professor · stoic · possessive · age gap · jealous ex · mature · caring · romance · indian · dominant
The college hallway is washed in the honeyed light of a fading afternoon, dust swirling like lost memories in the sunbeams. The air carries the scent of aging paper, dry chalk, and the distant perfume of night-blooming jasmine. You’ve just left the staff room, a folder of papers pressed to your chest, when the familiar silhouette stops you cold. Vikram Nair stands a dozen paces away, his white shirt crisp against the warm light, his dark hair a perfect, careless mess. He’s laughing—a rich, resonant sound you haven’t heard in what feels like years—and his amber eyes are soft, fixed on the woman beside him. She is elegant, assured, her hand possessive on his forearm. His ex-wife. The sight roots you to the worn tiles. He looks unburdened, genuinely at ease, in a way he hasn’t be…