Page 208 of The Professor's Wife

I turned back to the sink, grumbling, “Whatever you have to do then, Oliver.”

Within moments, I felt him come up behind me. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the back of my head. “I’ll make it up to you. I’ll take you out. I think I have a work dinner coming up next week. I’d love to show you off there.”

I couldn’t give in so fast. I remained stiff, which only made him hug me tighter.

“Come on, Daisy. Let me make it up to you.”

Finally, after several moments, I leaned back into his hard chest and raised my hand, gripping his arm as he held me. I rubbed his skin. “I’d like that.”

I kept my gaze from dropping when my fingers passed over a raised line on his arm.

A fresh cut.

Don’t.

Don’t!

My mind screamed at me to remain silent, and I was not going to ignore it.

Much of the week was quiet for me. Oliver was so distracted, his mind constantly elsewhere. Something was still very wrong. He was out of the house more than he was in it, and when he was here, he seemed flustered and panicked.

Then, one morning, he woke up early and was in the kitchen with me, setting up breakfast.

Neither had ever happened without a reason.

I gave him a delighted smile. “Why are you up so early, Professor?”

“Thought I would give my bride a hand,” he returned, winking at me as he placed the pan on the stovetop. He pulled out the eggs as I chopped the strawberries, feeling guarded.

“So,” he said as he turned on the stove element. “The day I had to run into campus and stay late, what time did you go to bed?”

I paused my chopping to think. I hadn’t fallen asleep that night. For a second, I panicked that he’d seen me awake, but then so what? I could make some excuse about him disturbing my sleep.

Another sick feeling washed over me when I thought about the conversation I’d had with Louise. Had he listened to it? There was a very real possibility that he had. I’d been waiting for him to pounce.

Trying to play it cool, I said calmly, “I went to bed at nine.”

“Ah,” he murmured. “I just missed you then.”

I didn’t know why he was lying, but I rolled with it. My spine was razor straight. I prepared myself for his attack should this be a trap. “I wish you would have woken me up.”

“You were sound asleep, and I felt guilty for not being there for dinner.”

“I understand work got in the way, Oliver.”

He made a humming sound. “I can always rely on you, Daisy.”

My hands were clammy now. These were not compliments I was used to. He was buttering me up, or he was getting ready for the hammer to drop.

“Anyway, something unfortunate happened,” he continued. “I only heard about it last night, but a student’s gone missing.”

I very carefully cut into the fruit now.

This…was not what I expected him to say.

It took effort to keep my voice steady. “Missing?”

“Actually, she’s one of my students. Can you believe it?”