THE DARK SECRET | Book 1 | Dark Romance

3•

• Vera •

" Mr. Clarke." I greeted him by nodding my head once with a smile. He stopped himself from turning away and narrowed his eyes at me before clearing his throat, folding his arm behind his back.

" Everyone take a piece of paper, all, but Ms. Orlov." his serious face and furrowed brows made my heartbeat increase, and I stared at him with raised brows.

" Sir, is there a problem? Why can't I take the quiz?" then it hit me, I wasn't in the class yesterday.

" I know you are more than capable of earning grades by doing other assignments and quizzes. This one won't be necessary for you." this was a slight tug at the corner of his lips, but from where I was seated, I'm not sure if it was a challenging smile or an act of frustration.

I watched the students begin with the quiz while I just sat there and nibbled at my bottom lip and looked down at my fingers that were folded on the table before me. Feeling heavy eyes on me, I looked around the classroom only to find no one was looking at me, but their eyes were intensely on their papers; for God's Saks! Even Laura, the girl who hated every single hour of school, was now she glaring down at the paper like her life depends on it.

Liam was nowhere to be seen and I hate the thought of being alone without him, but then again; everyone here was alone even if they had friends in the same classroom, but with Mr. Clarke standing there, there were; or rather we were standing on the judgment ground.

Adjusting my cat-eye-shaped glasses, I peered up at Mr. Clarke, only to choke on my spit at the sight of his dark eyes staring right back at me. He wasn't even ashamed that he was watching me, he continue staring making me sink in my seat and look down at my notebook.

Once the class had finished with their exam in 10 minutes—even though most wanted more time, Mr. Clarke's eyes finally dragged away from me, and slapped the papers on his desk before leaning against the table, folding his heavy arms over his large chest and his legs folded over the other.

How he managed to have such a large body like that astonished me, family genes probably?

I tried to avoid how his clothes were tight around his strong muscular body, I'd never seen someone as built as him, I didn't notice that before; I didn't have time to. He wore a grey button-down shirt with a black tie, then his black pants with a leather belt securing it in place.

His sleeves were rolled up, revealing his strong veiny arms, with every click he made on the pen in his strong callused fingers, the bone of his arm flexed, and the hairs on his arms were surprisingly a sight to see.

He began with the lesson and I averted my eyes away from him when I noticed his eyes fell on me. I looked down at my notebook and started to write down every little word he said with that deep—stop it, Vera!

Clearing my throat, I continue to focus without even glancing at Mr. Clarke like the other students were. And that made it pretty difficult for me because he noticed; that's why he called my name.

" Ms. Orlov, I hope you're paying attention," he spoke behind gritted teeth. What? Did he want my attention now?

" I am, Mr. Clarke." I nodded my head at him before looking down at my notebook again, scratching one wrong word and replacing it with another one.

" What is part 2, Ms. Orlov?"

" What?"

" I don't repeat my questions," he grunted and glared at me from the front of the hall. I looked around at the students that looked at me before looking ahead.

God! His questions were specific! Now what should I do?

" Part two of what, Mr—"

" Out of my classroom, Ms. Orlov." my eyes widen at his nerve making me clench my jaws at how disrespectful he was.

I heard tapping beside me, and when I jerked to the side to pick up my laptop bag, I saw Ariane—a girl I didn't talk to much to my displeasure, she was a very sweet and smart girl. I looked at where she was tapping and noticed that she was pointing at part two of her notes, part two was Western Ethics!

" I know the answer, Mr. Clarke. But you could've been a little specific—"

" I don't like repeating myself, Ms. Orlov. Either you say the answer or get the hell out of my classroom!" He growled which made gasps erupted the whole hall.

Swallowing, I decided to spare the poor students and myself from the sight of his wrath. So I opened my mouth to answer when the bell rang.

Everyone stilled, no one moved an inch which made him tilt his head to the side, his arms folded, his brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed waiting for my answer.

Did he recruit the student or something? In just one freaking week?

Gulping, I answered. " Part ll is the Western Ethics."

" What is part 1 talking about?" is he for real?

I took a large inhale and looked down at my notebook before giving him a fake grin. " Indian Ethnics."

" What's the difference between the two ethics?" my eyes widen in disbelief, looking around at the poor students that sat there glaring at the papers, wanting nothing more than to glare at Mr. Clarke.

" Hot." Stephany—the red-haired bimbo who was admiring Mr. Clarke previously, commented as she twirled a fake strand of her long hair around her finger.

" Look over here, Ms. Orlov." he hissed which made me snap my eyes at him, despite the glaring he was giving me, my glare could kill, both of us were glaring at each other.

" The class is over, Mr. Clarke." I tried to maintain my angry voice, but I could see the amusement in his eyes through his dark orbs.

" Class dismissed. Ms. Orlov stay back and answer the damn question."