My Professor Is the Devil

Chapter 15: Hagset

The first time I saw Aurora Whitmore, I didn’t care about her.

She was just another student sitting quietly near the back of the lecture hall during orientation week. Dark hair. Oversized sweater. Eyes permanently lowered toward her notebook, as if she wanted to disappear into it.

Pretty sure.

But universities are filled with pretty girls.

Especially naive ones.

So no, Aurora didn’t interest me at first.

Michael Knight did.

The moment Michael transferred to the university, people became obsessed with him.

Students worshiped him almost immediately. Female professors flirted with him openly. Even senior faculty respected him after barely two weeks.

I hated it.

Because I had spent years building my reputation here, while Michael walked in and effortlessly became everyone’s favorite.

The brilliant professor.

The mysterious professor.

The attractive professor.

It was exhausting.

What made it worse was how little Michael seemed to care about the attention.

Like admiration bored him.

Like people bored him.

Arrogant bastard.

Then I noticed the way he looked at Aurora.

And suddenly—

She became interesting too.

It started small.

A glance during lectures lasting too long. Michael was standing closer to her desk than necessary. The tension between them every time they occupied the same room.

Most people missed it.

I didn’t.

Because I know obsession when I see it.

The first time I realized something serious was happening between them was outside the library late one night.

I had been leaving campus when I saw Aurora standing beside Michael’s car in the rain arguing with him quietly.

Michael looked furious.

Aurora looked stubborn.

Then she got into his car anyway.

That told me everything I needed to know.

After that, I started watching more carefully.

Not Aurora.

Michael.

And Michael Knight changed around her.

That fascinated me.

The cold, untouchable professor everyone admired suddenly became tense whenever Aurora walked into a room. His eyes followed her unconsciously. His jaw tightened anytime another man stood too close to her.

Especially me.

That part amused me the most.

So I decided to test it.

At first, it was harmless.

I complimented Aurora after the lectures. Asked about her grades. Offered her clinical shadowing opportunities.

And Aurora responded exactly how I expected.

Quiet. Shy. Grateful.

Easy.

But the more attention I gave her, the more unstable Michael became.

And honestly?

That was the real reason I kept going.

I liked watching Michael lose control.

Because men like him never lose control publicly.

Especially not over a girl.

Aurora smiled at me sometimes.

Not flirtatiously.

Just comfortably.

And I noticed immediately that she never looked relaxed around Michael.

Around him, she looked overwhelmed. Breathless. Nervous.

But with me?

She smiled.

Laughed even.

That irritated Michael more than anything else.

I could see it every single time.

And I enjoyed it.

Probably more than I should have.

I still remember the look on Michael’s face the day he saw me carrying Aurora’s books down the hallway.

God.

I thought he was going to kill me right there.

He slammed his shoulder into hers while passing us hard enough to make her stumble.

Aurora looked shocked.

I almost laughed.

Because Michael Knight—perfect, composed Michael Knight—was jealous.

Painfully jealous.

And he wasn’t hiding it well anymore.

That’s when I realized something important.

Aurora wasn’t just another student to him.

She was a weakness.

And once I realized that, I wanted her too.

Not because Aurora herself was extraordinary.

Though she was beautiful in a quiet sort of way.

No.

I wanted her because Michael did.

And taking things from men like Michael felt satisfying.

I started paying more attention after that.

Watching the way Aurora looked for Michael after lectures. Watching the late-night rides home. Watching how Michael avoided her during the day, only to hover around her at night like he physically couldn’t stay away.

It was obsessive.

Honestly, a little disturbing.

Then came the fight.

Tim and I were talking inside the faculty lounge after hours when I mentioned Aurora jokingly.

I knew Michael was somewhere nearby.

I wanted to provoke him.

Maybe not physically.

But emotionally.

“She’s naive,” I told Tim casually. “Honestly, my plan is going better than expected.”

Tim laughed.

Then the door exploded open.

Michael hit me before I could even stand up fully.

Hard.

The force nearly sent me through the damn table.

And the look on his face—

Jesus Christ.

He looked insane.

Not angry.

Insane.

“You stay away from her.”

His voice didn’t sound normal either.

It sounded darker somehow.

Wrong.

I fought back instinctively, but Michael hit harder than any normal man should.

For a second, I genuinely thought he might kill me.

Then Aurora appeared.

Everything changed the second she walked into the room.

Michael froze instantly.

Like her voice physically pulled him back from whatever violent place he disappeared into.

Aurora rushed toward me immediately.

Not him.

Me.

And I’d be lying if I said that didn’t feel satisfying.

She looked terrified of Michael.

Good.

Maybe she was finally seeing what he really was.

But then Michael looked at her—

And suddenly I understood something terrifying.

He wasn’t angry because of jealousy anymore.

He looked possessive.

Like Aurora belonged to him somehow.

“Aurora,” he kept saying.

Sharp. Demanding.

She refused every time.

And every refusal made him look worse.

More unstable.

Then he pushed her.

I don’t think he meant to.

But he did it hard enough for her to stumble backward against a desk.

And the horror on Michael’s face afterward?

That was real.

Aurora looked at him differently after that.

Not just scared.

Heartbroken.

Which honestly confused the hell out of me.

Because after everything Michael did, she still looked hurt instead of angry.

Like his opinion still mattered to her.

Pathetic.

I drove her home afterward because, obviously, I wasn’t letting her walk alone after that.

The entire drive, she stayed quiet.

Staring out the window while rain hit the windshield softly.

Still thinking about him.

Of course, she was.

“You shouldn’t let him treat you like that,” I told her carefully.

Aurora defended him immediately.

“He’s not usually like that.”

I almost laughed.

Even after he frightened her, she still protected him instinctively.

That told me everything.

The thing about Aurora is that she wants comfort.

Safety.

And Michael Knight clearly doesn’t know how to give either.

Michael burns too hot around her.

Too possessive. Too intense.

Eventually, men like that destroy girls like Aurora.

I parked a few houses away from her grandparents’ place as she asked.

Before she left, I looked at her carefully and said the one thing I knew would stay in her head.

“Men like Michael are dangerous.”

Aurora froze slightly.

Then softly said:

“He’s complicated.”

Complicated.

That was cute.

No.

Michael Knight wasn’t complicated.

He was unstable.

And honestly?

I think Aurora knows that already.

She just doesn’t want to admit it yet.

After she went inside, I stayed parked outside for another ten minutes thinking about everything.

About Michael.

About Aurora.

About the way Michael looked ready to rip my throat out over her.

And for the first time since Michael transferred here—

I finally understood how to hurt him.

Not professionally.

Not publicly.

Personally.

Through Aurora Whitmore.

Because if Michael Knight wanted her badly enough to lose control over himself—

Then taking her away from him suddenly sounded very, very interesting.