Chapter 1

For three years, I kept my relationship with Flynn Stewart under wraps. As the youngest and most promising professor at our school, he was also my adoptive brother and teacher. During the day, I played the role of a diligent student, attentively listening to his lectures. But at night, I endured his harsh demands, feeling utterly degraded.

"Livia," he taunted, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "imagine the principal's reaction if he discovered his beloved goddaughter spent her nights in her brother's bed, succumbing to his desires?"

As he spoke, he left a possessive, punishing bite on my neck.

I squeezed my eyes shut, silent tears rolling down my cheeks. In that moment, I realized that his actions were devoid of love.

——

"Flynn, I'm famished," I said, huddled in a blanket, observing the man standing with his back to me by the floor-to-ceiling window. Rain pattered outside, and the room still bore traces of our recent encounter.

Without turning, he replied in a low voice, "What's my proper title?"

I reluctantly called him "brother," earning a derisive snort. He spun around, roughly grasping my chin.

"You act so convincingly in public, yet you can't remember this simple rule in bed?" As he spoke, his hand slipped beneath the blanket, exploring my bare skin. I shuddered but forced myself to remain still.

"Naturally," he scoffed, his tone laced with contempt. "You're your mother's daughter after all—born to entice men."

His words sparked my first act of defiance, as I shoved him away.

In an instant, he had me pinned to the bed, his grip on my wrists threatening to break them.

"What's this?" he growled, his voice low and menacing. "Feeling indignant now? Livia, what gives you the right to be upset?"

I gazed into his bloodshot eyes, filled with seething anger, and finally understood. From our very first encounter, he had been tormenting me like this.

My adoptive father, the principal, took me in when I was twelve. Back then, I couldn't comprehend why my nominal brother always regarded me with such coldness. It wasn't until the year of my college entrance exams that he kissed me for the first time in his office. That gentle kiss was enough to draw me in completely.

"I'll give you anything you desire, if you agree to be mine," he had said. I naively believed it was his way of expressing his feelings. Little did I know, it was the beginning of a meticulously planned revenge.

Yet, I had already fallen too deeply in love to muster any hatred.

"Professor Stewart, the principal requests your presence," the teaching assistant's voice called from outside, shattering the tense atmosphere.

Flynn released me, his eyes taking in my disheveled appearance. A mocking smile played on his lips.

"Make yourself presentable," he said coldly before turning away. He left without a backward glance.

I curled up on the bed, watching him leave. An emptiness settled in my chest. At that moment, I wondered how much further I would have to fall before I finally woke up.