Divorced, But Queen - Chapter 520: Chapter 520

Owen pretended not to understand what she meant and looked away. "This is normal attire."
If it weren't for the reddening of his exposed ears, Aria might've really believed him.
She sighed lightly. "So I misunderstood?"
"Fine, think what you want." His voice was mumbled, but that didn't stop Aria from hearing him clearly.
He stared at her with deep eyes, as if he could see right into her soul.
The air was warm, charged with sparks ready to ignite.
Owen lowered his eyes and slowly leaned in.
A single finger pressed against his chest to stop him.
Aria said, "Owen, if you don't eat soon, the food will go cold."
She looked up at him, her gaze slightly raised. What should've been an indifferent expression was now tinged with laughter, adding a rare brightness to her delicate face.
Owen caught her hand, and his lips drew closer. He stopped just a finger's width away. "We haven't kissed in a while."
Aria tilted her head up and swiftly kissed his lips.
Their lips touched with a crisp "mwah" sound.
"There, now we've kissed." Owen chuckled and seemed satisfied. "That'll do for today."
Aria said, "If you ever feel like kissing me, just go for it."
So far, every rare kiss they'd had was initiated by her, and only then would he take things a bit further.
Owen's smile deepened, his eyes reflecting her image. "Then I won't bother asking next time."
"Sure..."
Before Aria could finish, he leaned down and blocked her words with a kiss. His lips gently traced hers, then let go a moment later. "Pearl has Ella with her..."
"But I'm all alone." His voice was hoarse, tinged with a note of pleading.
He was showing vulnerability.
Aria occasionally stayed at his place, but Owen didn't want "occasionally" anymore. He wanted "always."
His desire was growing.
She lifted her hand and tousled his soft hair. "Beg me."
"Please." He called her name in that same hoarse voice. "Madelyn."
Aria paused, overwhelmed by a surge of joy. "Alright. After I give Pearl her last acupuncture treatment next month, I'll move in permanently."
The beginning of the school term had been busy, and she didn't feel like packing.
Owen said, "Just one more month."
A month would go by fast.
Owen was in an exceptionally good mood. "Let's eat."
After dinner, Aria received two friend requests.
[I'm Mandy Worley.]
She accepted. A message followed immediately:[Thank you for speaking up for me.]
Samuel had been determined to secure the project, but Mandy ended up winning it.
Mandy was approaching retirement. Several of her best students had already graduated. The dean decided to transfer Samuel to her team, though at a lower rank.
[You're amazing,] Aria replied.
Mandy messaged again: [Heffner Hospital said that if there's any need during the project, they'll reach out to you. They'd like you to attend the launch.]
Aria scoffed and tapped open the second request. [I'm Liam. I have something to discuss. Please accept.]
Expressionless, she blocked him immediately.
Time passed. Helen and the others had gotten used to their busy schedules again.
Back in high school, they longed for the freedom of college life. But after surviving four years of undergrad, they realized that being a grad student was no easier.
Their schedules were packed, and even the basic experiments had to follow strict progress requirements.
For now, they were all attending shared lab courses.
Luckily, the current topics were simple enough that they could finish their tasks and compile a final evaluation report.
That day, Aria and Sophie called the three students to their office.
Aria explained, "We brought you here to talk about your training plans."
Sophie looked at Mike. "You've already chosen your research direction, so we won't dwell too much on yours. Here's your semester plan from us and Ms. Saxon. Let us know if you have any concerns."
Mike glanced over the plan and said he had no objections.
Then Aria looked at Helen and Larry. "The independent lab space approved by the department is almost ready. For the first two months, you'll be doing foundational experiments with me."
Helen's eyes lit up. "We'll have our own lab?"
Not all professors had their own labs. Many newly promoted or niche-field professors had to share public labs. Even Samuel didn't get his lab until two years in.
Sophie smiled. "Don't underestimate how highly the school values Ms. Saxon."
Mandino University had made it clear why they recruited Aria, and Martin even helped recruit her again.
The school wanted not just an outstanding teacher, but someone who could produce groundbreaking research.
If Aria needed it, she could have her pick of PhD or master's students from across the university.
Sophie understood all this but kept it to herself.
She handed the plans to Helen and Larry. "Take a look. Any questions?"
Larry stood in the middle, and Mike, standing to his left, couldn't help peeking at his paper.
Their plans were completely different. Mike had a clear research direction and would mainly be working with Martin's team. Larry would be following Aria full-time, and Helen likely the same.
Sophie explained, "You'll spend this first year with Ms. Saxon. In the second year, you'll collaborate with other teams. Focus on building a strong foundation now. If you perform well, we might make an exception next semester..."
Halfway through, Sophie paused, as if realizing she'd said too much. "Forget it. It's too early to talk about that now."
The curiosity burned in Helen and Larry.
Mike clutched his plan and couldn't hold back. "Ms. Morgan, am I only working with Mr. Schmidt? I won't be following Ms. Saxon at all?"
Sophie frowned slightly. "Wasn't that what you requested?"
Mike instinctively looked at Aria and flushed. "I didn't ask for that. Apart from my own research focus, I'd like to follow Ms. Saxon for the other course experiments too."
After hearing Larry's story, Mike admired Aria deeply and genuinely wanted to learn from her. He realized his previous attitude had been narrow-minded.
Sophie understood the misunderstanding and explained with a smile."We're not excluding you. You focus heavily on experiments in undergrad and have more skills in that area than the others. Having you work with Mr. Schmidt's team is because you'll gain more that way."
In fact, his singular focus on experiments had hurt his exam performance. Only his stellar interview brought his score back up.
Martin valued this and hoped to bring him into Aria's team.
Sophie explained, "Helen and Larry need time to catch up this first year. You're already strong in experimental work, so you should make the most of learning from Martin's PhD students before they graduate."
She added, "When Ms. Saxon starts new projects, of course you'll be included. Don't worry."
Mike relaxed and smiled. "Got it. Thank you, Ms. Morgan."
After the three left, Sophie stretched. "Alright, that's settled."
Aria said, "Lunch is on me. My thanks to the beautiful and kind Ms. Morgan."
Sophie smiled. "Then I'll thank the beautiful Ms. Saxon in advance."