Page 55 of The Bratva's Forbidden Pregnancy

Maybe he was right about Dad asking him to stay away, but the choice to actually heed Dad’s words were his. He could have told me about it, and we’d talk about it, figuring it out together, but he’d decided to ghost me and treat me like I was nothing.

“Miss Summers?” My professor’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

I shift my gaze to him, his eyes darting toward me through those glasses.

“Would you like to tell the class the last thing I said?” he asked, frowning at my absent mind.

“Uhm…no, not really,” I replied despite knowing it wasn’t really a question.

He took a step closer. “Miss Summers, please tell the class the last thing I said.”

I was tempted to reply with “the last thing I said” because it was technically the truth. I had no idea what he’d been talking about before this, and Professor McCall wasn’t one to be toiled with. My grades had been slipping since this whole Vlad situation, and the last thing I needed was to get into Professor McCall’s black book.

I parted my lips to respond with God-knows-what when Fiona spoke on my behalf. “She’s…uhh…she’s feeling a little under the weather today, professor.”

“Is that so?” he asked, directing the question at me.

I nodded, still trying to get my shit together.

“What are you down with?”

“Cold,” I replied.

“Flu,” Fiona said at the same time.

He cocked his head at us with a disbelieving look as we exchanged glances. We spoke again, switching our answers this time.

“Flu,” I said.

“Cold,” she offered.

He shifted his gaze between the both of us, and we did the same.

“Both flu and cold,” we chorused, and I faked a sneeze.

“Bless you,” Fiona said, her hand gently rubbing my back.

He narrowed his brows at us, contemplating whether or not to believe our little drama. After a few seconds, he brushed off whatever thoughts he was having about us and turned back toward the board.

I reached out and touched her hand. “Thanks for the save.”

“Anytime,” she replied.

Soon, the bell rang, and we packed our stuff, leaving the class.

“This thing with you-know-who is taking a serious toll on you, Sia,” Fiona said as we walked down a rowdy hallway. “Wanna talk about it?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, thinking for a moment, and before I’d said anything, I heard my phone buzz in my hand. Flipping the screen over, I realized who was reaching out.

That’s strange; he’s never called me before. Sure, he’s texted a couple of times, but that’s it.

Anxiety started to creep into my heart.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” Fiona asked.

I looked at her and nodded, then hit decline on my screen.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” she said.

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