Chapter 300
**Sara**
"For the last time, stop calling him that!" I threw my hands up in exasperation. "And I'm not calling him to say anything, especially not that I want to date his- wait, no, I'm not even finishing that sentence."
Jessica's eyes sparkled with unholy glee. "Aha! Notice how you didn't deny the 'madly in love' part? Just the dating proposition?"
"I- that's not-" I sputtered, feeling heat creep up my neck.
"Oh my god, she's right!" Emily leaned forward, nearly spilling her coffee. "You specifically objected to the nickname and the dating suggestion but completely glossed over the love confession part!"
"Because it's all ridiculous!" I grabbed a surviving pillow and hugged it to my chest like a shield. "The whole conversation is absurd."
"The lady doth protest too much again," Jessica sang, dodging the pillow I swung at her. "Come on, Sara. You just admitted you're in love with him but won't date him. That's some next-level emotional constipation right there."
"I didn't admit anything!" My voice hit a pitch that probably only dogs could hear. "You're both putting words in my mouth!"
"Actually," Emily held up a finger like she was making a point in court, "what we're doing is analyzing the words that didn't come out of your mouth—the very specific denials you made and the equally specific ones you didn't."
"This isn't a cross-examination!" I buried my face in the pillow again. "You're both horrible people, and I hate you."
"Aww, save that passion for your professor." Jessica poked my side. "Though maybe phrase it differently when you confess your undying love."
"There will be no confessions!" I mumbled into the pillow. "No undying love! No dating! No anything!"
"The prosecution would like to point out the defendant's continued evasion of the core issue," Emily announced in her best lawyer voice.
"I object!" I emerged from the pillow to glare at them both. "On the grounds of... of..."
"Being absolutely right?" Jessica suggested helpfully.
"Being completely wrong!" I threw the pillow at her again. "And stop looking so smug!"
Jessica caught the pillow and set it aside, her expression shifting to something more serious. "Okay, okay, let's actually talk about this for a minute. Why are you two dancing around the whole dating thing? Like, for real?"
I slumped back into the couch cushions. "Because... because we're not sure about it, okay? It's complicated."
"What's complicated about it?" Jessica pressed. "You like him, he likes you, and you both make googly eyes at each other over heart-shaped pancakes..."
"It's not that simple." I picked at a loose thread on my sleeve. "There's the whole professor thing, and work, and-"
"He's not your professor anymore," Emily cut in. "And you don't work together. Try again."
"What if..." Emily leaned forward, her coffee forgotten. "What if while you're sitting here being 'not sure,' he meets someone else? Or worse, what if his parents set him up on some fancy billionaire blind date?"
My stomach twisted at the thought. "He wouldn't- I mean, he's not interested in finding someone else."
"You sure about that?" Emily raised an eyebrow. "Because rich parents love arranging convenient marriages. Trust me, I've seen it happen."
I twisted my hands in my lap. "Actually, they won't be arranging anything. At least not for a while."
"What do you mean?" Jessica's eyebrows shot up. "Did something happen?"
I chewed my lip, debating how much to share. "Tom and his father had this whole discussion. More like a negotiation, really. They came to an agreement that Tom has a year to find someone on his own."
"A year?" Jessica leaned forward.
"Yeah. He has to find a girlfriend, introduce her to the family, and..." I winced. "Get married. All within that timeframe."
"Hold up." Jessica's eyes went wide. "Are you telling me Professor Hot Stuff is working with a literal deadline for getting hitched?"
"Pretty much." I shrugged, trying to seem casual about it. "I don't know all the details, but that's the gist."
"So our dear professor's got himself a time bomb." Jessica whistled. "Tick tock, tick tock."
Emily set her empty coffee mug aside, her expression thoughtful. "You know how these billionaire families work, right? They usually expect their sons to marry someone from their social circle. Another wealthy family, successful business owner, that sort of thing."
My stomach clenched, but I kept my face neutral.
"Maybe he doesn't want that," Jessica argued. "I mean, he chose to be a professor instead of running daddy's company. Clearly, he's not big on following the expected path."
"We don't know what he wants." Emily shrugged. "Men like that... they grow up with certain expectations. Sometimes those expectations run deeper than we realize."
"Thanks for that super reassuring talk," I muttered, pulling my knees up to my chest.
"I'm just being realistic." Emily held up her hands. "These family dynamics can get complicated."
"Oh please," Jessica rolled her eyes. "The man makes heart-shaped pancakes. Does that sound like someone desperate to marry some stuffy socialite?"
"The pancakes were an accident!" I protested automatically, then caught their matching smirks. "And we are not having this conversation again."
"Fine." Jessica flopped back against the couch. "But when you end up having to fight off some debutante named Muffy for your man, don't say I didn't warn you."
"He's not my- and who names their kid Muffy?"
"Rich people," Jessica said solemnly. "The same ones who probably have their daughters' wedding colors picked out before kindergarten."
I threw a stray feather at her. "You're ridiculous."
"Says the woman, avoiding the obvious solution to everyone's problems." Jessica batted the feather away. "One phone call and boom - no more time bomb, no more Muffy, just happily ever after with your pancake-making professor."
"It's not that simple."
"Actually," Emily interjected, "it kind of is. Unless you're planning to let him marry someone else?"
The thought made my chest tight. "Of course not! I mean... it's not my decision, but..."
"But you'd rather die than see him with someone else," Jessica finished. "Because you're totally not in love with him or anything."
"I hate both of you."
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