Professor Wes Ashford is the only man Lola Violet's ever wanted: young, brilliant, and impossibly handsome. His passion for philosophy is contagious, and he's one of the rare few who can meet her head to head in a battle of ideas.

For years, he's been the catalyst of her intellectual awakening, the reason she fell in love with philosophy in the first place. What was once a subject of mere academic curiosity has turned into an obsession—because it’s the only thing that can distract her from him.

It’s been some time since Lola Violet first watched Wes from the front row of the lecture hall, and a few months since she left her position as his assistant to go on an exchange program abroad. Now, she's back. And the air between them crackles with the same tension as before, hotter, darker—charged with everything they've tried to suppress.

But there’s a problem. She can never have him.

He’s a man of integrity, devoted to his work and bound by an unshakable sense of right and wrong. How could Lola Violet possibly convince him to commit the ultimate sin?

To cross the line that separates mentor from lover, teacher from object of desire?

However, she soon realizes things might not be as hopeless as she thought. Because beneath Professor Ashford’s composed exterior, there’s a crack. And Lo? She's going to prod at it—gently at first, but with growing persistence—until he breaks.

Friday, June 20th

"Good morning, class!" Professor Ashford announces in a cheery tone as he writes on his chalkboard. He's met with the tired groans of his students, earning a chuckle from him. "Now, now, don't be too excited to see me."

"Today, we are going to be talking about Stoicism. Can anyone tell me what that word means?" He turns to face the class in their seats lining the room like an auditorium, eyes wandering upon his students.