With Ciara looking ravishing beautiful, words fell out his mouth before he could control himself, "Cici..." He sighed, his breath tickling the skin of Ciara's neck. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, admiring her beauty, how beautiful she was. He then took his hand off her, suddenly aware of the line he had crossed. "This isn't right," he sighed, avoiding eye contact with Ciara. She sensed the struggle in his chest between what he knew was wrong and what he desired. She felt the same conflict. They both tried to resist, make sense of it, not give in to temptation. He was her teacher, much older, and it felt wrong in many ways. Despite that, they couldn't pull away. "It feels right." Ciara said boldly. She moved her lips to his, on her tiptoes. Dr. Woodley abruptly grasped her forearms, his face adopting a grave and stern expression. "After weeks of causing annoyance, playing the class clown, disrupting my lessons, embarrassing me in front of colleagues, and showing disrespect, do you believe you can casually stroll into my office in this manner, provoking me like this with this dress you have on? Ciara Lotus, you're a troublesome girl and a very bad one." Ciara experiences firsthand the transformative influence of an exceptional teacher. Rufus Woodley not only challenges her but takes her through intense experiences, leaving her yearning for more. Despite the awareness of its inherent wrongness, Ciara cannot resist the allure of her youthful, enigmatic, and magnetic Art History professor.
Ciara's POV
I've been to the Grand Canyon's North Rim many times, and I can't even count them. I asked my parents to take me there for my 18th birthday, and although I've already been twice, I'm excited to go again. My dream is coming true in a week. I finished my Bachelor's degree in Art History in June, and after a stressful summer of interviews and applications, I got accepted to Princeton. My friends don't get why I don't want a break or why I want a Master's in Archaeology and Painting. While they're ready to start working, I'm more into the academic side. I guess it's the European in me, wanting to be part of academia and earn a proper Master's degree.
As I was packing my whole life into suitcases, I scanned the old books I kept in folders. I had saved every book about different mythologies since I was twelve, ever since I made up my mind I'd want to become an archeologist and pursue that professionally. I kept them not only for their sentimental value but also for research purposes, as I wanted to visit every site of mythological significance and also do more research about things yet discovered.
I also wanted to become rich and famous. Oh well, a girl can dream.
I put some of them in one of the suitcases. I wasn't sure when I'd be back home, so I wanted to take them to remind me of how far I had come.
As I packed them neatly, my phone started buzzing.
It was my ex, Jack. Well, he was my first ex.
"Hey, I heard you're leaving in a week," he said through the phone, "I want to see you before you go. God knows when I'll be seeing you again, you're moving so far away."
I really liked Jack. We were each other's first loves. We started dating when we were 13, but it didn't work out between us. It's not like we had a big disagreement and broke things off. We just fell out of love, but still remained good friends.
"Yeah, I'm so excited to be going to Princeton. It's the perfect college to pursue painting, it's so well-ranked. And yeah, sure, let's meet up sometime." I said, cheerily inviting him over. Although there was no definite time mentioned; I still looked forward to meeting with him again.
"Awesome." I could hear the shuffling of chairs and a clink of porcelain on glass. He probably took a seat for a cup of coffee. "I heard Princeton was an old convent that had been abandoned and the State just remodeled it and turned it into a university-is that true?"
"Well, i don't know how true that is but I'm sure the Battle of Princeton took place near the university's Nassau Hall.
"I bet it'll give you loads of inspiration. But anyway, what lectures will you be taking?" He asked. He was not a myth enthusiast himself, he was more into economics, but he still wanted to know what I was up to.
"We'd be doing quite a lot that I can't spell out on the phone, it's a long list of activities. We'll be studying Egyptian mythology and we'll be analyzing sites where mummies have been excavated and why those places were chosen,, painting complex ideas, and lots of other boring stuff."
"Doesn't sound boring to me sincerely" He said.
"Well, it covers such a broad time span, It's gonna be a pain in the ass," I said, folding some shirts and placing them in my suitcase. "But anyway, these are the lectures of the first semester. Then the real work starts. We have a final Master's project, the equivalent to a thesis in the second semester."
"Oh, je suis désolé, c'est dur! Seems like you've got the work cut out for you, CiCi." Jack said in his perfect French. Jack is a French immigrant like I am. Maybe that's why we clicked when we first met so many years ago.
"Yes, but I'm excited anyway," I said, smiling through the phone. "Anyway, I'll talk to you later. I have to finish packing. Thanks for calling! I'll text you when I'm free."
He chuckled a little, "Alright, goodbye Ciara."
I hung up the phone and finished my laborious task. I zipped up the bag, as it was thoroughly packed with my belongings; and that was when I received an email, the notification appearing on my phone's notification screen. I unlocked my device and opened the app; it was from one of the professors of the school, Prof. Rufus Woodley. The subject was "Reading Materials - Art History Course 2022/2023". I opened the email, a little surprised that we were already receiving emails from professors.
"Dear students,
For your Art History Course, I expect you to come prepared to every lecture by reading the papers assigned for each one. You can find them on the e-learning platform. As you have surely noticed, the syllabus is extensive and demanding, and even though I expect many of you to know some topics from your previous studies, this course won't be easy. For your first lecture, I'll be asking students at random to answer questions from the first paper. I will be doing this every lecture for every single paper. If you think you won't be able to keep up with the demand, I suggest you drop the class now. There are plenty of other courses to choose from to get an easy A.
See you all next Monday.
Prof. Rufus Woodley."
My eyes widened at the email. Who the hell was this Prof. Woodley? This was such an awful way to "introduce" himself to the class. He didn't have to be so intense, especially before meeting us in person.
I searched for his profile on the University's website. His page had no image, but his resumé was extensive. He was most probably one of those old, grumpy, lifeless professors who found joy in tormenting students. He probably gave awful grades too.
I'd find out soon enough what this Prof. Woodley was all about.
When Angela was 16, something bad happened, so she moved to London for school. Now, at 21, she's back in Boston. But little does she know, she's about to meet a dangerous guy named Vincent Davinci. As they cross paths, Angela's life gets pretty interesting. She's caught up in mysteries and suspense, diving into a world she never expected.
His eyes possessed the ability to engulf you entirely, leaving you breathless, while his voice had a way of sending shivers down my spine, filling me with a paralyzing dread. It's been said that in the heart of Sicily, there exists a man who personifies mayhem and chaos, a veritable devil who traverses the night in his impeccable Chelsea boots. This enigmatic figure is none other than Matteo Alfonso, the formidable Don of the Alfonso mafia, an empire that has held sway over Italy for centuries, dating back to the 18th century. Over the years, no force has proven mighty enough to challenge his rule. Then enters Dorathy Campbell, a fierce yet unseasoned young woman, whose path unwittingly crosses into the Don's territory. Inadvertently, she sets in motion a chain of events that would reveal his darkest secret, a secret potent enough to be exploited by his adversaries in their quest to topple his reign. Though her very presence appears delicate, igniting his instincts to protect her, the penalty for her knowledge of his malevolent truth is certain death. Would this be her fate, maybe not.
P-please, I beg you. Come let's go tell Christian I had no hand in whatever happened, p-please." I clutched the lapel of his jacket desperately. "Let's go. You need to tell my husband you were paid." "Young lady, you're harassing me." His tone was cold and his stare granite. But I could care less. "You harassed me first! You had sex with me without my consent, my husband knows and now I'm pregnant with this child he doesn't want. You ruined my marriage! I-I hate you!" ************************************ Caught by her husband with another man on their matrimonial bed the morning after her birthday, Hailey Codza could not defend herself. As though it's not enough, she gets pregnant. Her enraged husband decides to pay her back for her infidelity by having an affair with his ex-girlfriend - Denise Kellers, the family Hailey never knew she had. Losing her family's wealth and company to her husband and his ex (now girlfriend), she is devastated, homeless and penniless as all her credit cards are blocked by her husband. She sees the man who is responsible for her pregnancy. The man she has no idea how he'd found his way to her matrimonial bed - Jared Johnson. Jared is annoyed when this strange woman disrupts his meeting and accuses him of ruining her life, marriage and impregnating her. It affects his business deals and having no choice, he marries her to calm the public whilst engaged to someone else. But he loathes her and allows his family treats her badly. Hailey who has fallen in love with Jared is broken when she can no longer take the humiliation. She signs the divorce papers and leaves, only to arrive six years later to the country as a self-made, secret billionaire and a mother of twins. Now her two ex-husbands are begging to have her back...
After a passionate night, Verena left some money and wanted to leave, but was held by her companion. "Isn't it your turn to make me happy?" Verena, always disguising herself as ugly, slept with her fiance's uncle, Darren, in order to escape her engagement with her unfaithful fiance. Darren had respect and admiration. Word of his romantic escapades circulated, some saying they saw him kissing a lady against a wall and others calling it gossip. Who could ever tame Darren's heart? Then, shockingly, Darren was caught bending down to help Verena with her shoes, all to score a kiss from her!
Five years ago, he upped and left his wife without informing her. He had always felt unworthy. As a result, he decided to go and become a better man. It took him five whole years of daily hard work. When he was satisfied, he returned as a powerful and honorable man. He intended to start a family with his wife. But he got back to meet the greatest shocker of his life. He actually had a daughter!
Everyone was shocked to the bones when the news of Rupert Benton's engagement broke out. It was surprising because the lucky girl was said to be a plain Jane, who grew up in the countryside and had nothing to her name. One evening, she showed up at a banquet, stunning everyone present. "Wow, she's so beautiful!" All the men drooled, and the women got so jealous. What they didn't know was that this so-called country girl was actually an heiress to a billion-dollar empire. It wasn't long before her secrets came to light one after the other. The elites couldn't stop talking about her. "Holy smokes! So, her father is the richest man in the world?" "She's also that excellent, but mysterious designer who many people adore! Who would have guessed?" Nonetheless, people thought that Rupert didn't love her. But they were in for another surprise. Rupert released a statement, silencing all the naysayers. "I'm very much in love with my beautiful fiancee. We will be getting married soon." Two questions were on everyone's minds: "Why did she hide her identity? And why was Rupert in love with her all of a sudden?"
Sara Mae Xavier is living every Omega's dream--she is the Alpha King's mate! That's until he betrays and rejects her. He also accuses her falsely, and she is sentenced to two years at the notorious North Academy, a campus made specifically for delinquent werewolves. She has no idea how she'll survive, being a weak Omega, but she soon realises that's the least of her problems. Her roommates are three Alphas, each with a notorious reputation of his own. But that's not the worst part...why on earth does she have a mate bond to all of them?
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?