Chapter 28: A Miracle

Emerald’s POV

The moment Professor King’s lecture came to an end, he closed the folder on the lectern.

"That will be all for today."

Almost immediately, the lecture hall came alive with movement as students began packing their notebooks.

Professor King gathered his things without unnecessary delay. The instant he stepped away from the lectern, I stood up.

"Emerald?" I vaguely heard Elias call my name behind me. "Where are you going?"

"I will be right back." I didn’t stop to explain.

Keeping my eyes on Professor King’s retreating figure, I slipped through the doorway just before he disappeared into the hallway.

The corridor outside was considerably quieter. I looked to my left, then to my right. There... Professor King was already walking towards the far end of the hallway.

The distance between us made me blink in surprise. How did he get that far already? Had he always walked that quickly?

I hurried after him. Just as I began closing the distance, he raised his phone to his ear. A second later, he turned around the corner at the end of the corridor.

"Professor King..." I quickened my pace.

By the time I reached the same corner, I immediately looked ahead. Then I stopped. The corridor beyond stretched in two different directions, but it was completely empty.

I frowned. Where on earth did he go? He couldn’t have disappeared.

I glanced down both hallways once more, hoping to catch sight of him, but there was nothing. Not even his shadow.

A quiet breath escaped my lips. "So much for that."

There was little point standing there any longer, so I turned around and slowly made my way back towards the classroom.

Since speaking to him in person hadn’t worked, I would simply have to think of another way.

---

By the time I returned, most of my classmates had already settled back into their seats.

Elias looked up as I sat down. "Everything alright?"

"Yes."

He seemed as though he wanted to ask something else, but I had already opened my laptop.

The university portal appeared on the screen within moments. I searched for the list of lecturers assigned to our MBA programme before opening Professor King’s profile.

I saw his office location, faculty and Email address.

I kept scrolling. My eyes stopped. There was no phone number. I searched the page again, just to be certain, but nothing like that appeared.

Among all the lecturers listed, Professor King was the only one whose contact number hadn’t been included. Only his university email address appeared beneath his profile.

I stared at the screen for several seconds. Seriously?

Before I could think any further, Elias leaned slightly towards me. "What are you looking for?"

Almost instinctively, I lowered the screen of my laptop. "Nothing."

He looked mildly surprised but didn’t ask again.

I reached for my phone instead. Since I already knew Professor King’s work email, it didn’t take long to begin composing a new message.

I briefly explained the situation before thanking him once again for helping me at the supermarket. Finally, I asked him to send me his bank details whenever he had the time.

My thumb hovered over the send button, then I paused. A subtle internal resistance crept in.

This isn’t appropriate.

I stared at the email once more. His university email belonged to the Business School. Using it to discuss something personal suddenly didn’t seem right, even if my intention was only to repay him.

After a few more seconds, I quietly discarded the draft. A tired sigh escaped me as I slipped the phone back into my bag.

I would simply have to find another way.

---

Our next lecture ended shortly before noon. Afterwards, we had a short break before the following class.

Rather than remaining inside the lecture hall, I picked up my bag and headed straight towards Professor King’s office.

The administrative assistant greeted me with a polite smile. "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon," I greeted back. "I was hoping to see Professor King."

"I’m sorry." She offered me an apologetic smile. "Professor King has already left for the day."

I couldn’t hide my disappointment. "So early?"

"He only lectures on Mondays, and he is hardly around on other days."

The reminder made me smile helplessly. Of course. I had completely forgotten.

I hesitated briefly before asking, "Would it be possible to have his phone number?"

The smile on her face became noticeably more cautious. "I’m afraid we don’t usually give out lecturers’ personal numbers."

"I understand." I smiled politely. "It’s just that I really need to get in touch with him regarding something important."

She remained uncertain, so I found myself explaining the situation at the supermarket as briefly as possible without revealing the details.

By the time I finished, her expression had softened considerably. "Please don’t share this with the other students," she said as she reached for a small notepad. "This is Professor King’s personal number. It isn’t his office line."

"I won’t." I offered a small nod. "I promise."

After carefully writing the number down, she handed the paper to me.

"Thank you so much," I said, hiding the smile threatening to make its way to my lips.

"You’re welcome."

I looked at the number once more before carefully putting it inside my notebook. For reasons I couldn’t quite explain, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

Considering how difficult the past three days had been, obtaining his phone number felt almost like a small miracle.

At least now, I could finally return his money.

---

The rest of my classes passed without incident.

By the time they ended, the afternoon sun had already begun sinking lower across the campus. I packed my laptop into my bag before standing.

Elias looked up from his seat. "Heading back already?"

"I’m going to the library."

"Perfect." He slung his backpack over one shoulder. "I was planning to study too."

I looked at him. "You were?"

He smiled. "Exams won’t wait for either of us."

I couldn’t argue with that.

The library was unusually quiet. After finding an empty table, we settled down opposite each other.

To my surprise, Elias never attempted to start another conversation. He simply opened his laptop, arranged a few reference books beside it and focused entirely on his work.

The silence made studying much easier than I had expected.

Hours slipped by almost unnoticed. When I finally closed my notebook and began packing my things, Elias looked up.

"Finished?"

"I think so."

He smiled before closing his own laptop. "What next?"

"I was thinking of having dinner somewhere nearby."

"I’m starving too." He rose from his chair. "There’s a restaurant not far from the campus. The food is good." He paused briefly before adding, "Would you like to go together?"

A quiet sigh escaped me. At this point, refusing would only make things awkward. Besides, we had just spent the last few hours studying at the same table without any problems.

"Alright."

His smile widened. "Great."

Together, we left the library and headed out of the building.