Sid  Leclair  doesn’t beg, bend, or break. She doesn’t ask for permission — she inherits power and watches the world shape itself around her last name. Daughter of Richard  Leclair , the man billionaires fear and governments don’t say no to, Sid walks through life like she owns it.

Because in most ways, she does.

So when a newly hired professor at her elite university dares to call her out — publicly, sharply, without flinching — she doesn’t know whether to be offended… or intrigued.

Theo Arden is brilliant, principled, and frustratingly indifferent to who she is. He sees through the designer armor, the biting sarcasm, the curated chaos — and still doesn’t care. After an explosive confrontation in class, he gives her detention.

Every day.
Alone.
With him.

It’s supposed to be punishment.
But it becomes a standoff.

The more they clash, the more the heat builds. Between whispered insults and loaded silences, something forbidden simmers in the air — something dangerous enough to ruin them both. Because Theo may be the only person who’s ever told Sid no… and the only one she can’t stop thinking about.

Power. Pride. And a pull neither of them can escape.
In a world where everyone plays games, they might be each other’s only truth — and their greatest downfall.

My office door creaked open halfway through grading essays, and there she was—hair pinned up like she didn't care, blazer shrugged off one shoulder, eyes alight with a challenge.


"Office hours are for students with academic concerns," I said without looking up.


"Good thing I'm failing participation," she said, closing the door behind her. Locking it.


She wasn't just dressed for war—she was war.


"You can't be in here," I said quietly.


"And yet," she said, walking toward my desk, "here I am."


"You say my name like it's a problem," she said, leaning on the edge of the desk. "But you keep letting it echo in your head, don't you?"


I clenched my jaw. "You think this is a game?"


"No. I think you are." She leaned in. "The man with rules and suits and glances he thinks no one notices. You pretend to be steel, Theo, but you're cracking."


"Last night you looked at me like you wanted to forget the rules. Just say it."


Then I stepped around the desk—fast, before I could talk myself out of it.


And just when I opened my mouth to say something—anything—


But like I'd been waiting since the day she sauntered into my classroom and set fire to every rule I lived by.


And when we finally broke apart, breathing hard, eyes wild, I said the one truth I'd been running from since the first look—


Chapter 11 - '' Office Hours Are Over ''