Chapter 2 The Morning After

Astrid finally got what she wanted and lay on the bed, her whole body aching and weak, when suddenly there was violent knocking at the door.

"Astrid! Open the door! Someone saw you go in!"

Oliver's voice! How did he track her down?

Astrid's foggy consciousness instantly cleared.

She hadn't even had time to settle the score with him, and now he was the one throwing a fit?

Astrid looked back and saw that the bathroom light was on, with the sound of running water. Silas was taking a shower.

Outside, Oliver's pounding on the door showed no signs of stopping.

He was the one who messed up first.

In Astrid's mind, Oliver was completely out of the picture. But she couldn't just let him play her like this, and she definitely couldn't let him use her as bragging material in front of his friends.

Astrid calculated, now wasn't the time to expose everything to Oliver. Only by making him lose all face in Cypress Bay could she satisfy her anger!

But right now, more urgent than revenge was figuring out how to escape quickly.

Her dress had been ruined by Silas and couldn't be worn anymore, and she couldn't leave through the front door; Oliver would catch her red-handed.

While thinking, Astrid spotted Silas's suit jacket on the sofa, and an idea came to her.

A few minutes later, a slender figure wearing an ill-fitting suit emerged from the balcony sliding door.

She glanced at the distance to the ground below and nimbly climbed over to the neighboring balcony.

Astrid carefully pushed open the neighboring balcony door and found the room empty. Her anxious heart finally relaxed.

The knocking behind her suddenly stopped.

Afraid of being discovered, Astrid quickened her pace and slipped away, with no time to worry about what was happening over there.

Oliver, outside the door, suddenly stopped because the door opened from inside.

He stared at the man who opened it, his voice trembling with shock, "Uncle Silas?"

Silas's expression showed a hint of impatience. He had just come out of the bathroom and found Astrid gone from the bed, leaving him inexplicably irritated.

He glanced at Oliver, his tone blunt, "What is it? You'd better have a good reason for bothering me."

Oliver stammered, "I, I'm looking for my girlfriend."

Silas's expression immediately darkened, his tone dripping with undisguised contempt, "You need my help to find your lost girlfriend? Look at yourself! Tomorrow night at the Montgomery family dinner, you'd better find her yourself and bring her along."

"Of course!" Oliver nodded frantically. "I won't disturb you any longer!"

Oliver fled like he was escaping, while Astrid had already returned to the villa.

She took a shower, changed into a high-necked dress to cover the marks Silas had left last night, then threw Silas's suit into the trash outside.

Giving such a precious first time to Silas, could he be the chosen one of fate?

Astrid frowned slightly, contemplating the feasibility of canceling the business marriage between the Prescott family and the Montgomery family.

Before she could figure anything out, she heard the sound of the door lock turning.

As soon as Oliver entered, he saw Astrid in her dress, with her slim waist and curvy hips, standing gracefully.

Her perfect figure was fully outlined, radiating a charm she'd never had before.

He cursed the friend who gave him the tip for being unreliable. Astrid was clearly fine at home, while feeling relieved he hadn't lost his mind and barged into Silas's room to search for her.

He thought about last night, how he'd bragged to his friends about being able to win over Astrid, got heavily drunk by those buddies at the club, and ended up passed out there all night, missing Astrid's birthday party.

If she found out about this, there'd be hell to pay. Thinking about it, he felt somewhat guilty.

"Astrid, the traffic was terrible last night." Oliver put on a flattering face and immediately tried to put his arm around Astrid's slim waist.

"Stuck all night?" Astrid stepped aside, deliberately maintaining distance between them.

Her expressionless face looked cold and proud.

"Of course not." Oliver still wore a grin, pulling out a velvet box from his pocket and presenting it to her.

"I got held up on the way to get your gift. Why don't you open it?"

Astrid didn't even glance at it.

Oliver didn't mind and opened the box himself, revealing the sparkling gift inside.

"I remember you like pink diamonds. I had such a hard time finding this necklace. Let me put it on you and see how it looks." As he spoke, he took out the necklace and moved to place it on her chest.

All Astrid could think about was what she'd seen on her phone screen last night. Her body instantly stiffened, wishing Oliver would just disappear forever.

Every inch he moved closer made her sick.

But she couldn't tip her hand. What she wanted was always a single decisive strike that would leave him unable to turn things around forever.

Astrid took the necklace from his hand with her fingertips. When her fingers touched the cold diamond, a faint but clear chill came through, making her heart skip a beat.

Was this her awakened talent?

She remained calm and pretended to warn him angrily. "If you miss my birthday party again, you'll be sorry!"

This expression was both a warning and playful scolding.

Oliver thought she was just upset about him being late, and seeing her accept the gift, he didn't think much of it.

"Tomorrow night, the Montgomery family has an important dinner. Come with me." Oliver said, leaning forward, closing his eyes, and breathing in greedily.

Astrid sat there without answering.

When they first got together, Oliver said they shouldn't go public with their relationship.

Both families were huge with lots of drama, and Astrid thought he was looking out for her, not wanting her caught up in conflicts too early.

She agreed. So for three years of dating, only their closest friends knew about their relationship.

Now he suddenly wanted her at a dinner party; was he planning to introduce her to his family?

"Astrid, I feel like you're different today than before."

Not hearing an answer, Oliver wasn't in a hurry. He sighed with infatuation, "You're even more charming than before."

Astrid's spine stiffened, her smile looking somewhat unnatural. "I've told you before that drinking hurts your health. Last night you..."

Afraid she'd discover he'd been drinking and fooling around, Oliver cleared his throat, putting on an innocent face. "Not at all."

He reached out to grab Astrid's hand, but she smoothly dodged him.

Oliver knew Astrid only had eyes for him. So he patiently coaxed her.

"Alright, stop being mad. Tomorrow night at dinner, I'll make your status public. Isn't that what you've always wanted for everyone in Cypress Bay to know you're my woman?"

The way he said it made being his girlfriend sound like some great honor. Looking back now, it was truly laughable.

Astrid didn't want to expose his act immediately. Annoyed by him now, she was about to say she wasn't feeling well when Oliver's phone rang.

He picked up the phone, glanced at the screen, got up, and walked toward the door, saying he had urgent business, that he'd send a car for her tomorrow.

Before he finished speaking, he'd disappeared out the door.

Only after Oliver left did Astrid feel the severe pain below. When she checked in the bathroom, she was actually bleeding.

She froze instantly, cursing Silas for not knowing restraint while quickly driving to the hospital.

After a series of examinations, the doctor looked at the results and earnestly reminded her, "Miss, you need to be moderate and controlled in your sex life."

Then, seeing she was alone, the doctor looked even more disapproving. "Where's your boyfriend? He didn't come with you?"

"This is unacceptable. You need to criticize him when you get back. Men need to control their desires; they can't just take without knowing how to cherish," He added.

Even though Astrid was usually composed, she was now so embarrassed that she wished she could die on the spot, and could only silently lower her head.

Seeing her silence, the doctor thought he'd hit a nerve, sighed, and handed her the prescription.

Astrid took the prescription, said thank you, and quickly opened the door, fleeing in panic.

But outside the door, someone had appeared at some point.

Astrid, completely unaware, crashed headfirst into the person's solid chest!