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.

I didn't turn around right away. I let the chalk scrape across the board:


The silence behind me was full of calculation.


She was the type who didn't like being told the rules—especially not in front of an audience.


The sooner she learned I didn't care whose daughter she was, the better.


When I finally faced them, her legs were crossed, her pen poised in midair like a dagger. She was smiling—but it was all teeth.


A few gasps. One laugh. Mostly from the kid behind her who clearly hadn't learned yet.


Her eyes narrowed. "If I wanted to be lectured at, I'd let my father buy me another law firm."


"And yet here you are," I said, moving closer, voice low and clipped, "in a seat you're not entitled to and a course you won't pass unless you earn it."


She blinked once. Slowly. "I don't earn. I own."


Then she smiled again, a fraction too slow. "You'll break before I bend, Professor."


I leaned in, just enough for only her to hear.


"Then you'd better learn how to sharpen without snapping."


Because if I stayed one second longer, I'd say something worse.


No one spoke to me like that. Not deans. Not lawyers. Not even Richard.


This professor in rolled-up sleeves and a stare made of gravel—


He didn't flinch. Didn't falter. Didn't care that I could buy the building he was teaching in and have it demolished by dinner.


My whole life, people either worshipped me or warned others about me. I was a brand, not a girl. A last name with a seven-digit shadow. No one challenged me—because no one dared to.


Theo Arden didn't see my money, my car, or my bloodline.


I sat back, pen tapping against my desk, heart beating louder than I wanted to admit.


I wasn't sure if I wanted to slap him—


Or see how long I could make him look at me like that again.


Chapter 4 - “Careful, Professor”