"I have a boyfriend. Get off me!" Kaitlin Clarke pressed her hands against the chest of the man pinning her down, but her arms had no strength left in them. Her fingers barely grazed him, and the helpless contact looked almost like the opposite of what it was.
The man's skin burned against hers, his eyes dark and fixed, not a flicker of hesitation in them. He ignored everything she said, tore her dress open, and forced himself inside her.
A sharp, tearing pain moved through her entire body and she cried out, low and broken.
On the wide bed of the hotel suite, his back rose and fell without stopping, his heavy breathing filling the room while her quiet sobs dissolved beneath it.
After what felt like a very long time, he finally went still, his weight still heavy on top of her.
The moment he stopped moving, Kaitlin pushed him off and grabbed what was left of her dress, pulling it back on as best she could.
She dragged herself out of the suite on unsteady legs, took the elevator down, and walked into the lobby to find Hugh Williams sitting calmly in the lounge. She stopped and stared at him.
"Did you do this? Hugh, why?" Her neck and chest were marked all over, but she couldn't bring herself to care about that right now. Something inside her had cracked open, and the way he was looking at her, cold and completely unmoved, made it worse. A sound tore out of her before she could stop it.
She threw herself at him. The bodyguards caught her before she could get close.
Her wrists were wrenched behind her back, and one of them drove a hard kick into the back of her leg.
The pain knocked the color right out of her face. Her knees hit the floor and she stayed there, chest heaving, caught somewhere between fury and complete devastation.
Hugh got up from his seat, walked over to her, and crouched down to her level. His fingers closed around her chin and tilted her face up toward his. "Did you already forget what you did last week? This is nothing compared to that. A small taste of what Rosalie felt."
Hugh had been the love of her life for years.
A year ago, he had been planning to propose. During the rehearsal for the occasion, the helicopter went down into the sea and Hugh disappeared with it.
Nobody could talk her out of looking for him. She spent six solid months searching, putting everything she had into it, before she finally found him on a remote island far from anywhere. When Kaitlin got to him, he didn't know who she was anymore. His memory was gone, and standing beside him was another woman.
Her name was Rosalie Douglas, the daughter of one of the company's business partners. She had gone after Hugh once before and been turned down without any ambiguity, and yet she had never quite managed to stay away from him over the years.
Following the plane crash, Hugh spent six months living on an island with Rosalie while claiming he had no memory of his former life with Kaitlin.
Despite being shown photographic evidence of their past relationship, Hugh chose Rosalie every time and viewed Kaitlin's efforts as a mere annoyance.
Still, Kaitlin felt grateful to Rosalie for saving Hugh's life. But their lives changed forever when they were cornered by a group of punks during a shopping trip.
Tragically, the men only took Rosalie, and the police later discovered her in a traumatized and disheveled state in a dark alley.
Blaming Kaitlin for the attack, Hugh decided to seek revenge by hiring a stranger to assault Kaitlin in the exact same manner.
"I am telling you the truth; I had nothing to do with that attack!" Kaitlin sobbed as tears filled her eyes. "I was knocked out during the struggle as well!"
Looking at him, she realized that the man she loved had become a cold stranger whose presence only caused her more pain.
Hugh snorted with pure disgust. "You set the whole thing up," he accused. "Why else did the punks leave you untouched? You are simply facing the consequences for your actions."
Kaitlin had saved herself for Hugh for their engagement night, only to have her innocence stolen by a stranger he had hired.
The irony of the situation was almost too much for her to bear.
Lifting her head, she revealed the bruises on her neck while her eyes overflowed with a deep, haunting sadness.
Waiting for the silence to stretch out, she finally let out a raspy laugh. "You are going to regret this day for the rest of your life, Hugh."
Scanning the marks on her skin, Hugh narrowed his eyes. "My only regret is that I didn't remove you from my life sooner after what you did to the woman I actually love."
Stunned, Kaitlin repeated his words about his love for Rosalie in her mind.
Doubling over in physical pain, she clutched her chest and tried to survive the crushing weight of his betrayal.
To her horror, he had discarded all their memories to focus on Rosalie, going so far as to orchestrate a crime against her for a sin she never committed.
Suddenly, the tension was broken when Hugh's assistant approached. "Mr. Williams, you have a call from Miss Douglas," the man announced.
Hugh's sneer softened into a tone of pure tenderness as he spoke into the phone. "Rosalie, has the dress arrived yet? Make sure to try it on. If there's even a slight issue with the fit, I'll have the designer over immediately to adjust it. I want you to look absolutely flawless for the wedding next month."
From the other end of the line, Rosalie's voice sounded delicate and shy. "I love it, Hugh, really. Thank you. But... what about your ex-girlfriend?"
Hugh's face instantly hardened into a mask of ice as his gaze flicked toward Kaitlin, who sat with her head bowed, looking as though her very soul had been hollowed out. "She nearly had you raped because of her jealousy, yet here you are, being far too kind and trying to defend her. The truth is, when I think of love, I only see the memories we shared. I feel nothing for her—it's a blank space. Surely, if she meant anything to me, I wouldn't have been able to forget her so easily."
At those words, Kaitlin's head snapped up with mechanical stiffness. Her eyes were completely parched—void of light, void of hope, and finally, void of tears.
A jagged, hollow laugh escaped her lips as her entire frame began to shudder; finally, she forced out the words with a chilling finality. "Hugh, there is absolutely nothing left for us now."
Inside the dimly lit suite, the man sprawled across the expansive bed gradually regained consciousness.
Though the feverish heat in his blood had simmered down following the sex, the haunting memory of the woman beneath him—her muffled cries and desperate pleas—sent a fresh wave of arousal through him, bringing back that unsettling, unfamiliar sensation.
Because the drug had completely hijacked his senses, he hadn't been able to catch a clear glimpse of her face, leaving him a captive to his own instincts.
On the floor, his phone vibrated relentlessly against the carpet, the sound cutting through the silence of the room.
Reaching down to retrieve it, he felt his heavy brows knit together the moment he recognized the caller ID.
"Grandma, is this some kind of joke to you?" he demanded, his voice rough. "You actually had me drugged. It's a pity the woman you arranged was too terrified to stay in the room, and that dose was high enough to be lethal."
Driven by a desperate obsession for a great-grandchild, his grandmother had resorted to the unthinkable: drugging him and planting a woman in his bed to force a pregnancy. However, the moment he'd realized the setup, he had violently kicked the intruder away, sending her reeling so hard she hadn't dared to come back.
Running a frustrated hand through his hair, he stood up and paced toward the bathroom; when his reflection met him in the mirror, the vivid red scratch marks across his neck and chest caused his expression to turn lethal.
From the other end of the line, his grandmother let out a guilty, awkward chuckle. "I haven't the slightest clue what you're talking about, dear. Oh, heavens! The reception is terrible—I can't hear a word you're saying!"
Before he could even begin to argue, the call was abruptly disconnected.
Shaking his head with a bitter, wry laugh, he stepped into the shower to wash away the night; upon emerging, his eyes caught the glint of a bracelet on the floor, which he picked up and began to examine closely.
It was a simple piece, adorned with plain charms that looked like something bought from a common street market.
Narrowing his eyes, he spotted a tiny engraving on the charm. "K&H."
Clearly, this belonged to the woman who had shared his bed just hours before.
Settling onto the sofa by the window, he lit a cigarette and watched the smoke curl into the air as he dialed his assistant. "I need the surveillance footage from outside Suite 1107, starting from two hours ago."
True to form, his assistant worked with lightning speed, delivering the requested files within thirty minutes.
With the cigarette still dangling from his lips, he hit play and watched as the woman, visibly staggering and being supported by another person, was led directly into his room, Suite 1107.
Irony bit deep as he realized that just ten minutes before the woman had entered, he was already trapped on that bed, suffering through the agonizing onset of the drug.
By a striking coincidence, this was a woman he had encountered previously.
She was Kaitlin, the woman with the same initial engraved in that bracelet.
A subtle smirk touched his lips as he inhaled deeply from his cigarette, the smoke curling around his sharp features. After his assistant provided a fresh suit, he changed and exited the room with purposeful strides.
Outside, a steady November drizzle chilled the air. Confined to the guest room, Kaitlin felt a hollow sense of despair while listening to the rhythmic pacing in the corridor.
She had slept with a stranger. Missing the window for emergency contraception haunted her; the prospect of a lifelong tie to this trauma through an unwanted pregnancy was unbearable.
After lying motionless for an eternity, she forced herself up and threw her weakened frame against the door.
"I need to talk to Hugh. Seriously, I'll do whatever he wants, just tell him to let me out of here," she rasped.
Five hours of isolation without food or water had left her trembling on the edge of a total breakdown.
The bodyguard stationed outside hesitated before disappearing down the hall. He returned shortly to turn the key. "Mr. Williams is waiting in the study."
Kaitlin forced her leaden limbs to move, slowly making her way toward the study.
She glanced around the interior, noting the decor she had meticulously selected—from the sconces to the greenery. This mansion had been the trophy of her and Hugh's first successful business venture.
She had once envisioned this house as a sanctuary for their future family.
Reality, however, had taken a far more bitter turn.
When Kaitlin reached the study, the door was slightly ajar. Through the narrow gap, she saw a petite woman seated on Hugh's lap—it was Rosalie. Her arms were wrapped around his neck as she kissed him deeply.
Hugh gripped her neck firmly, returning the kiss with a rough intensity that left Rosalie breathless and clinging to him for support.
He eventually pulled away, his thumb tracing the curve of her mouth.
Rosalie leaned into him with a coy expression. "Look, Miss Clarke is your ex, but you sent those guys after her... I even heard one of them might be carrying something nasty. What if she's sick now? Everyone at the office is gonna think you're ungrateful for forgetting how much she helped you start out."
Idly twirling a soft lock of her hair, Hugh leaned closer to inhale the intoxicating scent of her perfume. "Her compensation at Pioneer Group was more than generous; she ought to have known when to stop. Since she dared to plot against you, letting her live was the greatest act of mercy I could offer."
Gazing at her with adoration, he whispered, "Rosalie, you are the only woman who holds my heart now."
Standing frozen in the hallway, Kaitlin felt her nails bite into her skin as a fresh wave of agony ripped through her already hollowed chest.
Forcing the door wide, she finally crossed the threshold and stepped into the room.
Shrinking into his embrace at the sound of the intrusion, Rosalie offered a coy, teasing pout. "Look what you've done. You were so insistent on that kiss that we've been caught in the act."
Letting out a low chuckle, Hugh asked, "Shall I have her eyes removed for the transgression, then?"
Patting his chest playfully, Rosalie chided him. "Stop with those grisly jokes. That's far too morbid even for you."
Capturing her fingers, he brought them to his lips in a lingering kiss. "Your wish is my absolute command, darling."
Staring at the face she once loved, Kaitlin saw only a terrifying stranger lurking behind his handsome features.
Releasing a jagged, hollow laugh, she felt the hot tracks of tears spilling down her cheeks.
Decisively, she lunged forward in a blur of fury and tore Rosalie from his arms before delivering a stinging, resounding slap across his cheek.
Using all the power she had, Kaitlin hit Hugh across the face so hard that his head turned and his lip started to bleed.
Kaitlin stared at him with cold eyes and said, "You are truly pathetic, Hugh. You believe everything other people tell you. It seems you lost your brain along with your memory."
Suddenly, Rosalie screamed loudly and ran to protect him while the bodyguards rushed into the room to grab Kaitlin.
"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" Rosalie cried out because she was very worried about Huge.
Hugh touched the inside of his cheek with his tongue and spat out some blood. Gently, he patted Rosalie's back to calm her down, but then he looked at Kaitlin with a very scary and cold stare.
"Kaitlin, I will let that slap pay for the six months you ran my company while I was gone. But you still have to pay for what you did to Rosalie." Turning to his guards, he ordered, "Slap her. This will be her apology to Rosalie."
Kaitlin could not even move before the guards began hitting her across the face over and over. After her cheeks became red and sore, Hugh finally told the men to stop.
"Remember this. Do not ever let Rosalie see your face again."
Kaitlin let out a sad, empty laugh and replied, "Sure."
To his surprise, Hugh felt a sudden pain in his heart, but he quickly ignored the feeling and acted like he didn't care.
Because Rosalie had stayed by his side after he fell into the sea, he felt he owed her everything. She had helped him walk again after he broke his leg and cried for him often, so he promised never to let anyone hurt her.
Hearing Rosalie's voice brought him back to the present moment. "Please don't hurt anyone for me, Hugh," she said with a shaky voice. "If what you do for me makes people think badly of you, I would rather just leave..."
Hugh leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss on her lips. "Don't be silly. You are the only person I love. If you leave me, I will have nothing. I already talked to your father, and we are getting married next month."
"As long as you stay with me, I will never leave you," Rosalie promised. She rested her head on his shoulder, but when he couldn't see her, a mean and evil smile appeared on her face.
While the storm grew worse outside, Kaitlin got drenched from the cold rain and walked the streets looking pale and lost.
In all her twenty-five years, this had been the saddest and most painful one to date.
She and Hugh had been each other's entire world since their days in the orphanage, a bond forged over twenty years of survival. It wasn't until five years ago that Hugh's biological family finally tracked him down and welcomed him back into high society.
And yet, that twenty-year history of shared struggle proved remarkably fragile, crumbling in the face of the mere six months he had known Rosalie.
A sleek, black luxury sedan glided to the curb in front of her. The door flew open, and a figure emerged, cutting through the rain toward her under the shelter of a large umbrella.
Kaitlin's vision blurred as her knees finally buckled. With the last of her energy drained, she pitched forward, falling directly into the broad, solid chest of the stranger.
After waking up in an unknown room, Kaitlin's survival instincts immediately spiked, her eyes darting around the lavish space.
Her facial injuries had been expertly redressed, but the slightest movement sent a searing throb through her skin.
"Finally awake?" a low, resonant voice asked, shattering the quiet of the room.
Perched on a black leather sofa near the bed, a man in a bespoke suit watched her; his face was a masterpiece of refined features and icy indifference.
A flicker of dark amusement danced in his eyes as he studied her with a languid, predatory interest.
Kaitlin recoiled, pressing herself against the headboard as she gasped, "Who on earth are you?"
His hand shifted lazily on the armrest, drawing her attention to the platinum bracelet he was holding—it was intricately designed with the shape of a delicate bluebell. "Peace Hotel, Suite 1107, last night. Don't tell me your memory is that short."
As Kaitlin saw the bracelet, memories of the night before came rushing back. On the wide bed, the man's strong, burning hands had held her firmly at the waist, every movement so intense it left her breathless.
For a second, the ghost of his ragged breathing seemed to vibrate in the air around her.
Kaitlin's exhaustion was quickly overtaken by fury. "Did Hugh send you to finish the job? Get out of here right now, or I'm calling the police and reporting you for sexual assault."
The man let out a dry, mocking snort. "Leave my own home? I'm the one who just pulled you out of the rain. And you're mistaken—Hugh's setup was in 1109, but you walked into 1107. Technically, you're the one who crashed my room. If anyone was taken advantage of here, it was me."
Kaitlin froze as the reality of the situation began to sink in, her fingers bunching the expensive silk of the blanket as she finally recognized the man before her.
The situation was beyond surreal. This wasn't just some random stranger; it was Andrew Evans, the formidable CEO of the Evans Group in Zluasey. He was a power player her own firm had been desperate to court only months ago.
Handsome yet ruthless, he had already secured a powerful foothold in the domestic market at a young age.
Kaitlin swallowed hard. "You're not planning to silence me for good, are you?"
