Dosage of Desire

In the world of Pharmacology, everything has a limit-every compound measured, every reaction calculated, every risk controlled.
This is how Professor Elaris Seraphyne Villarin Barrientos has lived her life. Precise. Disciplined. Untouchable. She is known not only for her brilliance, but for her coldness-the kind that keeps people at a distance no matter how close they stand. Rumors follow her, quiet and persistent, but no one has ever dared to uncover the truth.
She is a woman built on control.
Because she makes sure of it.
Control is everything. And it is the one thing she cannot afford to lose.
Until Ava.
Ava Francesca Cuizon Laurente is different. A quietly defiant observer-the kind of girl who doesn't yet realize the weight of her own presence, but once she does... she won't be easy to push away. She appears soft, but she doesn't break easily. She feels the pressure, the intimidation-but she doesn't run from it.
She stays.
Unlike the others, Ava doesn't shrink under Elaris' gaze. She doesn't look away. She doesn't stop. She asks questions no one else dares to ask-and looks at Elaris not with fear, but with a quiet need to understand her, not just impress her.
And that's what makes her dangerous.
Because she doesn't back down.
And that is where Elaris begins to lose control.
For the first time... she feels something unfamiliar.
Fear.
But like an unpredictable reaction...
desire does not follow rules.
No matter how carefully she tries to measure it.