Cigarette smoke swirled lazily in the dim light of the living room, illuminated only by the faint glow of a streetlight filtering through a crack in the blinds. Enveloping jazz flowed from the phone: a raspy saxophone intertwined with the lazy strums of a double bass.

Adrian sat on the sagging sofa, his head tilted back against the backrest. In one hand he held a half-empty glass of cheap red wine; in the other, the bottle itself. When a powerful female vocal part began in the track, he suddenly closed his eyes, raised the neck of the bottle to his lips like a microphone, and, to his own surprise, found himself in time with the beat. His low, vibrating baritone blended with the music, filling the empty apartment with a sound that was both beautiful and desperate.

When the final chord faded, Adrian opened his eyes, took a swig straight from the bottle, and laughed hoarsely.

"Should I really try my luck as a singer?" he muttered into the void, his voice echoing off the bare walls. "It's not half bad."

The laughter cut off as abruptly as it had begun. The silence that followed filled every corner of the apartment, seeping under his skin and squeezing his chest. Adrian wiped his face with his palm, feeling it being squeezed like a lemon.

This month had been the hardest of his life.

Memories came flooding back as soon as he was left alone with his thoughts. That day at the airport. Noah, who had approached him with an icy, confident smile and a whisper that rang with steel:

"If you don't come with me right now, I'll cause such a scene right here that you'll be fired before you even leave the terminal." Adrian had no choice. He silently followed the freshman to the nearest city park, away from prying eyes.

There, in the shade of the old elm trees, Adrian tried once again to put up a wall of icy professionalism.

"I can't and won't date you, Noah," he said calmly, looking the young man straight in the eye. "And just so you know: my relationship with Lucas Valdes is also completely and definitively over." You have no power over me.

Surprisingly, Noah didn't yell or throw a fit. He just listened, and the calculating smile on his face was far more frightening than any aggression. Then, methodically, he began to provoke Adrian's emotions, poking at the most painful points of his pride, until Adrian felt the ground slipping away from under his feet.

"You're so arrogant, Professor," Noah finally whispered, taking a step forward. "But I'm willing to forgive you for that foolish rejection. I'm willing to forget how you rejected me. On one condition." He pointed his chin toward the asphalt, still wet from the recent rain.

"Get down on your knees. Right now. And ask me for forgiveness."

"You little brat, you're crossing every line."

"Get down on your knees, Professor."

Adrian froze in shock. Pride surged through him like a hot, searing wave. He smirked, turned around, and took a step as if to simply walk away, not caring about the consequences.

"Your father, Arthur, and your mother, Lily, still live in Ohio, right?" "Noah's voice was quiet, but so clear that Adrian froze. "It seems they're having serious supply problems right now. And your younger brother, Hades… right? He just kicked his drug habit and started his own business, didn't he? It would be terrible if the IRS suddenly took an interest in his financial records."

Adrian slowly turned around. His face went pale.

"You're a psychopath…"

"Perhaps," Noah agreed casually, adjusting his coat. "And I also have a plan for Mr. Valdes. My father would be happy to initiate a hostile takeover of his parents' business. It'll take a couple of months."

Adrian didn't care about Lucas. At least, that's what he told himself. That kid was a mistake, a moment of foolishness. But deep down, in a place Adrian forbade himself to look, a chilling thought stirred: he doesn't deserve this. I don't wish him any harm.

The world narrowed to a single point. Adrian slowly, as if every joint were resisting the movement, sank to his knees. The gravel dug into the fabric of his pants. He bowed his head, feeling his pride crumble to dust, and quietly, forcing the words out of his constricted throat, he said:

“Let me go.” Please. Don’t treat me, an old man, as a pawn in your games. And please, don’t touch my family.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re riddled with STDs.”

“So be it.”

Noah looked down at him, triumph dancing in his eyes.

“That’s great,” he said softly. “Have a nice summer, Adrian Wayne. See you next year.”

He turned and walked away, leaving Adrian kneeling in the empty park.

At that moment, the professor realized a terrible truth: Noah would never leave him alone.

That same evening, upon returning home, Adrian sat down at his laptop and, without the slightest hesitation, wrote a letter of resignation. He expected phone calls, attempts to talk him out of it, and bureaucratic red tape. But he heard the response the very next day from the dean himself: “Your resignation has been accepted. Thank you for your service. All the best.”

Adrian, who had devoted his entire adult life to his studies and his reputation, stared at the screen and felt nothing but regret. But even stronger was an all-consuming sense of guilt. He blamed himself. For his wild, dissolute lifestyle, for allowing passion to cloud his judgment, for letting chaos into his perfectly ordered world.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The intense, frantic pounding on the door made Adrian jump so hard he nearly dropped the bottle.
He instantly reached for his phone and turned down the music. The jazz cut out.

His heart was pounding in his throat. A cold sweat broke out on his temples. Noah. The thought struck him like a bolt of lightning. Could he really have sent thugs after me?

Adrian slowly tiptoed toward the door, trying not to creak a single floorboard. Fear clamped down on his throat with an icy grip. He could already picture the door flying off its hinges. He was about to slip quietly into the kitchen to grab the heaviest knife or a cast-iron skillet when suddenly a voice rang out from behind the door.

“Adrian! You motherfucker, open the door before I completely lose my mind!”

Adrian froze, rooted to the spot. His brain refused to process what he’d heard.

“Lucas…?” he whispered into the emptiness of the hallway.