Evil MC's NTR Harem

Sophia blinked, clearly caught off guard, but after a brief pause, she placed her hand in his and shook it with a polite but firm grip.

"Sophia," she replied, her voice measured but friendly. "And this is my best friend, Jasmine. I think she's even more beautiful than I am." She gestured to the girl sitting beside her, who had been quietly reading the entire time.

Jasmine, who had been lost in the pages of her book, looked up at Derek with an air of mild curiosity. She smiled politely and extended her hand to him as well.

"Pleased to meet you," she said, her voice warm but neutral. "You're new here, right?"

"Yeah," Derek replied, his grin widening as he took her hand. "I just got here. It's my first week on campus." He couldn't help but hope that his charm would finally make its impact now that they were talking.

Despite his easy smile and laid-back demeanor, Derek couldn't shake the feeling that the energy between them wasn't quite right.

Usually, he'd get an enthusiastic reaction—girls swooning, or at the very least, showing more excitement. But this time, there was something different.

The conversation felt stiff, and the two girls didn't seem particularly interested. They were being polite, sure, but the usual spark wasn't there.

He quickly scanned their faces, searching for any sign of the usual admiration, but all he found were polite smiles and brief glances.

The silence stretched on again, and Derek felt the atmosphere grow colder. He couldn't help but wonder if he was losing his touch.

"So… can I at least have your numbers?" he asked, his voice still confident but now tinged with a hint of determination. "That way, if I have any questions or get lost around the city, I'd have someone I could call."

His words hung in the air, and he flashed another smile, this time with the hint of a joke, as if to make light of his request. He was hoping the humor would break the tension, and it did seem to work.

Sophia looked at Jasmine for a moment, and the two exchanged a brief, silent conversation with their eyes. After a second, Sophia nodded and took out her phone.

"Sure," she said, offering him her number. Jasmine followed suit and handed him her own contact details.

Derek smiled, feeling a small sense of triumph. It wasn't the explosive reaction he had anticipated, but it was progress. He quickly input their numbers into his phone, the victory feeling bittersweet.

They hadn't exactly fawned over him, but they had given him their numbers without hesitation. In his book, that counted as a win—however small it may have been.

"Thanks," Derek said, his smile more genuine now. "I'll make sure to reach out if I need anything." Rising from his seat, he slipped his phone into his pocket, his mind already working on the next steps.

It wasn't the grand victory he'd envisioned—no swooning girls, no immediate intrigue—but it was something.

A step forward. He had their numbers now, and that was all he needed to start building momentum.

As he walked out of the library, Derek reassured himself that this was just the beginning. He thrived on challenges, and the more resistance he faced, the sweeter the payoff would be.

Sophia intrigued him. She wasn't like the others who fell for his charm instantly. No, she was different. Reserved, quiet, and possibly even guarded—a combination he found tantalizing.

He was confident that, given time, she would be his.

Later that night, lying shirtless in his king-sized bed, Derek pulled out his phone. The glow of the screen illuminated his face as he opened the chat with Sophia.

He stared at her name for a moment, imagining what she might be doing. Was she lying in bed too, scrolling through her phone?

Maybe she was texting her boyfriend, blissfully unaware of what was coming.

The thought of her with another man didn't bother him. On the contrary, it excited him.

Derek thrived on the thrill of competition, and the idea of winning over someone who was already "taken" added an edge to the game. He had been in this position before, and he knew how it worked.

Married women, single mothers, virgins—he'd been with them all. The married ones, though, were always the most exhilarating.

They were careful, complicated, and full of suppressed desires. Sophia might not be married, but her relationship status made her all the more enticing.

Without overthinking, he typed a simple message: Hi.

He hit send and leaned back against his pillow, a confident smirk playing on his lips.

Seconds turned into minutes. Derek kept glancing at his phone, waiting for the screen to light up with a reply.

Nothing.

He refreshed the chat, double-checked his connection, and even opened another app to make sure his phone was working properly.

Still, nothing.

He frowned, an unfamiliar pang of annoyance creeping in. It wasn't like him to wait. Women usually responded to him immediately, eager to engage in conversation.

He was used to the thrill of instant gratification, the ego boost of being desired. But Sophia was breaking the pattern.

The thought of calling her crossed his mind. His thumb hovered over the call button, but he hesitated. Calling her now, especially without a response to his message, might make him seem desperate.

And Derek was anything but desperate. No, he needed to play this cool, to maintain the upper hand.

As the minutes ticked by, his frustration grew. He checked the time—11:45 PM. Nearly an hour had passed, and still no reply.

His smirk had long faded, replaced by a tight-lipped expression as he stared at the ceiling.

Derek wasn't used to this. He was the one who dictated the pace of things, not the other way around. Yet here he was, lying in bed, checking his phone every few minutes like a lovesick teenager.

Midnight came and went. His eyes burned from staring at the screen for too long, and his patience had worn thin. He tossed the phone onto the bedside table, turning over with a frustrated sigh.

For the first time in a long while, Derek felt unsettled. The silence, the lack of control—it gnawed at him.

Sleep came eventually, but it was restless, plagued by thoughts of Sophia and the silence she had left him with.

Tomorrow would be different, he told himself. Tomorrow, he'd make sure she noticed him. If there was one thing Derek didn't do, it was lose.

He had no way of knowing that his actions today would cast a shadow of more than bad luck over his future.