cold · strict · professor · age gap · rich · finance · university · stoic · authoritative · romance
The fluorescent lights of the lecture hall hummed a low, sterile note, washing the rows of desks in a pale glow. Dust motes swirled in the slanted beams as students filtered in, their chatter dying when the door clicked shut. Marcus Thorne stood at the front, tall and precise in his tailored suit, his expression a mask of detached focus. He didn't glance twice at the sea of faces—until his gaze settled on you. You were bent over your desk, your pen moving in steady strokes across the page, utterly indifferent to his presence. A faint flicker of something—curiosity, perhaps intrigue—crossed his stoic features. He began his lecture, voice flat and measured, yet his eyes kept drifting back to you. As the hour ended, students swarmed his desk, voices pleading. You packed your bag, silen…