The Rejected daughter chosen by the Alpha (Maya and Atila) novel Chapter 117

Chapter 117

Chapter 117

– MAYA

Finally.

(15)

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After an entire week of putting up with that insufferable woman drifting around the apartment like she owned the place, Victoria was gone. The silence she left behind when the door shut was almost sacred. For the first time since I woke up, it was just the two of us.

I lay in bed, bored out of my mind, flipping through TV channels without actually watching anything. My finger pressed the remote automatically, hopping from one show to another until I finally gave up and turned it off with a sigh.

That was when I saw Atila walking out of the closet..

He adjusted the sleeves of his white dress shirt with that same quiet precision, folding the fabric to sit perfectly along his forearms. It was a simple gesture, but there was something intensely masculine about the way he did it.

“Where are you going?” I asked, propping myself up on one elbow.

He lifted his gaze to meet mine.

“To work.”

I frowned immediately.

“I’ve already missed too many days,” he explained. “I don’t know how much longer the dean will tolerate it.”

I tilted my head, studying him.

“Wow. I thought that job didn’t really matter to you.”

A faint smile curved his mouth, almost invisible.

“It doesn’t,” he admitted honestly. “But it helps pass the time faster.”

He finished adjusting his sleeve.

“If I have to wait years before I regain my original nature, this might help me stay sane until then.”

I crossed my arms, thoughtful.

“You’re right.”

I watched him for a moment, taking in every detail of his face.

“I was really enjoying my life as a student too,” I admitted. “I was even making plans to study abroad before we found each other again.”

He didn’t move, just watched me.

I smiled.

“But I don’t see the point in leaving and being away from you anymore.”

Before he could respond, I was already moving.

I jumped out of bed and launched myself at him, wrapping my legs around his waist and kissing him hard. He reacted

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Chapter 117

instantly, his strong arms locking around me, pulling my body tight against his.

The kiss deepened.

Hotter.

Hungrier.

And then he stopped.

He rested his forehead against mine, breathing hard.

“We shouldn’t take this further,” he murmured. “Not unless I want to lose all self-control.”

I smiled, teasing.

“So… am I already failing the semester because of my absences?”

He let out a quiet laugh.

“Nothing a conversation with the registrar can’t fix.”

I smiled and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

“Then wait for me. I’ll go with you.”

He hesitated.

“Are you sure you’re well enough?”

I rolled my eyes.

“Obviously. Stop worrying. Just give me a few seconds.”

I stepped away from him.

But then I stopped.

My hand rose instinctively to my chest.

Something pulled.

A strange pressure. Like something inside me was resisting the distance between us.

“Are you okay?” he asked immediately.

I forced a smile.

“Yes.”

But I wasn’t.

Ever since I woke up, something had changed.

(15

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It was like every time I moved away from him, my chest ached. Like an invisible tether stretched between us, pulling me back. Like part of me was connected to him in a way that was new and unsettling.

Had the bond between us shifted?

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Chapter 117

Before, he was the devoted one. The tethered one. The one orbiting me.

Now…

Maybe it was me.

I shook my head, pushing the thought away.

That was something to figure out later.

Not now.

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I took a quick shower and slipped into jeans and a brown cardigan. When I came out, he was already waiting for me.

And he looked absolutely irresistible.

The white shirt accentuated his broad shoulders, his solid chest, his mature face somehow even sexier now with that fragile layer of humanity beneath it.

We left together.

The Lamborghini was waiting, and a convoy of security followed us all the way to the university.

We exchanged a quick kiss.

Then we split up.

I went to the registrar’s office first to sort out a few pending issues. It took longer than I expected.

After that, I headed to my Cognitive Neuroscience class.

I took notes. Paid attention.

Until I didn’t.

A group of students were messing around with a lighter.

A piece of paper caught fire.

My body froze.

They put it out quickly, laughing.

But the damage was done.

My thoughts drifted to my family.

Where were they?

Atila had told me they ran after the fire and disappeared.

My chest ached just imagining the possibility of running into them someday.

I snapped back to reality when Mr. Smith announced the class was over and everyone began filing out.

I walked down the hallway, still distracted by the thoughts clinging to me since the lecture ended, but I stopped abruptly when I noticed one of the classroom doors was open. For a second, I hesitated. And that was when I saw him inside, calinly organizing books into his bag with that same methodical focus. But he wasn’t alone. A redheaded student stood too close to him. Close enough to invade a space that, instinctively, I considered mine. She was saying something softly, her fingers

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Chapter 117

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resting on his arm with an intimacy that made something hot and uncomfortable twist inside my chest. Átila leaned back subtly, trying to create distance, but she persisted, smiling like she had every right to flirt with my man.

Before I could stop myself, I knocked lightly on the door. The sound echoed in the quiet room. They both turned immediately. His eyes found mine, and I recognized the tension that flashed across his expression, like he wasn’t sure if he was seeing things correctly.

“Professor Volkov,” I said calmly. “Do you have a minute? It’s about my absences.”

He nodded without hesitation.

“Of course.”

Then he turned back to her.

“You can ask your questions tomorrow in class, Suzanne.”

She smiled slowly, far too confident, and winked at him.

“Sure thing, professor.”

As she walked past me, her eyes dragged over my body in silent assessment. I rolled my eyes before stepping inside and closing the door behind me.

The click of the lock echoed through the room. I walked toward him without breaking eye contact, noticing the way he inhaled slowly, like he was bracing himself.

“So,” I said, tilting my head slightly. “You have an admirer”

His expression turned serious immediately.

“I swear I didn’t encourage her.”

I narrowed my eyes, studying every detail of his face, every microexpression.

“I know,” I said softly. “But I understand her.”

1 stepped closer until I could feel the heat of his body, resting my hand against his chest, feeling the steady rhythm beneath my palm.

“It must be hard to focus in class,” I added quietly, “when the professor looks that good.”

His gaze flicked quickly toward the open windows, where students were still passing through the courtyard. Then he wrapped his hand firmly around mine and moved it away.

“I’m still your professor here,” he said under his breath. “We need to be careful.”

I smiled, because his restraint had always been its own kind of temptation. Even so, I let my fingers brush lightly over the front of his pants, and I saw him bite the corner of his lip before I pulled back, testing him.

“You’re right,” I murmured, glancing around. “This place is too exposed.”

I started to walk away.

But didn’t get far.

He grabbed my wrist.

The movement was quick. Before I could react, he guided me to a more secluded corner of the room, where the windows

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