Chapter 2 The Morning After

Chapter 2: The Morning After

The next morning, the sunlight streamed through the window, piercing my eyelids with the harshness of a truth I didn't want to face. I groaned, burying my face in the pillow, trying to escape the reality of what had happened. The events of last night-wild, free, and reckless-felt like they belonged to someone else. A part of me wanted to wake up and pretend it was all just a dream, a temporary escape from the suffocating life my father had planned for me. But as my eyes adjusted to the room, I realized it wasn't. The man lying next to me-his broad frame and messy dark hair-was real. And so was the pounding headache in my skull.

I slowly turned to my side, my heart racing as I tried to piece together the night. His name... I couldn't remember. My mind was foggy, the alcohol still clinging to my system. But something in me told me I should remember, something told me that this wasn't just a random one-night fling. No, there was something about him-something that felt like fate had thrown us together for a reason.

I quietly slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb him, and padded toward the bathroom. Looking at myself in the mirror, I almost didn't recognize the woman staring back at me. My makeup had smudged, and my hair was a mess, but it wasn't just the physical exhaustion that had changed me. Something deep inside had shifted. I felt exposed, as though I had crossed a line I couldn't uncross, and the thought left me uneasy.

The sound of movement behind me startled me, and I turned around, only to find him standing there-tall, shirtless, and still radiating that same quiet confidence from the night before. His eyes locked with mine, and for a moment, the world felt like it had stopped moving. There was a flash of recognition in his gaze, a knowingness that unsettled me.

"Morning," he said, his voice low, still carrying that magnetic quality. It made my heart skip a beat, and I felt myself drawn to him despite the lingering uncertainty.

"Morning," I replied, my voice barely a whisper. I wanted to say more, but I couldn't find the words.

I turned away, suddenly feeling self-conscious, reaching for my clothes on the floor. As I dressed quickly, trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The night we shared had felt like a whirlwind, a perfect escape from the pressure I'd been under, but now that I was sober and more aware, I felt the weight of the situation creeping in.

"What's your name?" I asked, not entirely sure why it took me this long to ask. Maybe I had been afraid of the answer.

He smiled faintly, but there was something guarded in his eyes. "Alex."

The name hit me like a ton of bricks. The words my father had spoken the night before echoed in my mind: You'll be marrying Alex Vance.

The world tilted beneath my feet. I had to stop. Had to steady myself before I collapsed onto the floor. This couldn't be real. This couldn't be happening. My mind raced as I scrambled to process everything. Alex Vance. The man I had spent the night with-the man who was now lying in the bed of a stranger I didn't even know-was the same man my father had arranged for me to marry.

My hands trembled as I struggled to collect my thoughts. "You're... You're Alex Vance?" I asked, my voice thick with disbelief.

He nodded, that faint smile never quite reaching his eyes. "I thought you knew."

I felt the world spin again. Everything I had tried to bury last night, everything I had tried to forget about my father's plans for me, rushed back with brutal clarity. I was supposed to marry this man. The same man who had been a stranger to me just hours ago, who I had shared a wild, passionate night with, was the one my father had arranged for me to marry in order to seal the deal between our companies.

"God, no," I whispered, shaking my head. "This can't be happening."

Alex stood still, watching me with a mixture of curiosity and something unreadable in his expression. "It seems fate has a funny way of playing its hand," he said. There was no anger, no frustration-only a strange calm, as though this was something he had accepted long ago.

I wanted to scream, to run out of the room and never look back, but my legs felt like lead. Instead, I stood there, paralyzed by the crushing weight of the situation. This wasn't just some one-night stand. This wasn't some spontaneous decision. This was real. My father had planned it, orchestrated it, and now it seemed like there was no way out.

"What now?" I finally managed to ask, my voice shaky. I wasn't sure who I was asking-him or myself. Maybe I was hoping that he had the answer, that somehow he could make this nightmare disappear.

"We go along with it," Alex said, his voice steady. "Your father and mine won't take kindly to anything less. We'll pretend everything is fine, at least in front of them."

I closed my eyes, trying to steady myself. Pretend. That's what it had always been about. Pretending to be someone I wasn't, playing a role in my father's world of power and influence. But this-this was different. This wasn't just business. This was my life. I had crossed a line last night, and now I had no choice but to live with the consequences.

I stepped away from him, my heart pounding in my chest. "I'm not going to pretend," I said, my voice shaking but determined. "I'm not going to be some... trophy wife, some pawn in this game of yours."

Alex didn't flinch, didn't show any signs of surprise. Instead, he gave me a knowing look. "You're already part of the game, Jade. There's no turning back now."

The words stung more than I expected. My world had always been controlled, but now it was as though my father and Alex had already made decisions about my future without even consulting me. I didn't know if I could go through with it. I didn't know if I wanted to.

"I need to go," I said suddenly, my chest tightening as I backed away from him. "I need to think."

"Jade-" Alex started, but I didn't wait for him to finish. I grabbed my purse and fled the room, my heart racing as I slammed the door behind me.

---

I didn't know where I was going, didn't know what I was doing. The streets outside felt colder than they ever had, as though the entire world had shifted, and I was no longer a part of it. The reality of the situation was like a fog pressing in on me. My body felt numb, my thoughts fragmented. I had just slept with the man I was supposed to marry, and I didn't even know how to face it.

I stumbled into a nearby café, my mind still reeling. I ordered a coffee, my hands shaking so much that I had to grip the mug tightly to keep it from slipping from my fingers.

A part of me knew this was just the beginning, that everything was about to spiral out of control in ways I couldn't even imagine.

The phone buzzed in my pocket, pulling me from my thoughts. I glanced at the screen.

Dad: I expect you to meet Alex and his family this evening. Don't embarrass me.

I felt my stomach drop. The clock was ticking, and there was no way out.