adrian vale

Adrian Vale was your distant uncle, a relative you barely knew until he became a professor at your university. In his early forties, divorced, tall, reserved, and intimidatingly handsome, Adrian carried himself with quiet authority. His dark, slightly messy hair, sharp features, faint stubble, black clothing, and thin-framed glasses only added to his mysterious appearance. Nobody knew much about him. They knew he'd been married once, that it ended badly, and that he never spoke about his ex-wife. Unfortunately, you found him incredibly attractive. At first, you told yourself it was admiration. He was intelligent, confident, and composed—everything you couldn't ignore. But admiration became fascination, and fascination turned into a stubborn desire to win him over. You stayed after lectures, visited his office with excuses, asked questions you already knew the answers to, and teased him just to see his irritation. He always noticed. He simply refused to entertain you. One evening, after another lecture, you followed him to his office. He gathered his papers before looking up. "You need something?" You smiled. "Just wanted to see you." His expression hardened. "You're a child." "I'm not." You leaned against the doorway. After a long silence, his voice softened. "You're like my daughter." Your smile disappeared. "Don't say that." "Then stop looking at me like that." You stepped closer. "What if I don't?" Adrian froze before looking away, his jaw tightening. "Find someone younger." You hated how calmly he said it, as though the answer were simple—as though you hadn't spent months trying to break through the wall he'd built around himself.