Open with the first day of the semester.
Ariana Monteverde, a hardworking scholarship student, rushes across campus after nearly missing her first class. She’s juggling financial worries, family responsibilities, and the pressure to keep her grades high. Rumors swirl around one particular instructor:
“Whatever you do, don’t be late for Professor Kael Villanueva’s class.”
Her classmates whisper that he has the highest failure rate in the university. Some students have even dropped his subject because of his impossible standards and icy personality.
Ariana dismisses the stories as exaggerations—until she arrives a few seconds late.
The classroom falls silent.
Standing at the front is Professor Kael Villanueva. Tall, impeccably dressed, and unreadable, he fixes his piercing gaze on Ariana. Without raising his voice, he says:
“Miss, if you can’t respect my time, don’t expect me to respect your excuses.”
Embarrassed but unwilling to be humiliated, Ariana apologizes and takes her seat. Throughout the lecture, Kael’s sharp questions expose students who haven’t prepared. When he calls on Ariana, she surprises everyone—including him—by answering every question correctly.
For the first time, the cold professor pauses.
He doesn’t compliment her. Instead, he simply says:
“Interesting. Let’s see how long that confidence lasts.”
The class ends with Ariana determined to prove him wrong, while Professor Kael can’t shake the feeling that this stubborn student is unlike anyone he’s ever taught.
As Ariana leaves the room, she accidentally bumps into him in the hallway, sending a stack of papers flying.
Their eyes meet.
Neither of them realizes that this brief encounter is the beginning of a story that will change both their lives forever.
She thought she had just angered the strictest professor on campus.
She had no idea she had just awakened the beast hidden behind his cold, emotionless eyes.