Page 121 of Teacher's Pet

His fist grips my collar, yanking me forward until we’re nose to nose, his hold tight enough that I feel the white-hot rage rolling off him.

“I never touched a student before Ana.” His knuckles turn white. “I had no intention of letting it go this far.” His jaw clenches. “I thought I had control. I thought I could look past her.”

He swallows hard, but his grip doesn’t waver.

“I would never put Ana in harm’s way.”

“But you already have.” I scoff.

His fingers twitch against my shirt.

“She’s skipping class. Isolating. Hell, she barely answers her dad’s calls anymore,” I bite out. “Do you have any idea how much her family sacrificed for her to be here? Do you have any fucking clue what she went through back home? Cole’s abuse was just the tip of the iceberg. He used her pain against her, made her think the bullshit he was giving her was love.” I shake my head, anger spilling from every word. “And then you came along. You took a broken woman and made her your plaything.” My breath shudders, my chest rising and falling in harsh waves. “All you’ve done is harm her.”

His grip loosens.

“If you really gave a fuck about her, you’d leave her the hell alone.” My voice drops to a snarl, “And maybe find someone your own age to fuck.”

His hand falls away.

For the first time since I stormed in here, something changes in his face.

His mask slips.

And dread, cold and dark, paints his expression.

“She stopped answering her father?”

His voice is quieter now, but it doesn’t soften the edge of my fury.

“He’s sick,” I snap. “And the treatment is too expensive. She knows he’s on borrowed time. And you-” I take a step closer, my words cutting like knives. “You became her distraction from all of it. You gave her a high, made her feel seen. It may be just a casual fuck to you, something to joke about with your friends, but I promise-” my jaw tightens “-it means a hell of a lot more to Ana than it ever will to you.”

“You don’t know how I feel about Ana,” he grits out, voice low.

“Really?” I let out a hollow laugh. “Then prove it. Quit. Resign. Take her on a real date, fall madly in love with her. Tell her your deepest, darkest fears. Show her a life where she’s more than just what’s between her legs.”

His silence is deafening.

Finally, he looks away.

I’ve got him exactly where I want him.

“But you won’t do that, will you?” I whisper, my voice dipping, the words a slow, deliberate dagger.

“You won’t quit. You won’t treat her like anything other than your little plaything. Because this was never about Ana, it was always about you. Your needs. Your selfish fucking desires.” I shake my head. “She never meant anything to you.”

His jaw tenses, but I push forward.

“You fuck and discard women, feeding off how easily they fall for that charismatic smile and old-money charm. You are the last thing she needed in her life, but you’re too selfish to own up to that. So don’t stand here and tell me I don’t know how you feel about Ana.”

I step closer, close enough to feel his breath against mine.

“You don’t know the first fucking thing about her,” I seethe. “Because that would require you to think with something other than your dick.”

His nostrils flare, and for a second, I wonder if he’s going to hit me.

Instead, his expression darkens, voice a low, venomous whisper.

“Fuck you,” he growls.

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