His Forbidden Obsession

What you are risking.

The door clicked shut behind me, and for a moment, I just stood there.

Still.

Silent.

Like if I didn’t move, the day would somehow rewind itself.

It didn’t.

“Rough day?”

Anna’s voice came from the living room, calm but already knowing.

I let out a breath and dropped my bag by the door. “That obvious?”

She appeared a second later, arms folded, eyes scanning my face like she was reading a chart.

“You’ve had that look since this whole thing started,” she said. “So… what happened now?”

Not what happened, not who.

Just now.

Because she already knew everything that mattered.

I walked past her and collapsed onto the couch, dragging a hand down my face.

“He’s acting like nothing happened,” I said.

Anna didn’t sit immediately. “Still?”

“Still,” I confirmed. “But it’s not just that.”

She waited.

I hated that she waited, because it meant she wasn’t going to let me get away with brushing past it.

“He watches me,” I added finally. “Like… not obviously. But I can feel it.”

Anna’s expression didn’t change, but something sharper settled behind her eyes.

“And?”

“And he keeps calling on me in class,” I continued. “Correcting me. Pushing me harder than everyone else.”

She moved then, sitting across from me. “Is he wrong when he corrects you?”

I hesitated.

“…No.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

I let out a frustrated laugh. “The problem is the way he does it. It’s like—” I stopped, searching for the right words. “Like he’s trying to prove something.”

“To you?” she asked.

“Or to himself,” I muttered.

Silence stretched between us.

Anna leaned back slightly. “Okay. So he’s not crossing any obvious lines.”

“Not obvious, no.”

“But it’s affecting you.”

“Yes.”

That part came too easily.

She nodded once, like she’d just confirmed something important.

“Then the real question is—are you crossing lines?” she asked.

I blinked. “What?”

“Are you reacting in a way people can see?” she clarified. “Are you staring? Freezing? Acting off when he’s around?”

I opened my mouth… then closed it.

Because the answer wasn’t simple.

“I don’t know,” I admitted quietly.

Anna held my gaze. “You need to figure that out.”

My chest tightened. “Why?”

“Because people notice things,” she said simply. “And all it takes is one person connecting dots that shouldn’t even exist.”

Roxie.

The thought came uninvited, sharp and unwelcome.

“I’m careful,” I said quickly.

“Careful isn’t the same as controlled,” Anna replied.

That hit harder than I expected.

I looked away, focusing on the faint scratch on the coffee table instead of her eyes.

“I am in control,” I said, but it sounded weaker this time.

Anna didn’t argue.

She just watched me.

And somehow, that was worse.

A few seconds passed before she spoke again.

“What about Ethan?”

I exhaled slowly. “What about him?”

“You’ve been spending time with him,” she said. “You like him?”

“He’s… nice,” I said.

Anna raised a brow. “Nice is not an answer.”

“He’s easy to be around,” I added. “There’s no pressure. No… intensity.”

“And that bothers you?”

I hesitated.

“…I don’t know.”

That was the truth.

Because part of me wanted that ease.

And another part—

Another part wanted something else entirely.

Anna leaned forward slightly. “Did he ask you out again?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“I didn’t give him an answer yet.”

She studied me for a long second before speaking.

“You should go.”

My head snapped up. “What?”

“You should go,” she repeated, calm and firm.

“That feels… wrong,” I said. “Like I’d be using him.”

“Then don’t use him,” she replied. “Just go.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It is,” she said. “You’re the one complicating it.”

I shook my head. “You don’t get it.”

“Then explain it to me.”

Frustration bubbled up, sharp and sudden.

“I can’t just pretend I don’t feel anything!” I snapped.

The words hung in the air between us.

Heavy.

Honest.

Anna didn’t flinch.

“Feelings don’t mean you act on them,” she said quietly.

I swallowed hard.

“I know that,” I muttered.

“Do you?” she asked.

Her tone wasn’t harsh.

Just… real.

And that made it harder to argue.

I leaned back into the couch, staring up at the ceiling.

“I hate this,” I admitted. “I hate that he still gets to me like this.”

Anna’s voice softened slightly. “Of course he does.”

I turned my head to look at her.

“That kind of connection doesn’t just disappear because it’s inconvenient,” she continued. “But that doesn’t mean you let it control you.”

I let out a shaky breath.

“He makes me feel like I’m losing my mind,” I said. “One minute he’s completely professional, like I don’t exist. The next… it feels like there’s something there again.”

“And that keeps you hooked,” Anna said.

It wasn’t a question.

I didn’t answer.

I didn’t need to.

She leaned back, crossing her arms.

“Clara,” she said, her tone shifting—more serious now. “Listen to me carefully.”

Something in her voice made my chest tighten.

“Men like that don’t just come into your life and leave things the same,” she continued. “They change you. The way you think. The way you feel. The way you react.”

I swallowed.

“And if you’re not careful,” she added, quieter now, “they don’t just change your life… they ruin it.”

The room felt smaller suddenly.

Quieter.

“He’s my professor,” I said, like I needed to remind myself.

“Exactly.”

I sat up slowly.

“I worked too hard to get here,” I said. “I can’t mess this up.”

“Then don’t,” Anna replied.

Simple.

Clear.

Terrifying.

I looked down at my hands.

“But I still want him,” I admitted.

There it was.

Ugly.

Honest.

Real.

Anna didn’t react immediately.

She just nodded once, like she’d been expecting it.

“I know,” she said.

That was it.

No judgment.

No lecture.

Just… understanding.

And somehow, that made my chest ache more.

“But wanting something doesn’t mean you should have it,” she added gently.

I let out a breath, my shoulders slumping.

“I don’t know how to turn it off,” I said.

“You don’t,” she replied. “You just choose not to act on it.”

I sat there in silence, letting that sink in.

Choice.

That’s what this came down to.

Not him.

Not fate.

Not chemistry.

Me.

Anna stood up, walking toward the kitchen before glancing back at me.

“So,” she said, “what are you going to do?”

I hesitated.

Then I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone.

Ethan’s message was still there.

You free tomorrow?

My thumb hovered over the screen.

For a moment, I didn’t move.

Because I already knew what saying yes meant.

Distance.

Control.

Safety.

Everything I was supposed to want.

And yet…

My mind drifted.

Grey eyes.

A low voice.

The memory of a night that changed everything.

I closed my eyes briefly, then exhaled.

When I opened them again, my fingers moved.

Yeah. I’m free.

I hit send before I could change my mind.

The message delivered instantly.

Anna watched from the kitchen, a small, knowing look on her face.

“That’s a start,” she said.

I nodded slowly.

Yeah.

It was.

But as I set my phone down, one thought refused to go away.

Because no matter how hard I tried to choose the right path…

I still couldn’t shake the feeling—

That I was already too far gone.