Love Found Me When I Wasn’t Looking (Episode 9)

Daniel’s POV

The next morning, I already knew I was in trouble.

I told myself to be calm. To be professional. To remember the walls had ears and the corridors had eyes. I repeated it like a prayer as I walked into the school compound.

Then I saw Victoria.

She stepped through the gate like the morning itself had dressed her. She wore a deep green dress—simple, elegant, but impossible to ignore. The fabric hugged her in a way that was graceful, not loud, flowing at the top and then gently shaping her waist before falling over her hips. Not tight. Not careless. Just… intentional.

Her hips curved naturally beneath the fabric, moving with an easy confidence that made my breath hitch. The dress swayed slightly as she walked, catching the light, drawing my eyes no matter how much I told myself not to stare.

Her hair was pulled back neatly, exposing her neck, and she wore small earrings that glinted every time she turned her head. She looked like a woman who knew exactly who she was.

And exactly what she was doing to me.

I stopped walking.

I genuinely don’t think I could have moved if I tried.

*Was she trying to kill me?*
*Or did she just not realize how beautiful she had become?*

I knew Victoria had always been beautiful. I loved her at first sight quietly, dangerously. But lately… it felt like her beauty was increasing by the day. As if loving her had sharpened my vision. As if my eyes were learning her more deeply.

She glanced up.

And our eyes met.

That was it.

Something snapped inside me.

---

I followed her into the staff room, my body acting before my brain could catch up. She greeted a few colleagues, calm as ever, but I noticed the way her lips pressed together briefly as if she felt my presence behind her.

I took a seat. Tried to focus.

Failed.

Every time she moved, my eyes followed. When she bent slightly to place her bag down, when she crossed the room to sign the attendance book, when she laughed softly at something someone said.

It felt personal.

Like she was tempting me without touching me. Like she was daring me to forget where we were.

A voice in my head kept whispering, *Say something. Walk up to her. Let them know.*

I imagined it standing up, calling her name the way I did in my head, not the careful tone I used at school. Imagined the silence that would follow. The shock. The truth spilling out at once.

My chest tightened.

I stood up suddenly.

A few heads turned.

Victoria froze.

She looked at me, her eyes wide not afraid, but alert. Warning. *Don’t.*

I opened my mouth.

Nothing came out.

The room felt too small. Too loud. Too quiet. I could feel the weight of every rule, every risk, every consequence pressing down on me.

“Daniel?” someone called.

I swallowed hard. “I—uh—I forgot my lesson plan,” I said quickly. “I’ll be back.”

I walked out before my voice betrayed me.

---

Outside, I leaned against the wall, breathing hard.

That was too close.

Too damn close.

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to steady myself. I wasn’t just attracted anymore. I wasn’t just in love.

I was losing the ability to pretend.

When I turned, she was standing at the end of the corridor.

Alone.

She walked toward me slowly, her heels quiet against the floor. When she stopped in front of me, her voice was barely above a whisper.

“You almost said something.”

“I almost did,” I admitted.

Her eyes searched mine. “Daniel… this is a school.”

“I know,” I said. “That’s the problem. Because every time I see you, I forget everything else.”

She exhaled softly, shaken but not angry. “People are watching.”

“I know,” I repeated. Then, lower, honest. “And I don’t think I can keep pretending you’re just a colleague.”

Her lips parted slightly. Not inviting. Not refusing.

Just human.

“Don’t make this harder than it already is,” she said gently.

“I’m not trying to,” I replied. “I just… don’t want to hide loving you like it’s something shameful.”

That silenced her.

For a moment, we just stood there, the world holding its breath.

Then footsteps echoed nearby.

She stepped back, composure returning, mask sliding perfectly into place.

“I’ll see you in class,” she said.

And just like that, she was gone.

---

I watched her walk away, that green dress moving with her, carrying everything I couldn’t say.

One thing was clear now:

I hadn’t exposed us today.

But it wasn’t because I didn’t want to.

It was because I was still deciding **how**.

And soon…
my silence wouldn’t be enough.
continue reading Episode 10