The Temptation

The following days after Elias disappeared were a blur of confusion and uncertainty. Eva could hardly shake the image of him from her mind, the way he had looked at her with those dark, intense eyes, the strange pull in her chest that refused to be ignored. The encounter replayed in her thoughts like a broken record, haunting her in the quiet moments when she was alone.

She had tried to tell herself it was just a wacky, brief incident—a random encounter with a strange man, perhaps a figment of her imagination, or maybe someone who had known her name for some reason. Yet, something about Elias lingered in her mind like a shadow, refusing to fade, even as the days passed.

Eva shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts. Her life had returned to its usual rhythm. She went to work at the small bookstore, spent time with her friends, and tried her best to ignore the unsettling feeling that had settled in her chest. But nothing felt the same. It was as if the world had subtly shifted out of alignment, and she couldn't quite find her place in it anymore.

Every night, she returned to her apartment and found herself standing at the window, gazing out at the rain-soaked streets, waiting for something—anything—that might pull her out of the numbness that had settled in her heart.

Then, one night, just as the evening mist began to roll in and the lights of the city flickered against the darkening sky, the doorbell rang again.

Eva froze.

She hadn't been expecting anyone but somehow, she knew it was him.

Her heartbeat quickened as she walked toward the door, the familiar weight of anticipation settling in her chest. She didn't know why, but she felt like this moment had been coming all along.

She opened the door.

Elias stood there, as if he had materialized out of the very shadows themselves. His presence was magnetic, pulling her in like a force of nature. His appearance hadn't changed—still tall, still impossibly handsome, with those golden eyes that seemed to see everything and nothing at once but there was something different about him this time. Something darker, as though he were on the edge of a cliff teetering between two worlds.

"Elias," Eva whispered, the name slipping out of her lips before she could stop it. She hadn't planned to speak, but the word felt natural, as if her body already knew him in a way her mind couldn't comprehend.

He didn't smile, but his eyes softened for a moment, like he was pleased to see her again. "Eva," he said, his voice low and rich, the sound of it sending a shiver down her spine. "I didn't expect you to be waiting for me."

"I—" Eva hesitated, unsure of what to say. "I wasn't, but I knew it would be you."

Elias's gaze never wavered, and for a moment, Eva felt as if he were reading her soul, seeing parts of her that no one else had ever noticed. She swallowed, suddenly aware of how vulnerable she felt in his presence.

"I've been thinking about you," he said softly, his tone almost coaxing, as though he were trying to pull her deeper into some kind of secret, shared understanding. "I never meant to frighten you, Eva. I just... had to see you again."

"Why?" she asked, her voice trembling. "What do you want from me?"

Elias didn't immediately answer. He simply stepped closer, moving with the grace of someone who wasn't bound by the same rules as other people. There was an eccentric calm about him, as if nothing could touch him. Eva could feel the air between them change, a crackling tension that seemed to build with each passing second.

"I can't stop thinking about you''he said finally, his words deliberate and measured. 

Eva's heart skipped a beat at his confession, though something in her chest told her that this wasn't the kind of attraction she was used to. There was something primal in the way he looked at her, something that felt both thrilling and terrifying all at once.

"I... I don't understand," she murmured, stepping back a little, though she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. "You came here... because of me?"

Elias's gaze darkened, and for the first time, she saw a flicker of something almost... desperate. It was brief, but it was there.

"Yes," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Because of you."

Eva could feel the pull between them growing stronger with every second. It was like gravity had shifted, and she was suddenly at the center of it. She wanted to turn away. To step back and close the door, to push this stranger, this man who felt so familiar and yet so wrong, out of her life for good. But she couldn't. There was something about him that made it impossible to resist.

"Why do you keep saying that?" she asked, her voice barely steady. "What does it mean? who....what are you, Elias?"

His smile was faint, but there was a sadness in his eyes, a knowing sorrow that seemed to have followed him for centuries.

"I am not who you think I am," he said quietly. "I am... something else....something you won't understand until you're ready."

Eva felt a chill run through her at his words, but instead of fear, she felt a strange compulsion, a curiosity that clawed at her chest.

"I don't care what you are," she whispered, though it was a lie. "I just want to know why you're here."

Elias reached out, his hand brushing against her cheek, a feather light touch that sent a shock through her. His fingers lingered there for a moment, as if savouring the sensation. Eva's breath caught, her heart racing, the connection between them intensifying with every passing second.

"I came because I need you," he said, his voice low and urgent. "I need you more than you know. And if you allow me to... I will show you a world you've never imagined."

The words hung between them, thick with meaning, and Eva could feel the weight of them pressing against her chest. She didn't know what he meant, but there was no denying the magnetic force pulling her closer to him.

"Show me?" she repeated, her voice barely audible.

He nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. "Yes, but you must trust me, Eva....you must trust me completely."

Eva swallowed hard, torn between the urge to pull away and the overwhelming desire to take a step closer to him. She wanted to know more, she wanted to understand what it was about Elias that called to her in a way nothing else ever had. But at the same time, something inside her screamed that this wasn't just about attraction—it was something deeper, something far more dangerous.

Before she could say anything more, Elias leaned in. His lips brushed against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

"Don't be afraid," he murmured. "I won't bite... unless you ask me to."

The words were spoken so quietly, so seductively, that Eva could almost believe them. But even as the heat of his breath tickled her skin, a flicker of doubt stirred in the back of her mind.

But it was too late Elias had already crossed the line. She couldn't resist.

And neither could he but just as she was about to give in completely she snapped out of that eerie trance and ran to the rooftop of her apartment to clear her head leaving Elias amused