The Professor and the Student
Amelia's mouth hung open, her eyes still round, making sure she wasn't mistaken. The tall and muscular man in front of her had a handsome face with a strong jaw line, a prominent nose, fair skin, brown hair, and emerald green eyes. It was truly Nicholas! Her husband!
"What are you doing here? Are you following me to work?" Nicholas asked anxiously. He looked around, afraid that someone might see them.
Amelia shook her head quickly. Nervously, she replied, "N-No, I'm here for the class."
"Since when have you been studying here?" Nicholas asked, growing more panicked. He never expected that his wife would be a student at the same university where he taught, Ivybridge University.
"Since... today," Amelia swallowed her saliva. Her thoughts were in disarray. She was glad to see and gaze upon Nicholas's handsome face. But not in the wrong place and time like this. "I'm a new student here," Amelia added timidly.
Nicholas's face turned red. His eyes sparkled with anger, making Amelia even more anxious. He was furious because he had to accept this foolish arranged marriage with Amelia to make his family happy. He tried to endure the torment of being alone with Amelia at home.
Who would have thought that the situation would be worse than he had imagined? Why didn't anyone tell him that Amelia was a new student at the university he worked at?
An alarm bell rang in Nicholas's head. He couldn't let anyone know that he and Amelia were husband and wife, especially since he was the professor teaching the course Amelia was taking. He didn't want his evaluations to be considered biased.
Nicholas quickly pulled Amelia's arm to a secluded corner, away from people's sight. Amelia complied because she didn't know what else to do.
"Listen, Amy! I don't know how you ended up here without my knowledge. We'll sort it out at home. But one thing is clear, you can't tell anyone that we're husband and wife. Okay?" Nicholas threatened, his eyes glaring, reminding Amelia of a famous actor whose appearance resembled that of a yakuza.
Fearful, Amelia nodded obediently. "Y-Yes!"
"You go inside the classroom first. Don't go in together!" Nicholas ordered irritably. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.
Amelia responded with a brief nod and quickly entered the classroom, her face pale. Aiden, who saw her, was surprised.
"What's wrong? Did you just meet Moaning Myrtle in the toilet?" Aiden asked, confused, as Amelia managed to sit in the third row of the lecture hall, right beside her friend. "You look really pale."
Amelia shook her head. "No, it's not that! It's something scarier!"
Aiden tightened his lips. "Lately, you've been keeping a lot of secrets from me?" he whispered in his friend's ear. "Maybe you have a new crush but haven't told me."
I closed my eyes. Truly, this friend of hers had no idea what was troubling her. "No! It's not like that."
"Then what is it?" Aiden insisted.
Amelia didn't need to bother lying or coming up with another excuse to divert Aiden's attention because shortly after, Nicholas entered the classroom with a casual demeanor, as if nothing had happened before. He walked calmly to the lecturer's desk, smiling formally at all the students he was about to teach that morning.
As expected, Nicholas's stunning appearance caused the female students to whisper uncontrollably. How could they not? The handsome man's presence, no less attractive than a renowned Hollywood actor, brightened the previously gloomy and tense atmosphere of the class.
"Good morning, everyone. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Nicholas Nelson, and I will be teaching Mathematical Physics for your class this semester," Nicholas greeted warmly while casting his gaze upon the students in the room. "Any questions?"
"Age, sir?" asked one of the female students with shoulder-length hair.
"Twenty-seven," Nicholas replied once again, giving a sweet, formal smile.
"Which university did you graduate from, sir?" asked one of the serious-looking students with thick glasses.
"Bachelor's, Master's, and Ph.D. from Ivybridge University. One year as an Assistant Professor at IU. Two years as an Associate Professor in Osaka. Now, I've decided to come back here."
Sounds of admiration smoothly escaped the students' lips. They became even more impressed with Nicholas because not only was he handsome, but his intellectual capabilities seemed promising too, having completed a doctorate at a remarkably young age through an accelerated program.
The horror of the Mathematical Physics lecture had vanished, replaced by Nicholas's friendly demeanor that left a strong impression on all the students, including Amelia. If only her husband could be that friendly to her, her life would feel perfect.
"Wow! Professor Nelson is so handsome," whispered one of the female students to Amelia. "Oh, those mesmerizing green eyes!"
Amelia could only grimace. Indeed, it was those eyes that made her fall in love with Nicholas at first sight. It was truly a curse to remember. At that time, Nicholas was already dating her sister.
"Amy, what's wrong with you? Are you adoring the professor?" Aiden asked, nudging his friend's arm as she hadn't been responding well.
"Haha, yeah, right!" Amelia replied, forcing a sour smile. The mischievous glances from the female students made Amelia's heart burn with jealousy.
"What are they doing, seriously? The guy already has a wife!" Amelia muttered softly.
Unfortunately, what Amelia thought was a low voice turned out to be not so low for Aiden's ears. The handsome, short-haired student immediately shouted spontaneously.
"Huh, married?" Aiden asked loudly. From his current expression, it could be seen that he didn't expect Nicholas, a young professor, to already be married.