Chapter 263
“Let go!” The moment the doors snapped shut, Teresa commanded in a hushed but forceful tone, jerking her hand away from Brian’s grip.
Brian lunged forward, holding her arms against the elevator wall. Before Teresa could react, he leaned in and kissed her forcefully.
With a sharp hiss, Teresa’s lips were suddenly bitten, a wave of pain flashing across her face as she recoiled from the disgustingly close visage of Brian. Her eyes blazed with anger as she pushed against his chest, forcefully shoving him away.
Slap!
In the same motion, as she pushed Brian off, Teresa’s hand swung fiercely, landing a stinging slap across his face. The sound echoed in the cramped elevator, followed by a heavy “Thud” as Brian, taken off balance, stumbled backward into the elevator wall.
Despite being shoved and slapped, Brian barely seemed to care. Instead, he smirked.
Teresa reached for her lips in disgust only to find them bleeding because of Brian’s bite.
“Was I too rough for your liking, Teresa?” Brian said, seeing the anger and revulsion on Teresa’s face, laughing unabashedly.
Teresa glanced at him briefly without saying a word and immediately pressed the button for the next floor. Soon enough, the elevator halted, and its doors slid open.
Teresa quickly stepped out.
“I’ll be gentler next time,” Brian called after her with a playful tone just as she exited the elevator.
Teresa’s stride halted momentarily. She wished she could turn back and give Brian a couple more slaps or even go as far as to kick him where it hurts.
But she couldn’t. Her reason reminded her.
So far, Brian was the only match for Gabriel’s bone marrow transplant. If he were to refuse the donation, it would be disastrous.
With that thought, she clenched her teeth and strode away with determined steps.
Watching her leave, the elevator doors slowly closed in on Brian who wiped the corner of his mouth, Teresa’s blood remained upon his skin.
‘Her taste was just as heavenly as he had imagined all these years.’
...
Before heading to class, Teresa stopped by the restroom.
Fortunately, the bite was on the inside, not visible to others.
However, Brian’s behavior was increasingly unpredictable, making Teresa wonder what he might attempt next.
Next time, she would bring her bodyguard, she decided. That way, Brian wouldn’t even have a chance to try anything.
After freshening up, Teresa hurried to her classroom.
Upon arriving, she noticed Tessa was absent.
The Yellen family had hit some serious hard times. Tessa’s parents had been caught in a scandal and were now under lock and key. In River North, where they’d never held much sway, her father, coming from humbler beginnings, had failed to lay down solid roots. With the family’s downfall, Tessa’s only lifeline left in the city was probably Liam.
But Liam’s help wouldn’t extend to rescuing her parents. The best he could offer Tessa was a shot at a stable life.
Expecting her to be fashionably late, as usual, Teresa was surprised when the bell rang, marking the end of class, and Tessa still hadn’t shown up.
Even knowing that Tessa, just nineteen, had wound up in Liam’s bed, leaving poor Diana heartbroken and nearly dying from an abortion procedure, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity for the girl, given the current state of her family.
The class came to an end, and as students clustered around Teresa with their usual questions and laughter, she couldn’t resist pulling aside one girl who was known to be close to Tessa to inquire about her situation.
Clueless, the girl confessed she’d been out of touch with Tessa for days and that her texts had gone unanswered.
Teresa was concerned, yet she let the matter drop. After all, Tessa’s troubles were not her business.
When she returned to her office, Teresa spotted the new faculty advisor, who’d replaced Terry, rushing out. Out of courtesy, she asked if there was some sort of emergency.
Aware of Teresa’s status, he paused, offering a patient smile. “Yes, actually. The police just called. One of your students, a girl named Tessa Yellen, has been picked up for theft. They can’t get ahold of her family, so the director asked me to handle it.”
‘Tessa was caught stealing?’ Teresa frowned, refusing to believe it.
“Teresa, did you need something? If not, I should be going,” he said, still smiling.
“Oh, no, it’s fine. Go ahead,” replied Teresa.
“All right then, take care!” he said and left.
After a moment’s thought, she pulled out her phone and messaged Liam to tell him about Tessa’s predicament.
Tessa’s parents had trouble, and it’s not unthinkable that some might want to take this opportunity to make things even harder for her.
As Tessa’s teacher, Teresa couldn’t bear just to leave her student alone.
