The clock on the wall showed 9:47 PM. Most of the literature building was already dark and quiet. Only Professor Kane’s office still had its lights on. Mia stood beside his desk, leaning over slightly as he reviewed the final pages of her thesis. Her heart was beating so fast she could hear it in her ears.
“You’ve improved a lot this semester, Mia,” Professor Kane said, his deep voice low in the quiet room. He tapped the paper with his pen. “But this section on moral conflict… it lacks real depth. You’re writing about desire like you’ve only read about it in books.”
Mia swallowed hard. She had been his top student all semester, always staying after lectures for extra notes, always finding reasons to be near him. The tension between them had grown week after week. Stolen glances during cl
