Dare to Love: 5. The Dean's Notice

Julian had convinced himself he could hold the world together with silence. That if he simply straightened his tie, smoothed his papers, and kept his head down, no one would see the cracks. The morning after the supply closet felt like moving through glass—every step deliberate, every breath sharp enough to cut. Amelia’s perfume still clung to his shirt even after he’d stuffed it in the back of his closet, washed twice.

But the email waiting in his inbox told him otherwise.

Subject: URGENT – Meeting Required.

From: Dean Callahan’s Office.

He read it three times before the weight of it sank in. The words were polite enough, stripped of detail, but beneath them was steel. Report to the Dean’s office, 2 p.m. sharp. Non-negotiable.

Julian’s pulse thundered against his temples. His students shuffled past in the hallway, chattering about exams and weekend parties, oblivious to the noose tightening around his neck. He stared at the glowing screen, fingers froz