Chapter 2 I

"CHÁTEAU DE LA LUNE. IT IS A RARE, LIMITED-PRODUCTION WHITE WINE FROM THE LOIRE VALLEY IN FRANCE. ONLY A FEW HUNDRED BOTTLES ARE PRODUCED EACH YEAR. THAT WAS WHY THEY ARE HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER BY COLLECTORS AND CONNOISSEURS. I WAS LUCKY TO HAVE NOT JUST ONE, BUT SEVEN OF THIS."

I looked at the man with a blank expression. In his right hand was the bottle of the alcoholic drink he mentioned. In his other hand, he held two crystallized glasses.

The man walked up to me and sat in front of me. He placed his belongings on the small center table between us.

I was still processing everything that had happened. Tyler had been chasing me, I hid, I asked this stranger for help, and now I was already thousands of feet above the ground-sitting inside this private jet whose destination I didn't even know. Everything was happening so fast.

When I saw the man pouring the wine into the glasses, I panicked and immediately stopped him.

"D-Don't bother. I don't drink," I said simply.

The stranger looked at me with disbelief in his eyes.

"Are you serious?" He chuckled dryly. "I'm not aware that there are still girls out there who don't drink. Especially nowadays."

I was the one who couldn't believe him.

"Well, at least now you're aware. Thanks to me," I retorted.

He laughed again. "Yeah, thanks to you."

I didn't say anything anymore. I just turned my gaze to the window, even though I couldn't see much because it was night.

"I understand that you don't drink. But you should try this one. It's mild. It can't make you drunk if you only have a glass."

I turned back to him. He had already poured the wine into the two glasses and was now offering one to me.

Even though I was hesitant, I took the glass he was offering and silently took a small sip.

"So...?" he said afterwards, waiting.

Before I spoke, I forced myself to swallow the small amount of wine I had tasted. Sure, it was mild. It had a grape taste-something I was slightly surprised about because of its white color. I thought at first that it was probably made of a certain kind of rice. But I guess, with how technology evolves these days, almost anything is possible. The wine wasn't too harsh on the throat, even though it had a slight bite.

"It's... mild, just like you said. Not bad," I commented. "But I still don't feel like drinking. It doesn't look good for a woman like me to drink with a stranger who just flew me away without me knowing where he's taking me."

For a moment, he looked surprised. His mouth slightly gaped open as he looked at me in disbelief. But after a while, he laughed.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna judge you on that. I don't like conservative shit either," he said. "But anyways, Damon is the name. Damon Ignaci. I'm sure, you already heard of me."

The stranger's name echoed several times in my head. Damon Ignaci...

And yes, he was indeed right. I had already heard his name. Many times. I knew him just by his name and some pictures. I had no idea what he looked like in person. He looked so handsome-even better than he did in his pictures. And what the people who had seen him in person said was true-he looked like a very masculine demi-god. Amazing. I just noticed it now after finally staring at his face for seconds.

"You heard about me already, didn't you?" he said with a hint of pride, calmly taking a sip of his wine.

I slowly nodded. "Y-Yeah, I guess so."

He chuckled once again. "I'm certain, by now you already know who I am. But what about your name?"

"I'm Win-Soirye. Just call me "Soirye"," I introduced myself. Of course, I'm Winter. But I am also Soirye. So I wasn't lying when I introduced myself to him. I just introduced myself to him by my second name. And I did it for a reason. Some reason.

Amazement became visible on his face after what I said.

"Was your name... "Siri" as in the Amazon AI Siri?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"It's... S-O-I-R-Y-E. Soirye. It's complicated, isn't it?" I said with a laugh.

"Nah. It's actually... cool. So feminine," he complimented.

"You too. Damon is such a masculine name."

"Yeah. But the sound, it's not good. Like Damon, Demon," he said and laughed again.

That time, I wasn't able to resist my smile too. I was also laughing at how quickly things were happening now. To add to that, this was definitely a one in a million moment. I mean, what are the odds that the person I would ask for help would be Damon Ignaci? And I only asked for help, didn't I? Yet here I am, riding his private jet. It wasn't a secret that many women-and when I say "many", I'm not just talking about hundreds of women. And according to some news, Damon Ignaci was rarely seen in the country. He's half-Filipino, half-Italian. But he didn't visit either country more often. Based on what I read and heard, the man wasn't tied down to one country. And that made our encounter even more like something straight out of a nutshell.

"Anyway, it's so nice meeting you, Soirye. And now that we already know each other, how about we drink to celebrate our first accidental meeting?" he said with a smile.

I smiled back. I nodded in agreement and clinked glasses with him before taking a sip. After I finished the wine in my glass, he poured me another.

"So, tell me about what happened earlier. That man, your ex, why is he after you?" he asked.

I don't know what came over me and I answered him. I don't usually discuss my life in public or with other people, especially if I don't know them. But this man seemed to have a power to reign over me. I found myself telling him everything. From how I met Tyler, how I accidentally got drunk and he's been claiming that something happened between us that night and everything was recorded, how I broke up with him after I realized how pathetic of a person he is, and how he's been chasing me and blackmailing me for almost a month now.

"But I thought, you're not into drinking," Damon commented with a mischievous smile. He even shook his head.

"I'm not. It just happened that night because I was at a close friend's party and I couldn't refuse," I defended myself. I even glared at him to shut him up and stop him from laughing his ass off.

"So you're saying that he doesn't want to let you go and he's blackmailing you using that hell of a sex tape you had?"

"Allegedly. I haven't even seen that sex tape he's talking about," I clarified.

He nodded and fell silent as if he was thinking. I just kept myself busy by drinking. I was slowly getting used to the taste of the wine. I kept taking sips-maybe because I was starting to get drunk or maybe, because I was so angry at Tyler, which was amplified because we were talking about his lame threats.

"You know what? I have a proposal. I can ensure your safety against that ex-boyfriend of yours. But of course in return, you have to help me, as well."

I looked at him with furrowed brows. I didn't say anything. But I'm sure, my expression clearly said that I wanted to hear more of his "proposal".

"It might sound lame but... I'm talking about marriage here. Marry me and I'll protect you even to the point that you already don't need my protection. And in return, you have to act as my wife and help me score my trillions inheritance. Deal?"