He Begged Me, I Rejected Him Before

Chapter 4

The first time I ever heard the name Ryder was last year, when he led Dartmore University to win the International Collegiate Computer Engineering Championship.

The school website was plastered with his face for days.

Rumor had it he grew up in an orphanage, with no parents, no family. He started competing in contests back in elementary school—by now, his trophy count was supposedly higher than the dean's entire collection of honorary awards.

On top of all that, the guy was stupidly good-looking. He had fan clubs. Both genders. People lining up to shoot their shot, from the classroom buildings all the way to the front gate.

But back when all that buzz was going on, I had zero connection to Ryder. And honestly? Zero interest.

I was too busy being head over heels for my ex-ex-ex-boyfriend at the time.

The only thing that stuck with me was that one photo of him on the school's honor roll page. Clean-cut, cold as ice, eyes sharp enough to cut through the screen.

Our first actual encounter happened because of a mix-up at the print shop. The guy behind the counter accidentally gave me a batch of posters meant for the math department—and they needed 'em first thing the next morning.

So I had no choice. I hauled the posters over that night.

When I got to their lab, it was pitch black inside. The only light came from a single computer screen glowing blue at the far end.

I knocked.

"Excuse me? Is Professor Andrews here?"

Professor Andrews was the one who'd reached out to me about the posters.

At the sound of my voice, a face slowly emerged from behind the monitor. Lit up by that pale blue glow, it was almost unreal—like something out of a movie.

"Professor Andrews's not here. Just leave them with me."

I looked at the hand he stretched out toward me. Long fingers. Broad palm. Lean and elegant, with veins visible just beneath the pale skin, pulsing with quiet strength.

Probably from spending way too much time in that lab, never seeing the sun.

I mumbled an "okay," dropped the posters, and got out of there.