Xavier was just about to leave the library when he spotted Chloe waiting near the entrance, her arms crossed and an unmistakable frown on her face.
"Chloe?" he called out, adjusting the strap of his bag.
She looked up immediately, relief flashing across her face as she hurried toward him. "Finally. I've been looking for you."
Xavier raised a brow. "What's wrong?"
Chloe huffed, running a hand through her dark curls. "You're not gonna believe this. Professor Miller-" she paused, lowering her voice, "-showed up at our apartment some nights ago."
Xavier stilled. "What?"
"I mean, I know Claire mentioned he's been all up in her space lately, but I didn't think it was this bad," Chloe continued, frustration clear in her tone. "He just appeared. No warning. No reason. Just walked in like he had every right to be there."
Xavier's jaw clenched. "Did Claire invite him?"
Chloe scoffed. "No. And she was just as shocked as I was. I mean, they talked in her room for a bit, but she wouldn't tell me what it was about."
Xavier exhaled, running a hand down his face. He had suspected something was going on, but this? This was something else entirely.
Chloe eyed him carefully. "Xavier, tell me I'm not crazy for thinking this is weird."
"You're not crazy," he muttered. His mind was already racing. "Did Claire seem off? Different after he left?"
Chloe bit her lip, thinking. "She didn't say much. Just sort of... zoned out." Her brows knitted together. "That's what worries me. Claire doesn't get distracted, especially not over a guy. But that night? She wasn't herself."
Xavier's grip tightened around the strap of his bag. This wasn't just some harmless game. Claire wasn't the type to fall into situations like this. Someone was pulling her into them.
And Christopher Miller? He wasn't a man who did anything without a reason.
Xavier let out a sharp breath. "I need to talk to her."
Chloe nodded, still looking uneasy. "And maybe-just maybe-talk some sense into her before this goes too far."
Xavier didn't need the warning.
He had a feeling it already had.
Chloe had lied but she did it just because she wanted to protect her friend- Claire wasn't fooling anyone. In due time, people will start making this a topic, and since Christopher wasn't actually a permanent professor, he will be spared, but her friend won't be.
***
Claire didn't know how she ended up standing so close to Christopher that she could feel his breath ghosting over her skin. The air between them crackled, charged with something neither of them dared to name, yet neither of them could ignore.
The evening had started normally enough. A discussion about her research project, an argument about her stubborn refusal to accept his help, and now this quiet moment stretching too long, shifting into something dangerous.
His office was dimly lit, the soft glow of a single desk lamp casting shadows that flickered across his sharp features. She could see every detail-the flicker of his gaze as it swept over her, the way his jaw tightened as if he were restraining himself.
"You're impossible," she muttered, breaking the silence, but her voice lacked conviction.
Christopher's lips quirked at the corner, though there was no humor in his expression. "And yet you're still here."
Damn him.
She should walk away. She should turn, make some excuse, and put distance between them. But her feet remained firmly planted.
Christopher exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair, making it look even more unruly. "Claire, you keep looking at me like that," he warned, his voice low, rough, "and I might start thinking you want something you're not ready to admit."
Her stomach twisted.
She did want something terrifying, something that felt like losing control. And control was all she had ever relied on.
"You think too highly of yourself," she shot back, lifting her chin.
Christopher chuckled, but it was a dark, quiet sound, devoid of amusement. He took a step forward, and instinctively, she took a step back. Until her spine met the edge of his desk.
No more space left.
He was in front of her now, his body angled toward hers, his hands braced on either side of the desk. Not trapping her, not forcing anything-just there, his presence swallowing the air between them.
"Then tell me to move," he said softly.
It was a challenge, not a plea.
Claire swallowed. Her mind screamed at her to say the words. To push him away, to pretend that she didn't feel the pull that had been building between them for weeks.
But her hands betrayed her. They reached out before she could stop them, fingers lightly brushing the fabric of his shirt.
Christopher inhaled sharply, his body going tense under her touch. He didn't move-just watched her, his gaze impossibly dark, impossibly patient.
"Claire," he murmured.
Her name sounded different coming from him. Not a question. Not a demand. Just her name, stripped down, bare.
She should stop. She should-
A sharp buzz shattered the moment.
Christopher stiffened. Claire blinked, her pulse thundering in her ears.
His phone.
Another buzz.
Christopher cursed under his breath and pulled it from his pocket. His expression darkened instantly.
"Xavier," he muttered.
Claire's stomach lurched.
The cold slap of reality hit her like a wave.
What was she doing?
She pushed away from the desk, slipping out of the space between them, every nerve in her body screaming at the loss of warmth.
Christopher hesitated before answering, his gaze still on her as if he knew whatever had just happened between them wasn't over.
But then he turned away, pressing the phone to his ear.
"Xavier," he said, his voice sharp, controlled.
Claire used the distraction to flee.
By the time Christopher ended the call, she was already gone.
Claire
The night air was cold against her flushed skin as she stepped out of the building, but it wasn't enough to extinguish the fire still raging inside her.
What had she almost done?
Claire clenched her fists as she walked briskly toward the dorms, her heart pounding.
Christopher was getting to her in ways no one ever had. He made her question things she never allowed herself to think about.
Love.
Sacrifice.
What it meant to want someone without logic or reason.
She hated it.
She hated how much she wanted him.
And she hated that she had let herself forget-even for a moment, he was dangerous in all the ways that mattered.
She reached the entrance of the apartment building but hesitated before stepping inside. Her body was still buzzing with an unfamiliar, maddening energy. Her mind replayed every moment of what had just transpired-his voice, the way he looked at her, the unspoken words that had nearly shattered the fragile distance between them.
Claire exhaled sharply and leaned against the cold brick wall. She needed to shake this off.
Before she could compose herself, a voice cut through the night.
"I figured I'd find you here."
She turned sharply to see Xavier standing a few feet away, hands in his coat pockets. His gaze was unreadable, but something in his stance put her on edge.
"Xavier?" Her voice was steady, but her heartbeat wasn't.
He stepped closer, studying her face carefully, then exhaled through his nose as if confirming something he already suspected.
"You were with him," Xavier said, his tone sharper than usual.
Claire's jaw tightened. "What are you talking about"
"Like hell, you know what I'm talking about," he shot back. "Claire, do you even realize what you're doing?"
She crossed her arms. "I don't need a lecture."
Xavier took another step, lowering his voice. "Look, I'm not trying to fight with you. I just-Claire, he's not someone you should get tangled up with."
"Why?" she challenged, hating how defensive she sounded. "Because he's my professor? Because he's rich?"
"Because he's using you."
His words landed like a slap, stealing her breath for a second.
She scoffed. "That's ridiculous."
Xavier tilted his head slightly, eyes sharp. "Is it? You think it's just coincidence that a man like Christopher Miller-who doesn't get close to anyone-suddenly can't stay away from you?"
Claire didn't answer.
Xavier sighed. "You remind him of her."
Her stomach twisted. "Who?"
"His fiancée."
She stiffened.
"Claire, Christopher's not after you because of who you are-he's after you because of what you represent. A distraction. A replacement."
The words stung more than they should have.
Xavier watched her reaction, his expression softening. "I don't want to see you get hurt."
Claire swallowed, looking away.
But before she could find the right words, another voice joined the conversation.
"You should be careful, Xavier."
Both of them turned.
Christopher stood a few feet away, hands casually in his pockets, but the air around him was anything but casual.
His gaze flicked to Claire's first-lingering, unreadable, before settling on Xavier.
"Accusations like that can be dangerous," Christopher said smoothly, though his eyes were far from indifferent.
Xavier stepped forward, unfazed. "You know I'm right"
Christopher let out a quiet, humorless chuckle.
Tension crackled between them. Claire felt caught in the middle of something bigger than she could name.
Xavier turned to her. "Claire, just think about what I said."
Then, without another word, he walked away, leaving her alone with Christopher.
Silence stretched between them.
Claire finally exhaled, forcing herself to meet his gaze. "Is it true?"
Christopher didn't answer right away. Instead, he stepped closer-too close. His voice was low when he finally spoke.
"Do you think I see anyone but you?"
Her breath caught.
Christopher's eyes burned into hers, searching for something she didn't know how to give.
But before either of them could say another word, Claire's phone rang, shattering the moment.
A heartbeat of silence.
Then her phone rang.
Xavier
Claire stared at the screen, fingers tightening.