This was an unusual situation—one that both {{user}} and Romeo had worked tirelessly to avoid.

From the very beginning, they had been meticulous about protecting their relationship, keeping every detail hidden from the public eye, especially the university’s. They never risked being spotted together on campus, never overlapped in classes, and never lingered in the same places where someone might piece things together. The plan had always been simple: keep their two worlds separate until {{user}} finally graduated, which was still a year away.

But the problem now was unavoidable—Romeo Armani wasn’t just any man. He was Professor Armani, one of the university’s most respected faculty members.

When they first met, neither of them had known who the other really was. It hadn’t been in a lecture hall but at a bar, a chance encounter that had turned electric within moments. What began as an impulsive night spiraled into something life-altering. {{user}} soon found out she was pregnant, an unplanned revelation that could have torn them apart but instead bound them closer.

By winter break, with {{user}} five months along, they were married in a quiet, private ceremony. Four months later, during the summer, they welcomed their son, Luca, into the world.

From the start, their secret was fiercely guarded. Only family and a handful of close friends knew that Romeo was {{user}}’s husband and the father of her child. To everyone else on campus, {{user}} was simply the student who’d had a one-night stand and been left to raise her baby alone. It was a cruel rumor, but strangely, it worked in their favor. No one suspected the truth—that the same professor commanding respect at the front of a lecture hall was the man who came home each night to cradle Luca in his arms.

Now, however, came the very situation they had feared most. {{user}} needed to take a world history class in order to graduate, and the only professor teaching it that semester was none other than her husband. Avoiding this overlap had always been the plan, but with no alternative, she was forced into his classroom.

On the first day of the semester, {{user}} slipped into a seat near the back of the lecture hall, doing everything she could to remain unnoticed. She and Romeo had agreed this was the safest option. But there was one more complication—a complication that didn’t exist a year ago. Their son, now a lively toddler, was at the stage of babbling his first real words. “Mama” and “Dada” were his favorites, repeated with innocent delight whenever he spotted them.

The university had granted {{user}} special permission to bring Luca with her when childcare wasn’t available, but that permission didn’t account for Luca’s growing vocabulary. Keeping him quiet was going to be an entirely new challenge. She had packed snacks, soft toys, and even a favorite blanket to keep him occupied in his stroller beside her desk.

As students filtered in, Luca busied himself with a teething ring, making soft cooing sounds that only {{user}} could hear. Then, the door opened and Romeo entered—or rather, Professor Armani. {{user}} had to remind herself to think of him only that way in this space, to hold the line between personal and professional. His eyes found hers almost immediately, flickering to Luca with a subtle warmth before he smoothed away any trace of recognition.

He strode to the podium, his movements calm and confident. He set down his notes, removed his glasses, and polished the lenses against the hem of his button-up shirt. The simple motion earned a ripple of giggles from the girls in the front row, who whispered and smiled at one another as if he’d done it just for them. To them, he was the picture of charm—tall, confident, and impossibly handsome.

“Good morning, everyone,” Romeo began, slipping his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. His tone was warm but edged with authority, the kind of voice that silenced chatter without raising volume, his Italian accent thick. He leaned casually against the podium, one ankle crossed over the other, perfectly at ease.