every word that comes out of her mouth. “But so help me God...if you go over there and hurt her even a shred more than she’s already hurting? I’ll take those ball sacs you’re sporting and wear them as a goddamn necklace. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal clear. And just so you know, I would never willingly hurt her again, not for anything in this world. If I do, I’ll cut them off myself and thread them on a gold chain for you.”

She purses her lips. I keep my eyes trained on her, hoping that whatever she sees on my face is what she needs. “Steph isn’t here.”

My shoulders slump. “Of course. It was stupid to think I could just waltz in here. That she’d even be here.”

She holds up her hand. “She’s at home. In the apartment she shares with her father.” Her father being David Chandler. I don’t have to remind myself how powerful the man is. “Who is on his honeymoon with his new bride...”

Which means Steph is there alone.

She rattles off an address in one of the apartment buildings uptown. “Take the subway to West 87th, then walk four blocks east to Park Avenue. Her building is the new high-rise on the corner; you can’t miss it.”

I scramble to input the details into my phone with shaking fingers, half-convinced I’m dreaming and about to wake up back in my lonely campus apartment at any second. “Thank you, I...you have no idea how much this means to me.”

“Oh, I think I have some idea.” Her eyes glint with that same indecipherable sharpness as before. “I’m Lily, by the way. Tell Steph it was me who put you onto her address. And remember what I said about those ball sacs.”

I nod my thanks, turn on my heel and reel from the building to the sidewalk, nerves thrumming with a renewed sense of purpose and determination as I hail a cab. Because somehow, against all odds, I’ve been handed a shot at redemption.

The cab ride to Steph’s place is agonizing torture. Every bump and red light ratchets my nerves tighter. But with each block, I’m also drawing one step closer to her. When we finally pull up to the fancy high-rise, I’m a desperate, frantic mess.

This is high-stakes, one-shot only. One miss and I’m done.

My legs are shaking as I get out and head for the lobby entrance. It’s lavish. Opulent. Understated. Classy. I don’t take much else in as I stride past the doorman, not even sparing him a glance. I march straight for the bank of elevators, the doorman’s voice trailing off behind me. Fumbling with shaking hands, I punch in the code Lily gave me on the control panel.

The elevator opens with a metallic swoosh and I pile inside, jamming the button for the twenty-ninth floor. My heart is thundering against my ribcage as the floors crawl by at an agonizing pace.

No turning back.

When the doors finally open, I have to muster every ounce of resolve to force one foot in front of the other down the hallway toward the door at the end. Swallowing hard, I try to draw in a few steadying breaths, but the air feels viscous and thick. I pause at the door, frozen for a handful of stammering heartbeats as the little voice in my head starts whispering every self-sabotaging doubt on repeat.

This is a mistake. She’s going to take one look at you and slam the door in your face, you pathetic piece of shit. You don’t belong in her world. She’s light years out of your stratosphere, and the sooner you accept that, the—

Before I can talk myself out of it, I rap my knuckles hard against the solid wood, the sound reverberating through my bones.

I hear a soft shuffle, then the door swings inward.

And she’s there.

Just like that, it’s as if the world around us falls away into insignificance.

Those warm brown eyes I’ve spent countless nights getting deliriously lost within lock onto mine with naked shock and confusion. “Jacob? What are you...how did you...”

The sound of her voice shatters my remaining walls into rubble at my feet. I’m stripped bare before her.

And honestly? It’s a damn relief to be so undone.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Steph

I blink slowly, certain I must be seeing things. Because there’s no way Jacob could actually be standing in my doorway looking like a complete mess. Not after everything that went down between us.

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