Page 127 of Teacher's Pet

But then...

“The priest,” she mutters, pausing mid-stroke on the board.

Something shifts.

“I knew he loved me.”

Her words are venom to my heart.

And then she turns slightly, her gaze locking with mine.

“That’s the difference between Roman and Noah.”

My stomach lurches, but I refuse to break eye contact.

“Are you really willing to go to war for someone who doesn’t even love you?” she whispers.

My throat tightens as I open my mouth to protest.

But nothing comes out.

I have no answer.

Because I don’t know.

Mrs. Briar tilts her head slightly, as if reading the truth in my silence.

“That’s what I thought,” she murmurs, turning back to the board.

A hollow ache expands in my chest.

“And if I do love him?” I whisper, the words slipping out before I can stop them.

Mrs. Briar exhales, slow, steady.

“Then you will do the right thing,” she says softly.

“And you will let him go.”

The bell rings.

The door swings open.

Students begin filing in, the classroom coming alive with the usual chatter, the usual noise.

But her words linger.

And you will let him go.

The problem is, I have no idea how to let go of Noah Ackerman.

Chapter 24

Noah

There comes a time in everyone’s life when they’re forced to face the consequences of their temptations. Husbands, buried under the weight of divorce papers after chasing a thrill outside their vows. Gamblers, drowning in debt, realizing too late that the house always wins. And now, a teacher, standing at the edge of his own destruction, about to shatter the one fragile sense of peace he’s clung to for longer than he can remember.

Call me an idiot.

---