Page 254 of The Professor's Wife

I was weak and afraid.

Oliver was a poison that got into every part of my system. Diseased and polluted, I couldn’t see a way out.

I will find you, Oliver said so many times before in that lesson room. I will always find you, Daisy.

Oliver was late to return that evening. By then, I was in my nightgown, in bed, putting on my night creams. He blazed into the room, barely muttering a hello as he grabbed for his traveling bag from the closet and began loading it with clothes. My movements slowed. I set the cream down, watching him load the very bag he reserved for the cabin.

My heart thumped wildly. All at once, I felt my body react. Felt my face drain of blood. Felt my skin pebble and my body tremble.

He knows.

He’s furious.

He’s going to make me drink a fucking glass of water and I’m going to wake up in that fucking cabin.

My eyes darted to the door. I’d flee. I could make it to the door before he stepped out of the bathroom—

“How long has that car been parked across the street?” When I looked confusedly at him, he gritted his teeth. “The white sedan.”

Confused by the abrupt question, my brows came together. “I—I don’t know.”

“Anyone come around?”

“No.”

Oliver paced back and forth, settling once in front of the blinds. “Shut off the light.”

I hurriedly leaned forward and turned off the lamp. The room pitched in darkness. Oliver cracked the blinds and went quiet. I licked my lips, anxiety building in my belly as he continued to stand there, unmoving like a statue. Finally, he let go of the blinds and put his hands on his hips. He turned away from the window and ran a hand through his thick black hair. I couldn’t see his face in the dark, but I felt his thoughts, dark and…panicked.

I didn’t expect the panic.

“I need to go,” he suddenly declared.

My eyes darted to the cabin bag on the floor beside the bathroom. “Where?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“For how long?”

“Just for a day. Maybe two. I have to go. Tidy up some loose ends. Get this heat off my back. You need to stay in the house and…don’t answer the door. If those damn leeches come knocking, you don’t have to answer them.”

“Oliver—”

“Just tell me you’ll do it,” he cut in sharply. “Daisy, treat this like a lesson, all right? I want you to stay in your nook and not make a peep.”

I squeezed my hands together. “Of course, Oliver. I’ll do that. I just…I’m worried for you.”

He came to me then and settled on the edge of the bed. He took my shaking hands into his and leaned close to me. I saw the outline of him well. Saw the dark pools of his eyes as they bore into mine.

“I know you’re worried for me, but I need you to be perfect for me. Do as you’re told, sweetheart.”

How certain he was that I would.

The imperious tone, the way he implored I be perfect for him like it was all I wanted to be.

“I’ll be perfect,” I promised him.

But I didn’t mean a single word I said.