Secretly Married to my Professor

07| Not What She Expected

Zahrah's POV

I sipped my coffee as I paced in the hallway, waiting to finish my cup so I can enter the library again. I wanted to sit in the cafeteria to finish my drink, but then I remembered Dr. Danial's warnings.

I held the anatomy book in my hand with all my notes in it from the last year of my undergrad studies. A girl with ruffled hair caught my attention. Honestly, it was a sight to see as I walked straight to find her kissing a tall, curly-haired guy with two dimples; as he turned further, I noticed it was Professor Benjamin Florentino.

"Good morning, Prof," She said to him, holding out a cup of coffee for him.

I was a sucker for a good show, so I stood behind the wall listing to the echoes of the conversation at the end of the hallway, "Have a seat, Jess."

Something in his tone must have tipped her off because she did not drink the coffee, and she did not sit. Instead, she narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're shitting me."

"Things aren't working between us, and I think it would be best if we broke it off now." His voice was even; his face was blank.

The girl who seemed a student here stamped her foot. "You couldn't have fucking told me this last night ?"

"Last night, I still thought maybe we could work it out."

"As in, you wanted to screw me one last time to make sure you didn't want me? Am I not good enough for you and your snobby family?"

He sighed. "It's not you; it's me."

"That's shit, and you know it," Jessica snapped.

I continued to listen in as I wanted to leave, but something pushed me to watch further, as though she hadn't spoken. "You're a girl who deserves a commitment, and I know now that I can't give it to you."

"So I'm just not good enough." Jessica glared at him. "Fine. But mark my words, Professor, the day will come when you'll be sorry you crossed me!"

Jessica stormed up as I quickly walked as if I was reading my book, and I looked at her walking up the stairs.

A powerful husky voice rose behind me, "Didn't your parents warn you not to listen in on other people's private conversation."

He stared right at me as I froze in my place after I collided into the wall behind me, "What do you mean?" I arched my eyebrow. "You think you own this place. I was studying and came across your lousy conversation."

There's a pause for a moment; I wonder if I've lost him. Finally, he speaks after he smirked. "And what were you reading just now?"

His voice is no longer kind. I flinch and glance at the book in my hand, cursing my lousy student memory for not having it ready.

"Umm...I remember..."

He doesn't give me a chance to continue.

"If you had of bothered to learn your lessons instead of eavesdropping,"

"Oh. I uh..."

"See you in class." His words, which sound highly demanding, given their meaning, are cut short when a petite older woman called him over.

I stare at him as he leaves, dumbfounded.

"What an asshole," I breathe to myself. Suddenly, Karmel is at my side. She heard me.

"Oh, you mean Dr. Flawless?" she inquires with a giggle. "He's normally cool, but he can have his moments. Dr. Danial has warned us. Are you okay?"

Her eyes suddenly filled with worry as she regards me.

"Oh yeah," I say, waving off her concern. I take a deep, cleansing breath and offer her a small smile. "Nothing I can't handle."

I'm admittedly curious about him. A fighter. A professor. A man-whore. A kind guy... debatable. It seems as though some professors automatically get a boost in their looks simply because of their titles. Any average Joe suddenly becomes cat-fight worthy.

My sudden dislike for the hot professor is fueled into what I think is very justified hatred that I was afraid would turn into another round of boxing. Nonetheless, that doesn't stop me from being curious.

Later on that week, we had our third lecture with Dr. Florentino; I hear Jessica chatting with a red-headed student over Dr. Florentino in the seats in front of me. Their voices are hushed, presumptuous gossip oozing from every word, but I still manage to gather that Dr. Florentino is a one-night kind of guy. However, he doesn't go after students, and that is why he broke up with Jessica.

I lift my head. He's a young doctor, perhaps in his early thirties; since he was a doctor, he couldn't be more youthful, with shocking bronze hair and a strong jaw. His nose is straight, curving slightly at the end, his lips full. His eyes, set beneath thick brows, are downcast and hidden.

"Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, is characterized by chronic inflammation of the airways, lung tissue, and pulmonary blood vessels caused by exposure to inhaled irritants, most often smoke from tobacco or marijuana smoke, though you will see a fair number of cases resulting from long term exposure to industrial pollution as well," the professor explained referring to a diagram of the pulmonary system in the lungs with red and blue labels of various parts and cells.

I return my attention to him as my hands frustratingly danced furiously across my keyboard, taking detailed notes of the lecture. The slide changed to a bar graph spouting statistics of the various forms that the disease could take.

"COPD usually manifests in one of two ways: either as chronic bronchitis or emphysema. In your lab this afternoon, you will be working with patients that suffer from COPD, and you will need to be able to distinguish between the two conditions..."

At that moment, I notice a buzzing beside my laptop. I closed the computer silently and made my way out of the lecture hall. I left all my belongings at the desk except for my phone.

Once I step foot in the deserted hallway, I answered the phone. "This is London," she announced softly.

I froze at the mention of the name I haven't heard in so long, "Sorry to disturb you, but we have a problem!" the familiar high-pitched feline voice of London resounded into my ear. "You were the closest."

"He has been found four blocks southeast of your position."

I started running.

Author Note

Asalam Alaikum everyone and Ramadan Kareem, Sorry for not updating for so long, but I am here now, and I will be updating weekly, so Next double chapter update will be on the 6th of May 2020.  Please do comment and let me know what you think of this chapter? Don't forget to share and vote :)

Until next time, Jazakallah a million!