Chapter 47/The Touch that Sparked it All

Chapter 47: 47/The Touch that Sparked it All

Chapter 47

Stephanie’s Point of View

Kira answered in a panicked tone: "What’s going on? Did Cedric do anything to you?"

"I’m at my father’s house, Kira," I said, trying to stifle my sobs.

"What?" she shouted in disbelief.

"You won’t believe what happened," I said in despair. "I don’t know how to act."

"I’m coming right now," she said firmly.

She cut the connection, and I rose with sluggish steps, my body feeling like lead, heading toward the bathroom. I felt as if my skin were burning; Alexander’s scent was still clinging to my body. I remembered how he had possessed me in the car in that domineering way, and a shiver mixed with an ache swept through my spine. How will I endure the fact that he is my sister’s lover now? He was my lover, not hers! Was he deceiving me all this time while I was like a fool, sensing nothing?

I stripped off my clothes with trembling hands and stood under the streaming water. As the cold water hit my head, I began to retrieve my memories from six years ago...

[Six Years Ago – High School Memories]

I was sitting on the bleachers of the high school field, my body curled up slightly from the aftermath of what had happened. Kira was beside me, her features expressing a mixture of shock and excitement as she said:

"Steph, I can’t believe Professor Alexander saw your naked chest!"

I put my hands over my face, which burned with embarrassment, and said in a muffled voice:

"Kira, stop! You’ll make me regret telling you... I feel so embarrassed, don’t make it worse."

"You told me he spoke to you yesterday and asked you to tell him who did that to you," she said, leaning toward me with interest.

I sighed in frustration, staring into the void. "Yes, but I won’t say... you know nothing will happen."

Kira slammed her fist against the wooden seat and said angrily: "I’ll get revenge on those idiots!"

I grabbed her hand, trying to calm her. "Kira, please, don’t worry about it."

"How can I not worry?" she replied sharply, her body tense. "They did that heinous thing to you... I won’t stay silent about this!"

"Kira, please, I don’t want you getting involved with them," I pleaded, squeezing her hand.

She exhaled in annoyance as she stood up. "Don’t worry, I can face them... I have to go to the damn theater hall now."

"Yes, for the rehearsals for your role in the play," I said, trying to give a weak smile.

"Yes, that ridiculous role," she grumbled, adjusting her bag. "Are you coming with me?"

"I’ll stay here," I answered, leaning my back against the seat tiredly.

"See you later," she said as she walked away with quick steps.

I pulled my white papers from my bag with slightly trembling hands and gripped the pen tightly; drawing was my only means of escape. I started to draw... I had a sketch I hadn’t finished yesterday.

From the middle of the paper’s whiteness, Alexander’s eyes were looking at me deep and sharp as they were in reality. I was drawing my hero who saved me, the man who made my heart flutter for the first time. It remained for me to draw his lips... I closed my eyes tightly, summoning his image in my imagination. Damn those lips!

I took the pen and began drawing with thin, focused lines. I was imagining his real lips kissing me, and a shiver ran through my body while my breathing quickened. I didn’t have a chance with Professor Alexander, not to mention that this was legally and ethically forbidden and even if it weren’t, a man of his status and handsomeness would never look at me.

I pressed harder on the pen, defining the details of his lips accurately, then began drawing his light beard that gave him that harsh, masculine look. My drawing began to complete itself as I was fully immersed, swimming in my wild fantasies with my professor, to the point that I no longer heard the sounds around me.

Suddenly, I felt a sudden coldness and a thick shadow blocking the warm sunlight from me. My back stiffened, and I raised my eyes very slowly. When I saw him... the blood froze in my veins. The pen fell from my hand, hitting the wooden bleachers with a soft thud, and I didn’t know what to do or where to run.

Professor Alexander was standing directly in front of me, his tall frame dominating the space.

He was leaning slightly, looking at my paper with those blue eyes that were piercing the drawing and me at the same time.

A lethal silence prevailed, in which I heard nothing but the thumping of my heart that nearly punctured my chest. Then he spoke in his deep, resonant voice that made my body twitch:

"What are you doing?"

I flipped the paper with the speed of light, feeling my fingertips trembling violently. "Nothing," I said in a broken voice that almost vanished from sheer terror.

He wasn’t convinced. I saw his hand extend slowly and steadily toward the paper, and out of pure fear, I lunged and grabbed his hand with mine before he reached it. At that moment, I didn’t realize that what I did was not appropriate at all, but as soon as I touched his skin, an electric shock hit me, running through my whole body to my heart.

"Professor Alexander... what are you trying to do?" I asked in a dazed tone.

He lowered his gaze toward my small hand that was clutching his. I realized the situation and removed my hand with lightning speed as if it had been burned, whispering as shame overwhelmed me: "I’m sorry."

He exploited that moment; his hand reached for the paper and took it nimbly. I stood there, helpless, paralyzed, not knowing how to act. He was looking at the drawing in a deadly silence. His features didn’t tell me if he was angry or mocking; he was just looking... and looking.

I couldn’t stand the silence. I stood up suddenly, feeling as if my knees were about to give way. "Professor Alexander, I don’t mean anything, I swear to you!" I said pleadingly.

He remained silent, which increased my panic. I continued as tears began to well in my eyes: "Please, Professor, don’t tell the administration about me. I promise I won’t do this ever again."

Finally, he raised his eyes to me and said in a deep tone: "You drew me."

I lowered my head in sorrow, clutching my school dress with my hands. "It’s my fault, Professor, please forgive me," I said weakly.

"I will confiscate this paper from you," he said with a coldness that sent a shiver down my spine, "and I will punish you for this."

My heart stopped beating for a moment, and I felt a coldness sweep through my limbs. "What? Will... will you punish me?" I asked in a trembling voice.

He didn’t answer with another word to explain the type of punishment. Instead, he turned and said in a commanding tone that left me no choice: "Follow me."

I walked behind him with staggering steps, my whole body twitching. I looked at his broad back, wondering in terror: Where is he taking me? And what is the punishment that awaits me at the hands of my professor, Alexander?