All Chapters of Tempting you: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

The party was already in full swing when I arrived—a perfect mix of too loud, too crowded, and somehow still tolerable because I knew most of the faces. It was one of those gatherings where you could barely take a step without running into someone you knew from class or sports or the local café down the street. But as was always the case at these gatherings, the people you couldn’t stand also showed up.And of all the people I couldn’t stand, Evans Blake was at the very top of my list.I spotted him the second I walked in. Tall, bespectacled, and every bit as infuriating as he was during our university debates. He stood by the bar, gesticulating wildly to a group of people who were all nodding along to whatever self-important crap he was spewing. God, I hated him.It wasn’t just that we were on the debate team together and that we were constantly butting heads. Evans had a knack to argue about everything. And by "everything," I mean everything—from the theory of utilitarianism to whic

The morning sun was way too bright, and my brain was still swimming in a hazy fog thanks to the brilliant idea of participating in last night’s drinking game.I groaned, glancing at my phone. 10:15 AM. Great. I had a class in exactly five minutes, and I wasn’t even out of bed yet. Philosophy. Perfect. The only thing worse than trying to understand the meaning of life with a hangover was doing it in front of Professor Daniel, who loved to call on students at their most vulnerable moments.I scrambled out of bed, throwing on the first semi-clean outfit I could find. No time for coffee. Not even time for dignity.I burst into the lecture hall like a bat out of cave, hoping, praying, and begging the universe that Evans wouldn’t be there. Surely, the golden boy of this campus would have better things to do than make it to this class. Like, maybe he had to sleep in after last night’s game too, right?Nope. There he was. Sitting in the front row, all polished and immaculate, not a single hai

“What are you doing here?” I blurted out, still reeling from Jake’s abrupt breakup.Evans finally looked at me, pulling out a cigarette from his jacket pocket. "Do you have a lighter?" he asked, ignoring my question entirely.I blinked. "You don't even smoke."He shrugged, lighting the cigarette with a gold lighter I didn’t know he had. “Guess there’s a first time for everything.”I wasn’t sure if he was being sarcastic or genuine. With Evans, it was always hard to tell.We stood there in an awkward silence, the smoke from his cigarette curling lazily in the cool night air. I didn’t know why he was here, and frankly, I didn’t care. My mind was still spinning from Jake’s words—how things were ‘fine,’ how he wasn’t the right one for me. How it was over.'I exhaled, my breath visible in the crisp air. "Why are you really here, Evans?"He glanced at me, and for the first time, his usual arrogant smirk was gone. Instead, there was something quieter in his eyes. “I saw you walk out of the b

EvansI sat quietly at the dinner table, trying not to look too interested in the conversation swirling around me. Across from me, my father, Arthur Blake, held court, talking business with the energy he saved for family dinners, as if even our time together had to be a matter of strategic value. My mother, Elora, sat beside him. And right next to me, my twin brother, Ryan, soaked up Dad’s attention like he was basking in the sun, his smile wide, his posture attentive—exactly the way Dad liked it.I was used to this dynamic by now, and yet it always managed to sting. Tonight, it seemed to sting even more than usual. The way Dad beamed at Ryan, discussing business acquisitions and his next steps in the company, only highlighted how absent I was from his plans.“Ryan,” Dad said, leaning forward slightly, a rare gleam of pride in his eyes. “There’s a couple of new proposals I want you to review. Make sure they align with our expansion strategy. I think they could be an opportunity for yo