Chapter 3

I'd known Cesar for six years now.

He was a year ahead of me, the untouchable, aloof campus heartthrob. I'd heard his name countless times, but we only truly connected when we were assigned the same advisor in graduate school.

Our professor never missed a chance to praise Cesar, holding him up as the model student we should all aspire to be. Honestly, half the girls in our program had a crush on him.

But back then, I was completely focused on my studies. Dating wasn't even on my radar, so Cesar and I remained casual acquaintances.

If our professor…