The room was empty now—just me, alone.
I tried to prop myself up, but my limbs gave out, and I crashed hard onto the floor.
The damp carpet reeked of something sour and nauseating. Gasping for breath, I clawed my way toward the door.
Just as my fingertips brushed the doorknob—the door was kicked open with a deafening crash.
Startled, I whipped my head around and instinctively curled up to protect myself.
A man stood in the doorway—someone I didn’t recognize. His face was sharp and fierce, his suit jacket hanging loosely from one shoulder, and his expression was thunderous.
“...What the hell?”
He looked down and saw me sprawled on the floor. His gaze immediately darkened to something terrifying.
“Who the hell are you?”
I bit down hard on my lip, my body shaking.
“You... Are you from the Larson family?”
“Larson, my ass.”
He stormed in, towering over me with clenched fists and a voice like ice.
“This is my room.”
He stepped closer. His eyes were bloodshot, filled with a wild intensity I couldn’t decipher.
—
When I woke again, pain tore through my body as if I’d been taken apart and put back together wrong.
The air reeked of something intimate—an unfamiliar men’s cologne, the over-soft mattress pressing against my skin.
I tried to move, but my legs buckled beneath me.
My head was spinning. My waist was aching. My body still clung to the scent of a man I didn’t know.
Pushing myself up, I looked down—and froze.
I was completely naked.
No... No. This couldn’t be happening.
Did I really end up being sent off to the Larson family?
How could this happen?
I grabbed the blanket beside me and wrapped it tightly around myself. My heart pounded wildly. Tears welled until in my eyes, blurring my vision.
There was a burning, unfamiliar pain deep inside me—as if this nightmare had torn me apart from the inside out.
And I didn’t even know who that man was.
There had definitely been something in that drink.
I only had a sip. I just wanted to seem obedient so they wouldn’t target me anymore.
Why did it end like this?
I was breaking down against the headboard, barely able to breathe through my sobs, when suddenly the door slammed open again.
I flinched, instinctively pulling the blanket tighter.
It was the same man from last night—the one who stormed in.
His shirt was still half-open, hair tousled, and his eyes were like blades.
He stood at the threshold, his face cold as ice, and his gaze locked on me like he was trying to piece something together.
My heart dropped, and I shrank back without thinking.
His eyes scanned the room and saw the discarded dress, the empty champagne glass, the way I looked like a terrified wreck.
He paused for a second. Then his voice cut through the air, cold and sharp. “Who are you?”
My throat was aching, but I tried to speak without trembling. “I... I’m from the Perkins family...”
His gaze turned even darker.
“They sent you here?”
I didn’t dare nod. But I didn’t deny it either.
He let out a short, bitter laugh. His eyes flickered with impatience, yet beneath it, I could see him struggling to rein in his anger.
“Last night, you mentioned the Larson family? Are you the bride they sent for the alliance?”
My voice felt like sandpaper in my throat. “I... I don’t know. I only know its a marriage alliance.”
His eyes shifted. The fury faded a little—replaced by something deeper, heavier.
“Did you realize they drugged you last night?”
I shook my head.
He stared at me for a few moments, then suddenly let out a dark, sarcastic laugh. A shadowed smirk curled on his lips as he said, “You didn’t do it willingly, did you?”
I nodded instinctively, tears still clinging to my lashes.
He stepped forward, looming over me.
“Then you’re screwed.”
A chill ran through me.
“What... what do you mean?”
He clenched his jaw, speaking slowly through gritted teeth, “You slept with me.
My mind went completely blank.
What?!
“I-I don’t understand... I didn’t.. I didn’t know…”
