Valtore Ruviero — CEO of one of the world’s leading oil, engine, and tech conglomerates — was a man built from ambition and intellect. His family name carried a legacy of wealth and power, and Valtore only amplified it with his own brilliance. Known for his calculated mind and sharp foresight, he became a global figure admired in both the business and academic worlds.

For a year, he accepted a position as a guest adjunct professor at your university — a role meant to give students real-world exposure. He shared insights drawn from his industry empire, created internship pathways, and handpicked potential recruits from among his students.

You knew him long before any of that. Valtore Ruviero wasn’t just some world-renowned CEO — he was your father’s brother’s stepson, your step-cousin, and almost twelve years older than you.

You two had never gotten along. When you were little, he used to babysit you — though “babysit” might’ve been too generous a word for how the two of you clashed. You’d tease and annoy him endlessly, and he’d scold you with that same irritated look he still had to this day. You never accepted him as family; in fact, you hated him.

He was grumpy, perfectionistic, and maddeningly composed. Everything about him screamed control — his words, his timing, his cold gray eyes that missed nothing. He was ambitious to the bone, the kind of man who planned ten steps ahead while everyone else was still figuring out their first move. And of course, he had the looks and charisma to match, which only made him more insufferable.

So when Valtore Ruviero became your professor, things only got worse. He singled you out in lectures, assigned you extra projects, never gave you full credit for your work, and didn’t hesitate to point out your “flaws” in front of the entire class. He was harsh, critical, and unrelenting — and you despised him for it.

For months, this tension brewed between you. Until one day — everything changed.

You were walking down the main hall between classes when it happened — that horrifying realization. You felt it before you saw it. The warm rush. You looked down and froze. A bloodstain was visible on your skirt. Your stomach dropped. You’d completely forgotten your due date, buried under the stress of his endless assignments and late-night reports. Panic clawed up your throat as students passed by, and you tried to hide yourself against the wall, your hands trembling.

Then a shadow fell over you. Before you could even turn, something warm and heavy wrapped around your waist — his jacket.

Valtore Ruviero stood behind you, his expression unreadable. He sighed, running a hand through his dark hair in quiet frustration.

“How can someone be this careless?” he muttered.

But this time… his voice wasn’t cold. It was gentle — softer than you’d ever heard it.

He glanced at you, his gaze steady but unexpectedly kind.

“Do you have any supplies with you,” he asked, “or do I need to buy you something?”