I used to think my rebellion was my shield — a wall built high enough to keep everyone out, to make me look untouchable, unaffected, impossible to read. It was easier that way. Safer that way. If I looked defiant enough, maybe no one would notice how carefully I kept myself locked away.

But that was before Damian Blackwood stepped into my life.

My professor.

A man with sharp eyes, a colder voice, and the kind of control that makes silence feel dangerous. He doesn't just watch me — he sees too much. Every challenge I throw at him seems to land somewhere deeper than I intend. Every glance feels like a warning. Every word feels like a test I'm already losing.

I should stay away from him. I know that. He is power, restraint, and the kind of danger that doesn't announce itself until it's already too close to escape. And yet, the more I resist him, the more I feel the ground shifting beneath me. The more I fight, the more I realize rebellion was never freedom.

It was just fear wearing a prettier face.

Because Damian Blackwood doesn't look at me like I'm a problem to solve. He looks at me like I'm a secret he intends to keep.