His Forbidden Obsession

Lump in my Throat.

(Clara)

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding as I clutched my iPad to my chest. This was not how I imagined my first day of medical school would go… hunted by a mistake I made in the heat of the moment. Although, my body didn’t react the way it should after making a life-altering mistake. It still reacted to his voice, sending flashbacks of how he whispered sweet nothings all those nights ago. I decided to leave all those dirty thoughts and desires behind but what do I do when the man who sets my skin on fire is my professor?

I was so lost in thought that I didn’t notice Ethan standing in the hallway causing me to bump into him.

“Hey, you okay?,” he asked as he helped me up from the ground.

“Yeah yeah, I’m okay. Just a little out of sorts,” I replied, pushing my hair out of my face.

“The Professor really has you shaken up, doesn’t he?,” he asked.

I couldn’t help but sigh at the thought.

“I don’t know why he’s being so mean. It’s just the first day of school and I already have a target on my back,” I complained.

Ethan chuckled, exposing his dimples on both sides of his cheeks. He really looked cute, with a beautiful dentition that could have girls all over him, but my mind was somewhere else… or rather, someone else.

“It’ll get better, I promise. In the meantime, why don’t you join me and some others for coffee…..we can all get to know each other better and maybe, we can all survive the first year together,”

I smiled at him.

“Coffee sounds good,” I said, adjusting my grip on my iPad like it could bring me back to reality. “I could use something to wake me up after… that.”

Ethan laughed lightly. “Yeah, ‘that’ is one way to describe it.”

We walked side by side, chatting away about life during our pre-med years and how at some point, it looked like we weren’t really doing our best but here we are today.

I spotted the campus cafe as the late morning air buzzed with students…..some were already buried in notes, others pretending like they weren’t already overwhelmed.

I tried to focus on the normalcy of it all. First day conversations, new faces, fresh start……which wasn’t really going very well. Normal was what I needed.

Not the memory of grey eyes watching me like I was something to dissect.

Not the sound of his voice saying my name like it meant more than it should.

I pushed the thoughts down as we walked in.

The café was already half full. A small group waved Ethan over, and he gestured for me to follow.

“Guys, this is Clara,” he said. “She survived Hart’s first session.”

A guy with glasses snorted. “Barely counts as survival. That man enjoys psychological warfare.”

A girl across the table nodded. “I heard he made someone cry last year. First week.”

“Wait, seriously? I thought we were the first ones to learn from him.” I asked before I could stop myself.

“Yeah, but he’s a visiting professor. He’s only seen during the orientations but now, he decided to teach here full-time” The girl said. “So yeah,” she said, continuing. “He’s brilliant, but he doesn’t sugarcoat anything. If you’re not sharp, he’ll make sure you know it.”

My stomach tightened as I listened to the girl call Professor Hart brilliant.

So it wasn’t just me. That eased my nerves a bit.

And somehow… that didn’t make it better.

“He seems to have a thing for calling people out,” Ethan added casually, glancing at me for a split second. “Keeps everyone on their toes.”

I forced a small laugh. “Guess I’ll have to step up then.”

“Or learn to enjoy the pressure,” the girl said with a shrug.

I wrapped my fingers around the warm cup Ethan had slid toward me, letting the heat of the coffee seep into my skin. It grounded me, keeping me back in reality.

Not like the chaos in my head.

“Clara.” I heard someone say.

I stiffened slightly at the sound of my name, even though it wasn’t him.

It was Roxie. This girl was like my shadow at this point.

She stood at the edge of the table, her eyes moving between Ethan and me before settling on me with that same polished smile.

“Mind if I join?” she asked, already pulling out a chair.

No one objected but deep down, I wish someone had.

“I didn’t take you for the type to struggle on the first day,” she continued, settling in. “You seemed… distracted.”

My grip tightened slightly on the cup.

“I was just getting used to the environment,” I replied evenly.

“Hmm.” She tilted her head, studying me. “Strange. Most people either freeze or overperform. You did… neither.”

Ethan shifted beside me. “It’s day one. Everyone’s adjusting.”

Roxie’s smile didn’t waver. “Of course.”

But her eyes lingered on me a second too long like she was trying to figure me out.

I looked away first, focusing on my coffee.

This was supposed to feel normal.

Conversation drifted to schedules, textbooks, and professors to avoid. I nodded where necessary, smiled when expected but I wasn’t really there.

Because no matter how hard I tried to focus on what was in front of me…

I could feel it……as something had shifted and refused to settle.

“Clara?”

Ethan’s voice pulled me back.

“Yeah?”

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked quietly. “You keep zoning out.”

“I’m fine,” I said quickly. Too quickly.

Roxie’s gaze flicked to me again.

I forced myself to relax, taking another sip of coffee.

“I just need to get used to everything,” I added, softer this time.

“That makes two of us,” Ethan said with an easy smile. “But hey, we’ll figure it out.”

I nodded, grateful for the simplicity of his presence.

No complications or intensity or history.

Just… easy.

For a moment, I let myself lean into that.

Until the café door opened.

I didn’t mean to look but something in me reacted before I could stop it.

My eyes lifted—

And there he was.

Professor Callum Hart.

He stepped inside as he belonged anywhere he chose to stand, his expression calm, unreadable. Conversations around the café dipped for a fraction of a second, like people instinctively noticed him.

My breath caught in my throat and I tried my hardest not to look at him.

His gaze moved around the room until he found me. He didn’t smile or behave as he recognized me.

It was like I was just another student in a crowded room.

I looked away immediately, my pulse picking up again for reasons I refused to examine.

“Wow,” someone at the table muttered. “Speak of the devil.”

“Professor Hart in a café?” another said. “Didn’t think he was human.”

A few quiet laughs followed.

I didn’t join in.

Because across the room, I could feel it again.

That pull and awareness.

And this time…

I knew for a fact I wasn’t imagining it.

I just didn’t know what it meant.