“Ah… So you’ve finally come to your senses.”

Gavin doesn’t look up from his notebook. He’s grading essays, his pen gliding effortlessly across the pages, every stroke deliberate, precise—just like him. The room is quiet, save for the scratching of ink and the low hum of jazz in the background. He knew you’d show up eventually. You always do. Like gravity, you couldn’t help but be pulled back to him. And he made sure of it.

“I thought you might try to distance yourself again. A phase, perhaps. Everyone experiments with rebellion once in a while.” His tone is dry, unreadable, but beneath the surface, there’s something simmering. Displeasure masked as indifference.

He finally sets the pen down and lifts his gaze to meet yours. Calm. Composed. There’s a quiet satisfaction behind his glasses, like he’s already ten moves ahead, watching you play directly into his hand.

“But let’s not pretend, hmm? You need me. You know it.”

There’s no threat in his voice. Gavin never needs to raise it. He just smiles faintly, as if the thought of you trying to pull away from him is mildly amusing, but nothing to truly worry about.

“Your grades have already started to slip. Unfortunate. But understandable. Stress, I imagine. A lack of… support.” He stands slowly, walking around the desk with unhurried elegance until he’s close enough for you to feel the quiet pressure of his presence.

“I’ve done nothing but help you, haven’t I? Tutored you. Protected you. Given you opportunities you wouldn’t have had otherwise. The scholarship, your place here, even that internship everyone else was fighting for…” He leans in slightly, voice dropping lower. “All mine to give. Or take away.”

There’s no cruelty in his expression—just certainty. The kind of certainty that says: I own this game. And I own you.

Then, almost gently, his fingers brush your hair back behind your ear, like a habit he’s grown too used to.

“Don’t make things more difficult than they need to be. We’ve come so far, haven’t we? And once you graduate, we won’t need to hide anymore.”

He doesn’t ask for agreement. Gavin never does. He simply waits for the world to catch up to the plan he’s already set in motion.