I’m In Love With My Brother’s Best Friend?! – Episode 11
The words hung in the lecture hall long after Cole spoke them. Kaitlyn was absolutely perfect. Thirty students reacted with laughter and murmurs, while Cole stood close enough for her to see the instant regret in his eyes. For one dangerous second, his answer had belonged to the man who kissed her, not the teaching assistant evaluating a student.
Professor Calloway cleared his throat and looked pointedly downward. “Her skirt, Mr. Hart.” Cole followed his gaze and finally understood the exercise. Kaitlyn’s outfit did not meet the business-casual standard listed in the course requirements.
Heat rushed into Kaitlyn’s cheeks as the professor explained that students should dress for the job they wanted. The lesson was reasonable, but standing on display beside Cole made it feel intensely personal. When Professor Calloway thanked Cole for the demonstration, Kaitlyn heard several students whisper the word perfect behind her.
She returned to her seat with dignity held together by sheer effort. Sammy leaned closer, eyes wide with questions, but Kaitlyn stared straight ahead. Humiliation warred with the treacherous thrill of Cole’s first answer. If he truly believed she was perfect, why did he keep treating her like a mistake?
The rest of the lecture passed in a blur of ethical frameworks and professional obligations. Every principle seemed designed to mock the conflict between them. Cole never looked directly at her again, which only convinced Kaitlyn that his accidental confession had been real.
When class ended, Cole gathered his papers and left quickly. Kaitlyn followed him into the corridor, calling his name until he finally stopped. Students streamed around them, forcing their argument into a low, furious exchange.
She demanded to know why he had singled her out and embarrassed her before the entire class. Cole told her to grow up and insisted he had merely done his job. His coldness stung more sharply because she had seen the warmth he was trying to conceal.
Kaitlyn opened her mouth to tell him exactly what she thought of his professionalism. Before she could finish, Cole’s attention shifted over her shoulder. His face hardened with immediate recognition.
Brent was walking toward them with Maddy beside him. The bruise along Brent’s jaw had begun to darken where Cole struck him at the party. Seeing him inside the same academic building made Kaitlyn’s body remember the locked bathroom and the drug stealing her balance.
Cole moved subtly closer to her. “Is that the bastard who drugged you?” he asked. Kaitlyn confirmed it, then added that Brent was also the boyfriend who cheated after two years together. Understanding sharpened Cole’s disgust.
Maddy heard the exchange and laughed. She accused Kaitlyn of enrolling in Business Ethics only to get her hands on Cole. Her insult carried down the corridor, turning nearby students into an audience.
Kaitlyn refused to shrink. She told Maddy that not everyone arranged her life around stealing attention from other women. The answer wiped the smile from Maddy’s face and intensified the hostility that had begun in Brent’s apartment.
Maddy ordered Kaitlyn to drop the course because she did not want to see her all semester. When Kaitlyn refused, Maddy broadened the threat, suggesting she leave the university entirely or face a living hell. The ease with which she spoke revealed how often fear had worked for her before.
Kaitlyn met her stare. She had survived being betrayed, homeless, drugged, and cornered. A sorority president with a wounded ego would not drive her from the education she had worked to begin. She told Maddy that her place in the class belonged to Professor Calloway and the teaching assistant to decide.
Then she turned to Cole and asked whether he agreed. The question forced him to choose between professional distance and public support. His expression remained guarded, but he did not step away from her.
Brent scoffed that Kaitlyn could not keep him interested and had no chance with someone like Cole Hart. Maddy assured Cole he did not need to defend a desperate freshman who only wanted his attention. Together, they reduced Kaitlyn to an object passed between men.
Cole’s restraint began to fracture. He remembered Kaitlyn drugged and terrified, then recalled Brent’s admission before the crowd. The idea that Brent could stand here and insult her after what he had done made professional decorum feel meaningless.
Maddy reached toward Kaitlyn as if to drag her away. Cole intercepted the movement. His body formed the same protective barrier it had at the party, but his voice was calmer now—and therefore more dangerous.
He looked directly at Kaitlyn and said that perhaps she did want his attention. A faint challenge entered his eyes. “Maybe that’s what I’d like.” The corridor fell silent around them.
Kaitlyn’s anger vanished beneath a rush of disbelief. Cole had spent the morning pretending she was merely another student, yet he had just contradicted Maddy in front of everyone. Before Kaitlyn could decide whether his words were protection or confession, Brent stepped forward and warned Cole that he did not want her.