One Night With My Alpha Professor by Eve Above Story

Chapter 99 Audrey

As I sipped my tea, I couldn't help but feel a bit out of place in Claudia's lavish dining room. The fine china clinked softly as I set the cup down, my eyes wandering over the ornate decor. Even though it was just the two of us, I couldn't shake the feeling that I, a human, didn't belong here among such luxury.

But it all became so, so much worse as the butler's voice called out, "Mr. Edwin Brooks has arrived, madam." Instantly, I felt my heart stop in my chest. No, no, no. It couldn't be him. Why

Not even a moment later, a familiar voice cut through the silence. "Claudia, it's nice to see you-"

I turned, stiffly, and it felt as if time stopped when I saw him-Edwin-standing in the doorway, a bouquet of flowers in his hand. What the hell was he doing here? My lingers tightened around the delicate teacup handle, my knuckles turning white. If I gripped it any tighter, I might have broken the porcelain.

The room fell silent as Edwin stood frozen, the flowers slipping from his grasp and hitting the floor with a soft thud. The yellow petals sc**d across the polished hardwood, but he hardly seemed to notice, his eyes too fixed on me.

Claudia gasped, breaking the brief silence. "Edwin, you crushed those lovely flowers!"

Edwin quickly snapped out of his daze, bending to scoop up the fallen bouquet. I'm so sorry," he muttered, dusting off loose petals before handing them to Claudia. His eyes kept darting to me with a mixture of surprise and something else I couldn't quite read in their depths

I still sat there, utterly frozen, my teacup clutched tightly in my hand. It wasn't that I was unhappy to see Edwin by any means, but why was he here? Claudia seemed oblivious to the tension as she smiled at Edwin, plucking a few more loose petals from the yellow roses.

"Edwin," she said. "I invited your student, Audrey. I'm going to be mentoring her in the fall. Isn't that exciting? She turned to me and beamed, making some of the tension seep out of my shoulders. "I thought it would be nice for us to get to know

each other better."

Edwin nodded stiffly, his eyes flickering to me. "Hello, Audrey," he said, his voice unnaturally formal. I could see the muscle in his jaw twitching, a tell-tale sign of his discomfort.

"Professor Brooks," I managed to reply, my voice sounding distant even to my own ears. Ismiled tightly and forced myself to take another sip of tea, hoping that the warm liquid would help to calm my nerves. While Claudia rose to fetch a vase for her flowers, Edwin took a seat across from me. His posture was rigid, and he didn't meet my gaze, nor did I try to meet his. The table suddenly felt too small, the space between us charged and heavy. We hadn't seen each other since.

I blushed at the thought of our last encounter. We had been so close, so delightfully close to doing something that we would have likely both regretted, before I had bolted out of Edwin's apartment. Unbeknownst to Edwin, I hadn't stopped thinking about him since that day-had hardly even slept, because the dreams of him were too vivid, too sensual, to get a proper night of rest.

The soft white cotton waistband of my pleated skirt seemed to dig into my waist, and the cap sleeves of the matching top made it feel as if I couldn't move

thought bitterly,

1/4

BG)

Tue, Sep 17 B

Chapter 99

95

back turned, broke the silence again.

stomach dropped. There was that name

restaurant... The memory of that encounter flashed through my mind, making me feel

she-not just to

to break the tension and distract myself from my racing thoughts, I turned

head back and laughed as she took her seat

Edwin cut in. "Family friends," he said quickly, his eyes darting

My shoulders relaxed slightly. Family friends, I thought to myself. Perhaps Fiona was

I quickly sipped my tea, hoping that she wouldn't notice

isn't too awkward for you both," she said. "I know students and

I said almost simultaneously. We looked at each other, surprised,

rising to my cheeks, and I focused intently on stirring my tea. Let Claudia think that we were simply feeling awkward due to our connections at

we start without her?" she asked, reaching for the coffee creamer. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "She's always late, I'm afraid. I thought she might make an effort to

he

eyed them both over my teacup, remaining

the atmosphere remained tense, with Edwin frequently glancing at the door. Each time the floorboards creaked in

conversation flowing. We discussed fashion trends, my upcoming thesis, and Claudia's latest projects. I found myself