Chapter 8 8

Emily woke up in a start, feeling disheveled and a blinding headache striking her suddenly that she winced in pain. The events of the previous night, although blurry were rolling in and she felt repulsed at how much alcohol she drank. She quickly gazed around her room and her clothes were strewn about and she groaned trying to recollect herself. In the hushed tranquility of her room, she allowed her mind wander back to the enchanted part where anonymity and allure intertwined.

The memory of the masked faces, each shrouded in secrecy, dances around her like ethereal apparitions, whispering secrets but not yet unveiled. With each recollection, Emily's senses began to come alive, weaving a tapestry of vivid impressions. She could still feel the velvet touch of his lips against hers. The handsome stranger It felt like a delicate symphony of warmth and yearning. In her mind's eye, she could imagine the twinkle of evening stars reflecting in his eyes, those enigmatic pools of mystery that held her captive in that fleeting kiss. Maybe she should've stayed longer With a sigh, followed by a groan, Emily stretched her limbs, stifling a yawn before she lazily got down from the bed, she reached for her phone noticing the time that was it was way past noon. There was a text from Cheryl, reminding her to meet up so they could return the dresses back to Orion. She quickly gathered the dress together, folding it neatly on her bed, and that was when she noticed the absence of a familiar weight around her wrist. Panic swelled within her as her gaze darted to the floor, her bed, her bed side table frantically searching for the bracelet. Fear gripped her, she had to return the bracelet and now she had no idea where it was. She tried recalling every memory from the previous night, right from when they left Orion's store to the party. She was pretty sure she had it on at the party and her mind had pretty shut down on when she might have lost it. She was puzzled, had it somehow fallen down at the party without her notice. She had to find out, she had to find it. Determination seized her chest as she picked up her phone to send a quick text to Cheryl about the missing bangle. She had to go back to the ballroom to search for it, luckily for her it was a her day of. She quickly pulled on a straight jeans, and a plain tee, her hair tied up in a messy ponytail but she could care less. Emily couldn't believe herself, how could she have been so careless. Lost in her thoughts, she absentmindedly walked across the street without checking for oncoming traffic. Suddenly, the screeching sound of tires and a rushed gasp suddenly filled the air. Ethan Hatton sat behind the wheel of his Rolls Royce, his mind buzzing with a chaotic mix of emotions and thoughts. His mind plagued with the heat of the discussion he had with his father that morning, he was at the verge of losing everything if he didn't quickly find someone to marry him. His mind raked for a solution, the investors were a one way family men, they upheld the values of family and wanted that investments to remain in their line. He was the face and head of the Hatton tech startup, and they were mostly involved in creating and developing innovative technologies, software and hardware products, specializing in software development, artificial intelligence, data analytics and cybersecurity. It was a big startup and they needed the investment to keep pushing and he was delaying it with his inability to keep a woman. His hands on the steering wheel, he failed to see the girl carelessly crossing the street, he hit the brakes immediately but it felt too late as the air thickened with the tension that hung heavily after the aftermath of an unforeseen accident. At first disbelief and shock surged through his veins, as if time itself had stalled for an eternal moment. His heart once steady, now pounds relentlessly against his chest, a wild rhythm echoing the panic that consumed him. The screeching of tires, the sickening thud of the impact, and the shattering of his own peace all meld into the symphony of chaos that drowned out everything else. He quickly jumped down from the car, rushing to her laying on the floor suspiciously still but conscious, and he stopped. It was that girl, the girl from the park and the one from a hotel. Confusion swiftly danced into the forefront of his thoughts, because what were the odds that he would meet her three times in the space of a month.

"I'm fine" she managed to say before he could say anything, and she mirrored his look. The same surprised expression etched on both their faces. She recognized him, he was the weird handsome man that stared shamelessly at her the night of the ball party.

"You" she pointed at him as helped her up.

"You know me" he asked, suddenly worried that she recognized him as Ethan Hatton.

"Yes, the creepy weirdo that kept staring at me the other night" she said and relief flooded his chest.

"Yes, well no but are you okay. I should take you to the hospital" he told her and she shook her head.

"No I'm fine, I can't afford that right now and besides it was my fault, I wasn't looking. I have to go anyways" she attempted to leave but Ethan held her back grabbing her softly by the wrist and feeling a weird surge of electricity move through him at the feel of her skin; soft and delicate. He didn't want her to go, vanish out his sight because there was the biggest possibility that he would never see her again. He needed her.

"You should at least get checked, you might be concussed" "I believe I'm fine, I really need to go" she urged, her mind mostly focused on finding that bracelet but Ethan wasn't hearing none of it.

"I'm not letting you go like that....." he said urging for her name. "Emily" she said quietly

"Emily Walker, and you should at least tell me your name"

"I will, soon" he said to her "You have no right to trust me right now but I absolutely have to take you to see a doctor, it's what a gentleman would do"

"I don't care about none of that" she explained, her head nearly bursting in exasperation but it felt like he wasn't listening.

"Get in the car Emily" he said with a definitive tone about his voice while he opened to door to the passenger side, he looked like he was going to lift her into the car if she refused and she stared him down stubbornly but his stare was more intense, she gave in. "Fine" she muttered "But on one condition" "What is it?" "Take me back to The Luxe, there's something I absolutely have to find"