BOUND BY SECRET
1095 Words
Aurora stared at him in disbelief.
"Don't test how jealous I can become."
The words echoed in her mind long after the silence settled between them.
She let out a sarcastic laugh.
"Jealous?"
Shen Zhenyu didn't answer.
His expression remained as unreadable as ever, but the warning in his gray eyes hadn't disappeared.
Aurora folded her arms.
"You've got a lot of nerve."
He raised an eyebrow.
"You treat me like your worst student at school, then come home acting like you own me."
"I never said I owned you."
"You didn't have to."
She shook her head.
"You act like it."
Without waiting for a reply, she stormed upstairs.
The bedroom door slammed shut.
Downstairs, Shen stood motionless.
His phone buzzed.
Assistant Lin:
"Sir, tomorrow's board meeting has been moved to 8:00 a.m. The investors from Shanghai have confirmed their attendance."
He typed a brief response.
I'll be there.
A second message appeared.
"The university has requested your recommendation for next semester's academic scholarship recipients."
Shen glanced toward the staircase.
His fingers paused over the screen.
Miss Aurora Blake remains my first recommendation.
He sent the message before placing his phone on the kitchen island.
No one would ever know.
Certainly not Aurora.
---
The next morning...
Aurora woke before sunrise.
She had barely slept.
After changing into a cream sweater and black trousers, she quietly walked downstairs.
The dining table was already set.
Fresh pancakes.
Scrambled eggs.
Orange juice.
Coffee.
She frowned.
Mrs. Chen, the housekeeper, appeared from the kitchen with a warm smile.
"Good morning, Mrs.—"
Aurora quickly interrupted.
"Just Aurora."
Mrs. Chen smiled knowingly.
"Breakfast is ready."
Aurora looked around.
"Where's Professor Shen?"
"He left forty minutes ago."
Of course he had.
Always working.
Always busy.
Always somewhere she couldn't reach.
She sighed and sat down.
Mrs. Chen poured her a glass of juice.
"You should eat more."
"I'm not very hungry."
"You hardly ate dinner either."
Aurora smiled politely.
"I'll be fine."
Mrs. Chen hesitated.
"Professor Shen specifically asked me to make your favorite breakfast."
Aurora stopped cutting her pancakes.
"My favorite?"
"Yes."
She blinked.
"He remembered?"
Mrs. Chen looked confused.
"Of course he did."
Aurora looked down at her plate.
For a brief second...
The cold image she'd built of Shen cracked ever so slightly.
Only slightly.
She quickly pushed the thought away.
"It's probably guilt," she muttered.
---
Westbridge University...
The campus was alive with students rushing between lectures.
Aurora walked toward the mathematics building with headphones in her ears.
"Aurora!"
She turned.
David jogged over, carrying two iced coffees.
"I bought your favorite."
She smiled.
"You didn't have to."
"I know."
He handed her one anyway.
"You looked like you needed it."
"You're becoming predictable."
"And you're becoming impossible."
They laughed together.
Neither noticed the black luxury sedan parked across the street.
Inside...
Shen watched through the tinted window.
His driver cleared his throat.
"Sir?"
Shen didn't answer.
David had reached over and gently taken Aurora's backpack from her shoulder.
She protested.
He ignored her.
The two of them walked toward campus laughing.
Shen adjusted his glasses.
"Drive."
"To the university?"
"No."
The driver's eyebrows lifted.
"Follow them."
---
An hour later...
Advanced Mathematics.
Every seat was occupied.
Professor Shen entered exactly on time.
The room instantly fell silent.
Aurora avoided looking at him.
She refused to let yesterday's argument affect her.
Professor Shen picked up the attendance list.
"David Carter."
"Present."
"Aurora Blake."
"Present."
His eyes lingered on her for half a second before moving on.
The lecture began.
For nearly forty minutes, he explained complex mathematical proofs with perfect clarity.
Even students who disliked him admitted he was brilliant.
Aurora scribbled notes as quickly as she could.
Maybe today...
Maybe today he would leave her alone.
She almost smiled at the thought.
Then—
"Miss Blake."
The entire class sighed.
Aurora slowly closed her notebook.
"Yes, Professor."
"Come to the board."
Of course.
She walked to the front.
Professor Shen handed her the marker.
"Prove Theorem Seven."
Aurora frowned.
"The entire theorem?"
"The entire theorem."
Whispers spread across the classroom.
"That's impossible."
"It took us three lectures to understand it."
"He's definitely picking on her."
Aurora swallowed hard.
She stared at the board.
She knew the beginning.
The middle.
But the final proof...
She couldn't remember.
After several minutes, she lowered the marker.
"I can't finish it."
Professor Shen looked at the board.
"You stopped thinking."
"I forgot the last proof."
"You didn't forget."
She frowned.
"You panicked."
The room became silent.
Shen walked to the board beside her.
"You solved eighty percent correctly."
Aurora blinked.
That wasn't what she'd expected.
He continued.
"The mistake isn't your intelligence."
He wrote two lines beneath hers.
"It's your lack of confidence."
He handed the marker back.
"Finish it."
Aurora stared at the equations.
Then suddenly...
She saw it.
"Oh..."
She quickly completed the final proof.
Professor Shen nodded once.
"Correct."
The classroom erupted into whispers.
"Did he just compliment her?"
"I've never heard him say 'correct' before."
Aurora looked at him in surprise.
For a split second...
She thought she saw pride in his eyes.
Then it disappeared.
"Take your seat."
The moment was over.
---
After class...
David caught up with her outside.
"You were amazing."
"I almost embarrassed myself."
"You solved the hardest proof in the course."
She shrugged.
"I guess."
David smiled.
"You never give yourself enough credit."
As they walked toward the library, David noticed her expression.
"You're thinking about him again."
Aurora sighed.
"I don't understand him."
"What do you mean?"
"One minute he humiliates me."
"The next..."
She looked back toward the mathematics building.
"He tells me I'm intelligent."
David frowned.
"Maybe he's trying to confuse you."
Aurora laughed.
"Mission accomplished."
They entered the library together.
High above them...
From his office window...
Professor Shen watched every step.
His assistant knocked gently before entering.
"Professor?"
"What is it?"
"Your afternoon meeting begins in fifteen minutes."
Shen didn't move.
His eyes remained fixed on the library entrance where Aurora and David had disappeared.
Finally he spoke.
"Cancel it."
The assistant looked shocked.
"Sir... it's the board of directors."
"I said cancel it."
"May I ask why?"
Shen picked up his coat.
"I have something more important to deal with."
As he walked out of his office, his expression was as calm as ever.
But deep inside...
The sight of another man making his wife laugh had awakened something dangerous.
And for the first time since their secret marriage began...
Professor Shen wasn't sure he could keep pretending he didn't care.
- Writer
