Just One Orgasm!

Everything sounded like a muffled breeze in Emilia’s ears. The room was not quiet, but somehow, she could barely hear anything.

She sat in the chair with her hands resting tightly in her lap, staring somewhere beyond the woman sitting across from her.

There was a folder on the desk.

A thick one.

Emilia hadn’t opened it. She didn’t need to. She already knew what was inside.

Photographs.

Her photographs.

Her and Adrian, together.

Her stomach twisted. She stared at the wall behind the woman, but the room slowly disappeared.

For a moment, she wasn’t sitting inside an administrative office at Blackwood University.

She was back in the classroom.

She could hear Adrian’s voice.

She could see the way he stood at the front of the lecture hall, his sleeves rolled to his forearms.

She remembered the first time he’d looked directly at her when they met again after the club.

Then everything came rushing at her.

His apartment, his hands, his voice, the sex, his patience.... God, it was all too much for her to fake in at the moment.

Her chest tightened.

All of it.

Everything she’d built, and had risked.

Her scholarship, her future, and her entire life at Blackwood. It could all disappear. Just like that.

Emilia swallowed.

She closed her eyes for half a second.

Maybe she should have known better. Maybe she should have been more careful.

Maybe she should have listened to every warning she’d ever received about getting involved with someone who had more power than she did.

Yet, none of that changed what had happened. She loved him. That was the truth.

And suddenly, that truth felt like something the entire world could punish her for.

"Miss Hayes?"

The woman’s voice barely reached her.

Emilia didn’t move.

"Miss Hayes?" The woman leaned slightly forward. She tapped the top of the desk gently. "Miss Hayes?"

Emilia finally blinked.

The office returned.

Emilia inhaled slowly.

Her eyes moved toward the woman.

She was probably in her forties, dressed neatly in a dark blazer. Her hair was pulled into a low bun, and her expression was calm.

Almost too calm.

There was no anger in her face, or accusation.

The woman offered her a small smile. "Thank you for coming."

Emilia said nothing.

The woman glanced down at the folder, then she looked back at her. "Miss Hayes, I was asking if your relationship with Mr. Ashford was simply mutual."

Emilia stared at her. Her lips parted, but nothing came out.

The woman’s expression softened.

She waited.

Emilia’s fingers tightened together.

Mutual? The word echoed inside her head.

Her throat felt painfully tight.

The woman tilted her head. She asked another question. "Was there ever a point when Mr. Ashford made you feel as though you had no choice?"

Emilia’s eyes remained fixed on her.

She remained silent.

The woman continued carefully. "Were you in any way forced by Mr. Ashford?"

Emilia’s expression changed. Her eyes snapped coldly toward the woman. "No."

The word came out rough.

The woman paused.

Emilia swallowed. "I was not a victim."

Her voice was raspy, but steady enough to make the woman’s smile disappear for a moment.

"I suggest you stop concluding."

The woman leaned back slightly. "I’m not concluding anything, Miss Hayes."

"You are."

"I’m trying to understand the situation."

"Then ask me properlg."

The woman studied her.

Emilia’s breathing was still uneven.

She didn’t care.

She wasn’t going to sit there and let someone turn her relationship into something it wasn’t simply because the school had discovered it.

The woman glanced at the photographs inside the folder. "You understand the seriousness of this?"

Emilia’s jaw tightened. "Yes."

"You’re a student, and he’s a faculty member." Her voice softened. "There is a significant power imbalance between you."

Emilia looked down.

She knew that.

She had always known that.

But there was something frustrating about hearing it spoken as though that single fact erased everything else.

The woman folded her hands on the desk. "Miss Hayes, nobody is trying to shame you."

She went on. "We need to know whether this relationship was consensual."

"It was." She answered softly.

The woman nodded slowly. "You’re certain?"

Emilia’s eyes hardened. "Yes."

"And you understand that if you say you were pressured, manipulated, or coerced, the university can take steps to protect you?"

Emilia stared at her.

They were offering her a way out.

A clean one. All she had to do was walk through it. Say the right words. Say Adrian had manipulated her. Say she had been confused.

Say she’d been vulnerable. Say she hadn’t known what she was doing. Then perhaps everything would disappear.

Her scholarship would remain.

Her reputation would remain.

Emilia’s chest tightened.

The woman watched her carefully. "You don’t have to protect him."

Emilia’s eyes lifted. "I’m not protecting him."

"You may feel as though you are."

"I’m not."

The woman gave her another soft smile. "Miss Hayes, I understand youthful desires."

Emilia’s brows pulled together.

The woman’s voice remained gentle. "I really do." She opened the folder and glanced at one of the photographs. "I mean, Mr. Ashford is wealthy, young, and handsome."

Emilia’s face tightened.

"But that doesn’t equal throwing away your life for him."

Emilia stared at her.

The woman closed the folder. "You have a future." She leaned forward slightly. "A very promising one."

Emilia said nothing.

"Your scholarship is one of the most prestigious at this university."

Emilia’s fingers went still.

The woman noticed. "You’ve worked hard to get here."

Emilia’s throat tightened.

"Your academic record is excellent. Your professors speak highly of you." She paused. "You don’t want one relationship to destroy everything you’ve worked for."

Emilia’s eyes lowered.

The words hurt.

Not because they were entirely wrong.

But because they made Adrian sound like an obstacle she’d foolishly placed in front of her future.

He wasn’t. At least, not to her.

The woman continued.

"If you tell us you were manipulated, the university can handle the matter internally."

Emilia looked up.

"We can protect you."

The word sounded almost rehearsed.

Protect.

Everyone wanted to protect her. Yet nobody had asked what she wanted.

The woman leaned back.v"You could say you were the victim."

Emilia’s expression changed.

"You could tell us that you didn’t fully understand what was happening."

Emilia stared at her.

"You could say Mr. Ashford used his position to influence you."

Her heart began pounding.

"And the university would take that into consideration."

Emilia’s lips parted.

The woman smiled gently. "We could drop everything against you. You would be able to continue your education, darling."

Emilia stared at the folder.

"Your scholarship could remain intact."

Her eyes stung.

"You could go home to your mother."

Emilia swallowed.

"And move on with your life."

The room went completely silent.

Emilia stared at her.

Move on? As though Adrian were a bad day. A mistake. A reckless night. Something she could simply put behind her.

The woman looked at her sympathetically. "You are very young, Miss Hayes."

Emilia’s jaw tightened.

"You have your whole life ahead of you."

She nodded slowly.

"So don’t let one man’s mistake become yours."

Emilia’s eyes rose. "His mistake?"

The woman paused. "You understand what I mean."

"No." Emilia’s voice was quiet now. "I don’t."

The woman frowned slightly.

Emilia sat straighter. "You keep talking about him as though he did something to me."

"Because of the circumstances—"

"He didn’t."

The woman stopped.

Emilia’s eyes were wet, but her voice had become firmer. "He didn’t force me."

"I understand that you feel that way."

Emilia’s face hardened. "Feel?" She repeated the word softly. "You asked me a question."

The woman watched her.

Emilia’s fingers slowly unclenched. "You asked if I was a victim." She swallowed. "I’m not."

The woman sighed. "Miss Hayes—"

Emilia shook her head. "You don’t get to decide that for me."

The woman’s expression tightened. "I am not trying to decide anything."

"Then stop giving me words to put in my own mouth."

Silence.

For the first time since Emilia had entered the room, the woman didn’t immediately respond.

Emilia looked down.bHer eyes burned. She wanted to cry, and scream.

She wanted to go back to Adrian. But more than anything, she wanted to know what would happen next.

"What happens to him?"

The woman didn’t answer immediately.

Emilia’s heart sank. "What happens to Mr. Ashford?" she asked again.

The woman folded her hands. "That depends on the investigation."

"Because of the pictures?"

"Because of the relationship."

Emilia’s stomach dropped. "But you don’t know anything else."

"We know enough to be concerned."

"You know that we’re together."

"Yes."

"That’s all." She scoffed.

The woman looked at her. "We have photographs."

"Photographs don’t tell you what happened between two people."

The woman nodded. "But they tell us enough to ask questions."

Emilia looked away. She hated how powerless she suddenly felt.

The woman spoke again. "You should think very carefully before deciding what happens next."

Emilia looked back at her. "What do you mean?"

"If you insist this was a consensual relationship, the university will have to proceed accordingly."

Emilia’s chest tightened. "And if I say I was manipulated?"

"Then we can treat you as someone who needs protection."

Emilia stared at her. It was almost frightening how simple she made it sound. One sentence, and one lie. Then Emilia could walk away untouched.

She could keep her scholarship, and her future.

And for a brief, horrible moment, Emilia imagined herself saying it.

Her stomach twisted, and she closed her eyes.

She couldn’t. She opened them again.

"I won’t lie."

The woman’s expression became unreadable.

Emilia stood slowly. Her knees felt weak. "I’m not a victim." She picked up her purse. "I made my choice."

The woman watched her carefully. "Miss Hayes."

Emilia stopped.

"You should understand that choosing him may cost you more than you realize."

Emilia looked over her shoulder. Her eyes were glossy. "I already know." She turned back toward the door. "And I’m still not going to call myself something I’m not."

Her fingers closed around the door handle.

Behind her, the woman said quietly, "Then you may lose everything."

Emilia’s hand tightened.

For a second, she stood completely still, then she opened the door, and she walked out.