Taming My Beast Professor [COMPLETED]

Chapter 3: Under His Watchful Eyes

Ariana stared at her phone, rereading the email for what felt like the hundredth time.

Faculty Adviser: Professor Kael Villanueva.

“This has to be a joke…” she muttered.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t.

The following afternoon, she arrived outside Professor Villanueva’s office ten minutes early. A small line of students waited outside, each carrying thick folders and anxious expressions.

One by one, they entered the office.

One by one, they came out looking defeated.

“I have to redo everything…” one student groaned.

“He rejected my entire proposal,” another complained.

Ariana swallowed hard.

When the last student left, a calm voice echoed from inside.

“Miss Monteverde.”

She took a deep breath before stepping into the office.

The room was neat and organized. Bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling, every file carefully arranged. Professor Kael sat behind his desk, reading her proposal without looking up.

The silence was almost unbearable.

Finally, he closed the folder.

“Your writing is good,” he said.

Ariana blinked.

She hadn’t expected a compliment.

“But your arguments are weak.”

Her shoulders immediately slumped.

“You relied on assumptions instead of evidence. If you want this proposal approved, you’ll rewrite Chapters One and Two.”

She frowned.

“Both chapters, Professor?”

“Is there a problem with that?”

She hesitated before answering honestly.

“I spent two weeks working on them.”

“And?”

“I was hoping they were… good enough.”

Professor Kael leaned back in his chair.

“Miss Monteverde, ‘good enough’ is the reason most people never become excellent.”

His words stung, but they also challenged her.

Instead of arguing, Ariana picked up her proposal.

“I’ll revise it.”

For the first time, Kael looked directly into her eyes.

“No complaints?”

She smiled politely.

“Complaining won’t improve my work.”

A faint flicker of surprise crossed his face before disappearing.

“You may go.”

As Ariana reached the door, his voice stopped her.

“Oh, and Miss Monteverde?”

She turned.

“Don’t mistake my criticism for dislike.”

She nodded once.

“I won’t, Professor.”

Outside the office, Ariana released the breath she’d been holding.

“He’s impossible…”

Yet deep inside, she couldn’t deny something else.

Everything he pointed out… was true.

Inside the office, Kael watched the closed door for a moment.

Most students left angry.

Some cried.

Others begged for extra credit.

But Ariana had done none of those things.

She had simply accepted the challenge.

A small, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“Interesting,” he murmured.

⸻

Next Chapter Teaser:

A sudden campus-wide academic competition pairs students with faculty mentors. Against all odds, Ariana and Professor Kael are assigned to the same team, forcing them to spend more time together than either of them expected.