4. THE MORNING AFTER 

ARIA'S POV

When the morning light hit my face, everything hurt.

My head throbbed so hard I almost fainted right back onto the pillows. My limbs felt like lead, completely pinned down by a deep-seated ache and my lips were cracked, dry, and bitter. Parting them sent a sharp sting across my mouth.

I blinked against the harsh sunlight, my vision slowly piecing the room together. It felt cold, empty and completely unfamiliar.

I froze at that last thought. Where the hell was I?

The soft, incredibly expensive texture of the sheets tangled around my body. My heart dropped leaving me completely breathless.

I pulled the fabric down slightly. And I was totally naked. As naked as the day I was born.

My breasts felt sore, and a throbbing ache remained deep between my thighs.

The realization hit me like a punch. No. Please, God no.

A choked sob caught in my throat. I forced myself up, my legs trembling as I swung them over the edge of the mattress. I had to press my hands hard against my knees to keep from collapsing onto the floor.

Looking down, my jaw tightened. Red marks shadowed my collarbone and shoulders.

My mind was a blur, but I wasn't clueless.

I had sex with someone.

With who?

I tried to force a face into my head but it was… blank.

Could it have been Jamie? Did he regret what he did and come to find me after the party?

“Aria,” a voice echoed in my mind. The memory of that deep, rough voice came rushing back.

He had whispered slowly, rolling my name on his tongue over and over in the dark as he…

That wasn't Jamie. It definitely wasn't him. The stranger was... a complete blank.

I burned with shame as another memory flashed through the fog in my head.

I could see myself, teary-eyed begging him. “Aren't you supposed… to be my… saviour?”

Saviour, my foot. I gazed down at the marks on my once flawless skin. Angry tears burned in my eyes. I had clearly been taken advantage of.

I felt dirty. Used. The man wasn't in the suite anymore. I had to get out before he came back. I couldn't dare risk being here when he came back.

I would have to take this huge loss and try to forget the night ever happened.

Panic took over as the thought of the stranger walking in made my stomach turn

Scrambling off the bed, I dropped to the floor and began searching for my discarded clothes. My hands shook so badly as I put them on.

The silk front of my purple bodice was ruined. The fabric had been ripped un-smoothly, unable to hold my breasts properly anymore.

Shit.

Two months of my time, design, and effort, ruined by the hands of that sonofabitch.

He better hope I never find him because we have a lot of scores to settle.

I snatched up a large black coat left on the carpet and threw it over my ruined dress.

I took the elevator down, grateful that I was on the executive floor as it was completely empty.

Keeping my head low, I hurried through the lobby, praying nobody recognizes me. Not in this state.

I was seconds away from having a total mental breakdown

Pushing through the glass doors, I burst out into the chilly morning air.

Locating my car among the fleet was not a small fit, but my purple BMW proved not too hard to find.

Pushing past the valet, I unlocked the door using the keycard in the purse I had hastily grabbed from the suite floor.

I climbed inside, locked the doors, and pressed my forehead against the cool glass of the steering wheel.

I couldn't hold it in anymore as I broke down into heavy tears.

Slowly, the fragments of the night started lining up in my head. Jamie's betrayal. The announcement.

I had been so fucking lost and heartbroken that I drowned a drink for the first time in my twenty years of life.

Actually, twenty-one. As of yesterday.

Happy fucking birthday to me, right? Welcome to adulthood, Aria.

What gist is more desirable than your childhood sweetheart dumping you on a public stage, you being completely blindsided and then you wake up naked in a stranger's bed.

Most tragic tale ever.

Right. The drink. It had been laced with a drug.

My hands curled into tight fists in my lap.

A hard realization settled in my gut, turning my grief into anger.