Chapter 1 A Strange Man

The room was dim, casting shadows over two figures locked in a passionate embrace.

The man gripped the girl's hands, his lips gently brushing her neck. His voice was low and rough. "I'll ask you one more time. Are you sure you won't regret this?"

The girl's gaze was distant, her mind clearly clouded.

Her body arched instinctively, a soft invitation slipping from her lips. "I want you..."

The man chuckled quietly. "You asked for it."

He then tilted her head and kissed her deeply.

Later that night, Joanna Powell was jolted awake by the shrill ringing of her phone.

Her head pounded from the hangover, and she rubbed her temples, feeling a rush of embarrassment.

In her dream, she had slept with her boyfriend, Mathew Higgins.

In the dream, Mathew had been forceful and dominant. She had only kissed him, but he had taken control, pinning her down-nothing like the polite, respectful guy she knew.

There was no denying that this side of him had a magnetic pull.

Joanna smiled sheepishly, turned on the bedside lamp, and reached for her phone to answer the call. But then she stopped dead in her tracks-she was completely naked!

Pink hickeys marked her skin, each one telling the story of the previous night.

She glanced down and noticed a man's arm wrapped tightly around her waist.

Joanna's mind went blank.

It wasn't Mathew's arm.

She turned her head slowly and then fell back onto the bed.

The man next to her wasn't Mathew.

He was a stranger, someone she had never met before.

The color drained from her face, leaving her pale and shocked.

How had this happened?

The night before, there had been a school event, and everyone had booked rooms at the hotel to rest.

But why was there a stranger in her room?

"Miss, are you still there?" The nurse's voice crackled through the phone.

Joanna, still in a daze, wasn't sure how she even managed to lift the phone to her ear. "Yes, I'm here."

The nurse went on, "You're related to Martha Russell, right? She had a sudden heart attack and was just brought to the hospital. We need you here right away."

Joanna's eyes widened in panic, her voice shaking. "A heart attack?"

"Yes, it's critical. She's waiting for surgery, and you need to sign the papers quickly!" The nurse gave her the hospital's address before hanging up.

The blows had left Joanna feeling dizzy. She pinched her thigh hard, the sharp sting proving it wasn't just a dream.

She couldn't afford to wait any longer. She quickly jumped out of bed and got dressed.

Before leaving, she cast a final look at the man still asleep on the bed, her eyes filled with bitterness.

She grabbed a pen and paper, wrote a quick note, and hurried out of the room.

Not long after she left, the man on the bed slowly woke up. He reached out, but his hand only found the warm, empty sheets.

He paused, then tossed off the covers.

The bed was vacant.

If it hadn't been for the red stain on the sheets, he might have thought the woman from last night was just a product of his imagination.

He had returned to the country the night before, drunk from a heavy night of drinking. When he collapsed onto the bed, he found a woman already lying there.

He had encountered countless women throwing themselves at him, but one bold enough to slip into his bed without being invited? That was a first.

Normally, he would've kicked her out without hesitation.

But when she clung to him, maybe it was the alcohol messing with his head, but he didn't push her away.

To his surprise, she had been a virgin.

But it didn't really matter to him.

A brief fling was never something he'd bother to remember.

He lazily swung his legs out of bed, his tall frame heading toward the bathroom. That was when he noticed a piece of paper on the floor.

He picked it up, and the moment he read it, his face darkened.