Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
SEBASTIAN
A FULL WEEK has come and gone, and I’ve successfully managed to avoid all contact with Stella. No small feat, considering she’s been plaguing my mind every godforsaken second of every day. When she’s not in my class, I’m wondering what she’s doing. And at night, as I stare at my wall when I should be sleeping, I wonder if she’s safe. On more occasions than I care to admit, I’ve found myself slipping on my Nikes only to run past her dorm to check for her light. This problem is becoming a fucking nuisance, and I don’t have the first clue how I’m going to purge her from my system.
Shame and self-loathing eat at me as I jerk off in my fist every night thinking about her pussy. The tight, untouched pussy that I fucked and claimed. The towel I used to wipe away her blood in the hotel room is still sitting on my bathroom counter, and my head is so fucked up I can’t even bring myself to throw it away.
Initially, I thought Stella had created the whole elaborate tuition charade to force my hand. It wouldn’t be the first time one of my students had tested their powers of seduction on me. In my time at Loyola, I’d seen every trick in the book—requests for office hours, batting eyelashes, cloyingly sweet perfume, short skirts and blouses too low to be decent—and I’d never had an issue turning them away. I’ve never considered myself a weak man, and immaturity doesn’t fall on my list of desirable attributes in a partner. But Stella is neither immature nor is she the type to willfully pursue an illicit affair for the sake of boredom. What Stella craves is security and attention, and for that reason, I should have known there was more to the story.
As a teacher, I don’t typically have access to the financial records at Loyola, but I do have access to Stella’s file, and when I saw a note regarding her father leaving the country, it prompted me to do a little digging. That digging turned into a complete archeological excavation into her family. And one by one, the skeletons presented themselves, completing a shattered picture of Stella’s not so perfect family. It seems father dearest ran into some financial difficulties and decided to help himself to the company pot at the Arthur Group before skipping town and abandoning his wife and daughter. The word sleazebag doesn’t do him justice.
So far, I haven’t been able to gather any information on Lila Monroe’s whereabouts in the aftermath. According to the notes in Stella’s file, the school’s calls to her have also gone unreturned. There is also the small matter of the family’s assets and bank accounts being caught up in the scandal, which means it’s unlikely Lila is still in Greenwich. She probably left town in the wake of her humiliation, but regardless, Stella is eighteen now, and therefore, she’s legally responsible for herself. Which would explain why it would fall upon her to come up with the remainder of the tuition on her account. A fact I only became privy to after schmoozing Marcy in the office with my concerns over Stella’s family situation.
Marcy was all too happy to divulge that Lila Monroe is a gold-digging social climber and Stella’s father is no better. She laid bare her opinions for a solid twenty minutes, adding in tidbits of gossip she’d picked up from other faculty members along the way. She also speculated on how Stella came up with the tuition, adding that a federal agent had been poking around in her files as well but had ultimately found nothing useful. They asked about the fundraising campaign for tuition, of which the school had no knowledge, and determined it was legitimate. Though Marcy couldn’t fathom who would want to help a girl like Stella, which was where our conversation came to an abrupt end. She immediately retracted her statement once she realized we were, in fact, not on the same side. But thanks to Marcy’s big mouth and nosy ways, I have a much better understanding of Stella’s actions last week. That being said, it doesn’t make it any easier to swallow what happened between us.
She sold herself to the highest bidder to keep a roof over her head. And being the prick that I am, I exploited that opportunity under the guise of keeping her safe. There was no other man in this world who could take what she was offering. I never would have allowed her to put herself in real danger. It would be a noble justification, if I hadn’t fucked her and blown my load in her like a goddamn caveman without a single logical thought in his head. What’s worse is now that I know Stella’s situation, I still want to do it again and again. I want to manipulate and degrade her and use her for the high that she gives me. A high I haven’t experienced since my soccer career ended. When I’m inside her, or toying with her, or even stalking her like a fiend, it makes me feel alive again. And while I don’t claim to be a morally superior man, there are some things that even I take issue with. Without a doubt, fucking Stella again is out of the question.