And Accidental Night With Her Professor-Chapter 48

Rhea paced right outside the front door of Zeenare’s room, her body dripping. Aluna stood at the front door.

"Miss, I would advise you go to your chamber!" Though his words were short, his voice was restrained.

Rhea wanted to say more, but she decided not to. The contempt in his voice and face, even though it was not visible to the eyes, was palpable.

Rhea turned with hesitation and headed for her room.

I should go change first, then come back. She proceeded to her room.

What did he do? Why was he hurt? I have never seen him like that before. He’s always strong, arrogant, domineering, and insufferably annoying... and I prefer it that way, I truly do. I don’t want to see him like that. I never want to see him like that. The image of him, so broken, played on a loop in her mind.

Rhea stepped into the bath lingering, her legs shaking, her heart still pounding, but her chest tight like she’d suffocate if anything else should happen.

The water sliding down her face felt colder than ice. She tilted her head up, but no amount of water could wash away the tightness strangling her chest as the water washed down her face, down her body, soaking the fabric.

The mirror in the bathroom fogged. Rhea dropped down on her knees, squatting, her palms over her face.

"I don’t know anymore. Why does he care for me so much? I know I have the same face as them, but I don’t share any connections. Why does he keep going to such extreme lengths? It makes me seem selfish. It makes me feel guilty." She stood up, wiped the mirror, and stared at her reflection.

I want to know more. I want to understand him. I don’t want to keep judging him. Why does he keep sacrificing himself for me? I need to understand.

After she was done, she headed for his room.

She pushed through the study door and all three of them were standing there whispering amongst themselves — Othimise, Aluna and Ravira.

But they stopped immediately as she stepped inside. Rhea felt the air shift. She felt the hostility in their stare.

"Miss, the master is resting right now. Why don’t you go back?" Othimise muttered, stepping before her.

Rhea glanced at the door leading to Zeenare, then back at Othimise. "I just wanted to see if he’s okay." Her voice was low.

"I will inform you when the master wakes. For now, go to your room." The others stared at her, making her uncomfortable.

Rhea stood there for a while, looking at each one of them.

Othimise’s tone was calm, but his eyes said something else: if she tried to push, she’d regret it.

But she turned to leave.

There’s nothing she could have done. She couldn’t command them, she couldn’t force her way through, not through that hostility in their faces.

As she walked through the hallway, her steps echoed. The mansion was awfully quiet, just as the reality of their master.

She made her way through the front door into the yard, then the shoreline.

She stared at the gentle flowing water, her eyes in the distance, her mind blank, but her eyes filled with different emotions.

Meanwhile, back with Othimise, Ravira, and Aluna:

"How can the master think of giving half of his life, his essence, to her? A human!" Othimise spat.

With a sneer, Aluna added, "She has to be removed from his side one way or another."

Ravira shifted in her stance. "But the master could kill us all if we should dare. And it is against Ockonayia Tide Reef to go against the Alpha’s wish."

"I would rather he does that than blindly offering himself like a sacrifice," Othimise interjected, his eyes blazing.

"Isn’t he an Alpha and one of the greatest?" Aluna suddenly spoke, his fist clenched, his eyes on the door Rhea walked through a moment ago. "So why would he lessen himself for this... this human?" His voice carried the bad taste in his mouth.

"Watch your lips! The master could hear you." Ravira gave Aluna and Othimise a pointed look.

"What can we do?" Ravira questioned, then answered herself. "Nothing. They are both linked to each other. Without her, the master suffers—"

"But now that she’s here, he’s suffering more instead of her doing her job," Aluna abruptly cut her short, veins popping in his temple, his brow knitted in a deep frown.

Both Othimise and Ravira shared a glance, then stared at Aluna.

By night, Rhea made her way back to the mansion, her skin pricked with goosebumps.

"Miss Rhea, the master is up," Othimise informed, then bowed and left.

Rhea counted her steps to his room, her heart in her throat, her stomach twisting into knots as guilt piled up within her.

She stepped into his room and stood by the door. Zeenare, seated and resting on the bedhead, averted his gaze from outside the window towards the sound of the opening door.

His lips flashed Rhea a soft smile.

Rhea trailed towards him but stood at a distance, her knuckles clenched tightly by her side. She swallowed hard, trying to digest the lump in her throat and calm her guilty heart.

Is it my fault he’s like this? Even with their magical treatment, he doesn’t look like he used to. He’s still so pale.

Her eyes trailed to his lips.

Her thoughts continued. They are also cracked.

"Why are you standing there at a distance away from me?" Zeenare stretched his arm towards her, beckoning her to come close to him.

Rhea glided towards him, her every step hesitant.

"How are you feeling?" She stood at the edge of the bed, a few feet away.

Rhea’s brows furrowed, her head leaned to one side. "...Does anywhere else hurt?" Her voice was a breeze. "D-do you want me to go get the doctors?" Her voice broke deeper.

She couldn’t look him in the eyes as she fidgeted with her hands while she spoke.

Zeenare did nothing as she spoke. He simply sat there as his lashes softly fluttered at her every word, her every expression.

He beckoned her to come with his fingers, and a gust of wind pulled her towards him.

Rhea sucked in air at the sudden elevation. He wrapped his hand around her as she fell lightly on his chest.

"Why are you avoiding me again?" He pressed her to his chest.

Rhea felt his heart beating through his chest to her hand. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"It’s my fault you are like this!" A tear rolled down her cheek.

"You shouldn’t have done anything!" She placed her palms on her face, trying to rub away the tears.

Why am I even trying? I don’t want to cry. I simply want to talk with him.

"It’s not like I’m going to live after 25!" Her sobs increased as her hiccups echoed in the room.

Then she started wailing softly. "So why risk your life for me?" Falling in his embrace.

Zeenare’s voice was low, but it swallowed her cry with the echo of her tears. "Because you once did when no one did for me."

He patted her hair. "You are not a burden to me. I am."

"I put you in this predicament you are in because of my selfish reasons."

"If you had never met me, you would have had a good husband and birthed a child. But I disrupted it."

His hand gently took her chin and tilted it upwards. "But I never regretted my actions." His thumb brushed a tear from her cheek, tucked her loose hair behind her ears. "I’d do it again if it means I get to be with you." His gaze held hers.

Rhea didn’t speak. She couldn’t. Instead, she leaned in, her head resting against his chest. She felt the warmth of his skin, the slow, steady beat of his heart against her own. She could hear his breath, feel the texture of his hair.

What do I want from this man? When I was brought here against my will, I hated him; I never wanted to be near him.

I wouldn’t bat an eye if he were dying before. But not this time. Not when it hurts so much to see him hurt.

He cares for me. He risked his life for me. He puts me first in everything he does. Even if I don’t like that idea, I’d be selfish not to see it. Not to feel it. I’m his top priority.

But do I want him? Do I like him? What is this feeling building within me?

It’s not my body anymore. It is not my body that craves his touch anymore. It’s my heart.

So I want him?

Yes, I want him.

A chill rippled down her arms, goosebumps prickling as the enormity of the realisation bled into her veins.

I don’t understand this. But I want him in my heart. I want him on my body. I want him in my soul.

Rhea rose from his chest, her heart beating, throbbing, pounding. Her insides tingling.