Chapter 145 The New Professor
Chapter 145 The New Professor
Leon’s Point of View
“Are you sure you want to go to work today?” Liam asked Lana curiously. I stepped out of the kitchen, carrying two bowls of pasta in my hands—one for Father and the other for Lana.
With the money Liam had been making from fighting, we'd managed to take care of several things around the house, including groceries. And for the first time in a long while, we were sitting down to a proper, home-cooked meal—that I made of course.
“You don't look like you're fully recovered,” I said, studying Lana's pale face, but she merely shrugged.
She was stubborn.
Once she made up her mind about something, there wasn't much any of us could do to stop her.
“Since your bosses aren't complaining, you could take a few more days off and rest properly.” I suggested instead, but she shook her head, oddly determined today.
“I'm fine.” I placed her plate in front of her, her eyes glanced down at the pasta, then immediately snapped back to me.
“There’s chicken?” I knew exactly what she was thinking.
‘Why are you giving me this much chicken when we could have used the money for something else?’
We'd been in survival mode for so long that most of us had forgotten what it felt like to eat without calculating the cost of every bite.
“Along with the medication the doctors gave us, they also gave us dietary instructions,” Liam explained. “You need to eat more food that'll help keep your blood sugar stable.”
Lately, Liam had been calmer around Lana, and they had even started getting along strangely well.
Lana stared down at her plate as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. I could practically see the thousand things she wanted to say, but she swallowed every one of them.
Her eyes drifted toward Father.
He smiled at her and gave her a small, reassuring nod.
“Just eat,” Liam encouraged, finally, she picked up her fork and began to eat. “You need to get better,” Liam added quietly.
“Liam and I will look for part-time jobs as soon as classes are over today,” I announced, setting my bowl down alongside Liam's.
Lana's eyes immediately lifted to mine, she clearly didn't agree with the idea.
But after a moment, she simply nodded.
“What about Dad?” she asked curiously. “If we all start working, who’s going to take care of him?”
“Come on…” Father drawled, picking up his fork again. “I’m not some toddler who needs twenty-four-hour care. Besides, I’ve made some new friends. I could spend my time playing cards with them.”
“I know, Father,” she muttered, she held the spoon against her lips, but made no attempt to eat.
“But you know how severe your condition is. What if you have one of those spasms and there’s no one around to help you?”
“I’ll be fine.” He smiled reassuringly at us. “Please, you should all do whatever you want to do. I’d hate to be the one thing holding you back.”
“We don't see you that way,” Liam quickly interrupted. “We’re only worried because you're our father, and we love you.”
Father smiled gently.
And I sat there quietly, watching everyone lie.
Watching everyone pretend.
Neither Lana nor Father had spoken the whole truth in the past two years. Those fake smiles they constantly wore were nothing more than masks, carefully hiding the pain neither of them wanted the others to see.
But I saw through all of it.
I always had.
And since I had no way of making any of it disappear, there was nothing I could do but pretend too.
Pretend I couldn't see.
Pretend everything was fine.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” Lana's voice pulled me from my thoughts. I nodded and pushed my chair back, getting to my feet even though I hadn't finished my food.
Liam's eyes followed us suspiciously as I followed Lana to her room.
The moment the door clicked shut behind us, I turned toward her.
“Are you okay?” She nodded.
“I’m grateful,” she began, a small smile appearing on her face, one that didn't reach her eyes. “And I don't take what you both do for granted. But…”
She hesitated before adding in a whisper. “I don't trust Liam.”
My eyes narrowed.
“We had chicken for the first time in a long time,” she continued. “Everyone is happy, but honestly…” Her smile disappeared. “…I'm not completely happy.”
It wasn't a surprise, because she barely touched her food.
“I know where all the money comes from,” she confessed. “And it doesn't sit right with me that I have to eat food bought with money my brothers got by risking their lives.”
I said nothing I simply stood there and listened.
“We both know how Liam is. He says it's just one time, but when we're faced with the next problem, he'll gladly do it again.”
I nodded.
She wasn't wrong.
Lana stepped closer and took both of my hands in hers.
“I trust you to be more rational,” she pleaded softly. “And I trust you to handle things better when I'm not around. Please, promise me you'll make sure he never does something like that again.”
I squeezed her hands.
“Don't worry, Eliza.” I gave her a reassuring smile. “He won't do it again. I'm going to find us both legitimate jobs, and we're never going to get involved with people like those thugs again.”
She pulled me into a hug.
Her familiar scent surrounded me, and I instinctively leaned into her, letting myself enjoy the warmth of her embrace.
Even though I was an adult now, that simple gesture brought tears to my eyes.
It reminded me of how Mother used to hold me when I was a child.
“Thank you so much, Leon,” Lana whispered against my chest. “You both have no idea how much I love you.”
“We love you too, sis.”
“What did Lana want to talk to you about?” Liam asked curiously as we walked toward the bus stop on our way to college. I shrugged, tightening the straps of my backpack.
“Nothing serious. She just wanted to make sure we find decent jobs that aren't too strenuous. And she wants us to stay focused on school while we're working.”
Liam narrowed his eyes.
“Of course.” He smirked. “But you need that advice more than I do. I'm an A student.” I rolled my eyes. “You should do something about your CGPA.”
Liam might have been impulsive, but he was also incredibly intelligent and emotionally perceptive. Where I struggled to separate my academic life from everything happening at home, Liam somehow managed to keep his two worlds apart.
He was majoring in architecture and was at the top of his class, maintaining an impressive 3.8 CGPA.
He was the kind of student professors remembered.
The kind who could walk into an exam barely having slept and still walk out with one of the highest grades.
And, annoyingly, he knew exactly how good he was.
I, on the other hand, was struggling with a miserable 1.7 GPA in my business major.
I rested my head against the table, the buzzing voices of my classmates drifting through the open spaces around me.
My mind was elsewhere.
There was too much to think about.
How was I going to help my family? And how the hell was I going to keep up with school and a job when I was already struggling academically?
“Did you hear about the new professor?” The conversation happening a few seats away caught my attention, my ears perked up.
A new professor?
How had I not heard about this?
I lifted my head slightly, pretending not to listen as I tried to catch more of their conversation.
“I saw him in the hallway earlier,” one of the girls whispered excitedly. “He was meeting with the Dean of the faculty.”
She giggled.
“He's so young and handsome.” Another girl squealed. “And he's rich too.”
I rolled my eyes.
Probably just another case of girls turning a new face on campus into the most exciting thing that had happened all semester. I dropped my head back onto the table, waiting for the lecture to begin.
“He's here!” The girls suddenly squealed, their excitement made me sigh.
I reluctantly lifted my head.
And froze.
The man walking into the classroom was dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, his expression calm and composed as he made his way toward the podium.
Then his eyes lifted.
Green eyes.
Those fucking green eyes met mine.
My heart stopped.
No.
It couldn't be, but then his gaze lingered on me, recognition flashed in his face.
Xavier fucking Blackwood.