Reborn: Rejecting the Professor for the Bad Boy

The man I had secretly loved for ten years finally confessed his feelings to me.

But this time, I rejected him without a moments hesitation.

In my past life, I had said yes, ecstatic beyond belief.

I didn't know then that my dream guy, Professor Adrian Thorne, only confessed to me to spite his adopted sister, Lily, during a petty argument.

Three days after I agreed to be his girlfriend, Lily showed up with teary eyes, acting apologetic and spoiled.

Adrians heart melted instantly. To comfort her, he abandoned me in a pitch-black alleyway during a thunderstorm. He left me there for three agonizing hours.

I was cornered by a drunk who tore my clothes while I screamed for help that never came.

When I finally limped back, shivering and traumatized, asking Adrian why he left me, he simply looked at me coldly and said three words:

"Lets break up."

Later, when Lily discovered I was still lingering in the city, she "accidentally" rammed her car into me, leaving me permanently disabled.

I sued her. I dragged her to court.

But Adrian, the man I once loved, threatened me in the hallway of the courthouse.

"Drop the lawsuit, Harper. Or the next thing you see will be your mothers corpse."

I didn't believe he would actually protect a criminal to the point of murder. I didn't believe he would kill my mom.

I was wrong.

When I found my mother lying in a pool of blood at our doorstep, her body already cold, I realized the truth: this man was a demon.

This time, Im done. I won't be a pawn in their twisted game.

Facing his confession now, everyone looked shocked.

Even Adrian stared at me in disbelief.

But I just walked right past him, straight toward the guy standing behind him.

"Hey, handsome," I said, my voice steady. "Considering a girlfriend?"

Chapter 1

In less than an hour, the news had spread across the entire university campus like wildfire.

It was no secret that I, Harper Vance, had been obsessed with Adrian Thorne for years.

But now, I had seemingly had a change of heart.

I had set my sights on the campus bad boy, Jax Cole.

Realizing I was talking to him, Jax paused, stunned. Then, a slow smirk spread across his face as he capped his water bottle with one hand.

"You serious?"

In front of everyone, he stepped forward, cornering me against the wall.

"If you want to be my girl, theres no room in your heart for anyone else."

He shot a pointed look over my shoulder at Adrian.

Not just himeveryone knew I was practically famous for being Adrians doormat.

I nodded, looking him in the eye. "I'm serious. From now on, I only like you."

I paused, then added, "Starting right now."

A flash of surprise hit Jaxs eyes, quickly replaced by a complex, playful look.

"Alright then. Ill trust you this once."

He pulled a vintage wooden beaded bracelet off his wrist and slid it onto mine.

"Family heirloom. You wear this, youre mine. No take-backs."

Jaxs entourage looked like their jaws were about to hit the floor.

"Jax, dude, since when are you so easy?"

"Thats Harper Vance. Don't you usually roll your eyes when you see her? How did you just..."

Jax shot them a glare. "Cut the crap. Go get me a ring and some flowers. Now."

His tone was lighter than Id ever heard it.

I knew why he used to give me the stink eye. He hated seeing me chase after Adrian like a desperate puppy.

He had always had a crush on me. This time, I was going to give himand myselfa real chance.

As I turned to leave with Jax, a voice called out from behind.

"Harper!"

Adrian finally snapped out of his shock, frowning deeply.

"Harper Vance, are you sleepwalking?" he demanded. "You rejected me? Why did you send me love letters every day? Why did you bring me breakfast every morning?"

Adrian looked genuinely confused. He thought bagging me would be easy. He never expected I wouldn't even deign to look at him.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Professor Thorne, which of those breakfasts didn't end up in your trash can?"

"Nobody waits in the same spot forever. Besides..." I sharpened my gaze. "I was confused before. There are boundaries between students and professors. We should keep them."

I turned to walk away, but Adrians frown deepened.

He was a young entrepreneur, serving as a guest lecturer because of his friendship with the Dean.

I hadn't gone five steps before he grabbed my arm.

"Harper."

"You said you loved me."

He was such a weirdo. Before, when I chased him relentlessly, he couldn't be bothered to look at me. Now that I was ignoring him, he was obsessed.

"I see your worth now," he said urgently. "Just say yes, and youre my girlfriend. Right now."

I tilted my head, looking at him with mock surprise.

"Wow. You make it sound like you're the Emperor choosing a concubine."

"Why do I have to say yes just because you confessed?"

"Who I like is my freedom. And honestly, why would I like you? Youre so much older than me."

A sneer curled on my lips.

"I prefer guys my own age."

His face drained of color. His grip loosened.

I seized the chance and walked away fast.

When I was finally out of his sight, my heart was still pounding against my ribs.

I lied.

I wasn't just rejecting him because of age. Since being reborn, I physically couldn't handle being near him.

Seeing his face just brought back the image of my mother in that pool of blood.

Her eyes wide open, staring at nothing.

Her dying words echoing in my mind: My sweet girl, stay away from that man... run...

So this time, Im listening to Mom.

Chapter 2

I thought making things clear that day would stop Adrian.

After all, his confession was impulsive. He only did it to make Lily jealous.

In my past life, I was too stupid to see the game. I was just the rebound.

This time, I was determined to stay far away.

But unexpectedly, Adrian stuck to me like gum on a shoe.

"Harper, look. Professor Thorne keeps staring at you," my classmate nudged me during a lecture.

"That video of him confessing to you went viral on the campus network. Youre famous now."

"Look at those soulful eyes. Maybe your years of being a simp actually worked? Maybe you moved him?"

I followed her gaze. Adrian caught my eye instantly.

I looked away in less than a second.

It was a headache. I had signed up for all his classes back when I was chasing him. Now, for the sake of my GPA, I had to sit through them.

My classmate kept gossiping, so I sighed. "Just listen to the lecture."

"Stop spreading rumors with the others. Professor Thorne and I have nothing to do with each other."

I tuned out the class, focusing entirely on my dinner plansHot Pot with Jax.

When class ended, a torrential downpour had started outside.

Of course, I didn't have an umbrella.

Students trickled out of the building, leaving me standing under the eaves like a sitting duck.

Suddenly, a black umbrella shielded me from above.

"Take this," Adrians deep, magnetic voice sounded right by my ear.

In the past, hearing him speak to me would have kept me awake all night with excitement.

Now, I just wanted to run.

"No thanks. My boyfriend is picking me up."

I pulled out my phone to text Jax. The screen lit up.

Adrians face went dark.

"Your wallpaper. When did you change it?"

I looked at my phone innocently. "This? Oh, I changed it the day we started dating."

"I have a boyfriend now. Its inappropriate to have another man on my screen."

Adrians expression turned stormy.

For five years, my wallpaper had been a candid shot of Adrians back. He knew about it.

But the moment I was reborn, I deleted it. I couldn't find a stock photo I liked, so I used a selfie Jax had sent me.

Honestly, it was growing on me.

"Harper..." Adrian started, his voice low.

"Harper!" Jaxs voice cut through the rain.

A sleek car pulled up. Jax stepped out, saw the umbrella in Adrians hand, and smirked.

He opened his own umbrella, walked over, and wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Professor Thorne, thanks for the offer, but it's not needed. I pick up my own girlfriend."

I got into Jaxs car.

As we drove away, I looked back. Adrian was standing there like a statue in the rain, staring after us.

If I didn't know the monster hiding underneath, I might have been fooled by the depth of emotion in his eyes.

"Stop looking. Your Professor is gone," Jax said, glancing at me with a hint of sarcasm.

I punched his arm lightly. "What do you mean 'mine'? I have nothing to do with him."

Jax laughed, surrendering. "Okay, okay, my bad."

We arrived at the Hot Pot place. He held my hand the whole time, his gaze terrifyingly gentle.

"Harper, I swear I feel like I'm dreaming. I wake up and you're actually my girlfriend."

I slapped his arm again. "Stop being weird. Let's eat, I'm starving."

After dinner, we went to a movie. I was so tired I fell asleep.

When I woke up, I was lying on Jaxs lap.

He had held the same pose all night, terrified to wake me.

"Is your leg numb?" I asked.

Jax tried to look cool. "Nah, impossible."

But as we walked out, I saw him grimacing in the reflection of a glass window, trying to shake the feeling back into his leg.

I smiled to myself.

Maybe loving someone else was the right choice after all.

Chapter 3

I wanted to go home and see my mom.

In my last life, she was the person I failed the most. Just because I fell in love, she ended up dead.

I wanted justice for my disability, but she became the hostage Adrian used against me.

Drop the lawsuit, or youll see your mothers corpse.

That sentence still haunted my nightmares.

After school, I was waiting for a cab at the gate when a bright pink Porsche swerved and accelerated straight toward me.

My legs turned to jelly. The memories of the crash flooded back.

It was Lilys car!

Panic seized me. I can't get hit.

I scrambled to the side, rolling on the pavement. The Porsche slammed into a stone pillar, the hood crunching on impact.

The door opened. Lily stepped out in a frilly princess dress. She didn't care about her wrecked car. She only had eyes full of hate for me.

"You slut! You think you can seduce my brother? Look at yourself!"

"You're ugly and manipulative. I see right through you."

This woman was seriously mentally ill.

She tries to run me over and then insults me?

She was so spoiled by Adrian she thought she was above the law. If she didn't go to prison this time, there was no justice in the world.

I looked at her, baffled. "Lady, do I know you? Why are you trying to kill me?"

"This is a civilized society. If you mess with me again, I'm calling the cops."

Lily crossed her arms, looking down her nose at me.

"Don't you know who my brother is? Even if I killed you today, nothing would happen to me."

"Is that so?"

I sneered and dialed 911.

"Police? I'm at the University gate. Someone just attempted to murder me with a vehicle."

Lily thought I was a pushover. She didn't know I was a ghost who had crawled back from hell.

In my past life, when Adrian protected her after she killed my mom, I took a knife and stabbed them both before turning myself in.

I believe in revenge.

Soon, Adrian and the police arrived together.

"What happened?"

Lily immediately put on her act, clinging to his arm, sobbing.

"Adrian, this woman bullied me! I was just driving, and she threw herself at my car! She wrecked my Porsche!"

I almost laughed. She lied as easily as breathing.

The officer asked me for a statement. I simply pointed to the surveillance camera on the street light.

"Just watch the tape. Itll clear everything up."

Adrian nodded, moving to check the footage, but Lily grabbed him.

"Brother, don't you believe me?"

Adrian gently peeled her hand off his arm.

"At home, I can tolerate your tantrums. But outside, you follow the law."

"If you're innocent, I'll help you. If you did this, I won't protect you."

Panic flashed across Lilys face.

The footage was clear. She deliberately swerved to hit me.

Lily was taken to the station for questioning. As they put her in the squad car, she glared back at me.

"Harper Vance, just you wait!"

I brushed the dust off my hands.

Wait? I've been to hell and back. Im not scared of a brat.

When I got home, I cooked dinner for my mom. Seeing her alive, eating the food I made, felt better than anything in the world.

After dinner, I walked Jax out. But in the stairwell, someone pinned me against the wall.

"Harper..."

Adrian. He was drunk.

"Harper... don't leave me."

Chapter 4

I was baffled. Adrian didn't like me. He loved Lily.

Why was he acting like the deep, soulful romantic now?

I pushed him away.

"Adrian, you're drunk. Let go."

Luckily, Jax hadn't gone far. I called him back, and together we shoved Adrian into a cab.

On the way back up, Jax looked serious. "Adrian likes you."

"Don't be stupid," I scoffed. "He just lost his designated admirer and feels uncomfortable. He misses the ego boost."

Jax shook his head. "Men know men. I know that look."

I still thought he was crazy. No man destroys the woman he loves and her entire family.

If thats love, Id rather be hated.

I tried to avoid Adrian after that.

But his sister, Lily, kept finding ways to torture me.

Shed "accidentally" spill red wine on me at the cafeteria. Shed swap my assignments so Id get failed.

She even transferred to our school.

On her first day, she gathered a clique of mean girls and blocked my path.

"Harper Vance, know your place. Mess with the Princess, and you'll regret it."

But they never got the chance to really hurt me.

My "Guardian Angel" was always there.

Jax was sharp. He noticed their tricks and pulled strings behind the scenes. After a few silent warnings from the Cole family, they didn't dare touch me.

Lily tried everything. She framed me for theft to get me expelled.

But Jax was the heir to the Cole Empire. One phone call to the Dean, and the problem vanished.

Frustrated, Lily changed tactics. She tried to convince Adrian to leave.

"Brother, you don't need the money. Why teach here?"

"Let's go home. You said you'd give me half the company. Teach me how to run it instead."

Adrian didn't even look up from his papers. "I'll tell my assistant to train you."

Her beauty trap failed.

So, Lily went nuclear. She decided to drug Adrian and frame me for it, intending to expose a "scandalous teacher-student affair" via livestream to ruin my reputation forever.

Her assistant looked worried. "Miss Thorne, are you sure? If Adrian finds out you drugged him to get rid of Harper, hell be furious..."

"Shut up," Lily snapped.

"I know my brother. He's just temporarily blinded by that bitch."

"I don't believe that after seeing us shamed on a livestream, hell still look at her with anything but disgust!"

Lily set the trap. She dosed Adrians juice.

She planned for her bodyguards to drag me into the hotel room.

"Is the trap set?"

"Yes, Miss Thorne."

Lily smiled, adjusting the hidden camera.

"Harper Vance, after tonight, youll be the internets favorite punching bag. And my brother will hate your guts."

She handed the camera controls to her assistant.

"Ten minutes. Start the stream and burst in. Were putting on a show."

The assistant nodded, waiting outside.

He checked his watch. Three... two... one...

Times up.

The assistant took a deep breath, kicked the door open with the camera rolling, ready to recite his script.

But when he saw the bed, his eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

"Miss... Miss Thorne? Why are YOU in the bed?"

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