I’m dating one of our lecturers, and I’m doing it to pass his course. He’s very strict with marks and teaches one of the subjects I find very difficult, so I got close to him to make him a friend. But along the line, he proposed. I know the stories of this kind: lecturers and students. So when he proposed, I took it as one of those stories—a lecturer dates a student and, in exchange, helps her pass with flying colors. I said yes to him, thinking it’s one of those stories.

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The truth is, I don’t like him. He’s not the kind of man I would look at twice on a normal day. If he didn’t have what I needed, I wouldn’t be here. But he had power over my grades, my progress, my future, so I agreed and convinced myself it was a calculated move.

Just two months into our relationship, and he’s talking about marriage. He wants to meet my parents. He wants me to call them so he could talk to them and introduce himself. “Right after school, I want us to get married, so it’s better I prepare the grounds,” he told me.

Prepare what grounds? Doesn’t he know the script?

I’ve been giving him excuses, but these days he’s becoming insistent. Persistent. Intentional. I don’t want to drop him now because he has a huge influence in our department. He can hurt my grades even from afar, so I’m being careful, keeping the excuses fresh and potent. But it looks like I can’t go on with the lies for too long. He might see through the excuses and decide I’m taking him for a ride, and that would be dangerous. So I’m asking, what should I do to fix this problem I find myself in? I’m not proud of it, but something has to be done. Please help.

—Beauty

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