Chapter 167

KIERAN'S POV

When Aria left the room and the door closed softly behind her, an eerie silence settled in. The kind of silence that pressed down on your chest, making it difficult to breathe.

For a moment, I didn’t move. I couldn’t.

My hands were tightly clenched at my sides, my breath shallow as I stared at the floor.

This was my first real confrontation with the professor in three years. Three years of running. Three years of hiding. And now, here he was, standing before me, the man who had once been a constant in my life—a teacher, a mentor, someone I had trusted.

“Kieran,” he said softly. “How have you been? Are you okay?”

I didn’t look at him right away. I couldn’t bring myself to. Instead, I let my gaze wander to the window, where faint streaks of light filtered through the blinds. His voice sounded older, weaker than I remembered. The strength that had once defined him was gone, replaced by something… fragile.