Episode 3

‘I must be crazy, I must be insane…what was I thinking? Andrea couldn’t help but lament inwardly. ‘Why the fuck did I have to bring a stranger to my home?’ She thought hesitating to unlock her door while she could feel the man’s intense gaze burning right into her head behind her. She had brought him over to her apartment on a whim, and now she couldn’t stop regretting it but the man despite his handsome and elegant appearance had acted so pitifully she couldn’t ignore it, or she just couldn’t agree that she was weak to handsome faces, as she drove the man to her home she couldn’t stop herself from drawing different horrendous speculations about the guy, she found herself worrying if she was a secret agent, or a mafia or an undercover cop…whatever her speculations were, none of them was good for her.

Contrary to how the man appeared to Andrea, he was polite, gentle, and manly, his brown hair was finely styled and his stubbles neatly trimmed, giving him a mature appearance, his chiselled face was adorned with a perfect nose ridge and glimmering hazel eyes, Andrea blinked in surprise, she’d been paying more attention to the guy than she thought, how on earth was she able to figure out his eye colour? She wondered feeling her mouth run dry in shock.

The digital door lock clicked after she inputted her password and she gulped as she pulled the door to herself while she slowly gets into the doorway, she crouched and pulled off her few inches heeled sandal shoes which had bruised the back of her leg. She caught at the corner of her eyes the man mirroring her actions and removing his shoes…maybe he wasn’t so dangerous after all, she thought but part of her brain suggested maybe he just didn’t want to get his shoes dirty after doing the nasty…what does the nasty even mean? She questioned her brain finding herself getting distracted by the VIP meeting her mind was having, keeping herself busy will all the thoughts running in her head.

“I have an extra room right behind you, you…you can stay the night” Andrea offered staring at the guy whose attention seems rather focused on the cozy setting of her home. Andrea ran to her couch, hastily clearing off some of her stuff carelessly laying around. She lives alone so…cleaning was always the last thing on her long agenda list, except when she had her Fiance over, she’s never been focused on cleaning but she suddenly felt ashamed of that as the stranger who had earlier introduced himself as Rio Harrison trailed her with his eyes.

She caught a small smile on his lips before she hurried away into her laundry room to dump the clothes she got off her couch. She returned to her sitting room to see Rio putting off his suit, now he was left in his button-up shirt, tie, expensive suit pants, and socks, and though he was now looking business casual, Andrea couldn’t help but admit he was hot. Goddamnit Andy, you have a Fiance, she mentally scolded herself as she forced Rio a smile.

“I’m really sorry to trouble you, I promise to leave immediately in the morning” Rio returned her smile warmly, while Andrea felt her face flame up from the gentleness of his tone.

“It’s alright, the visitor’s room is down right behind you, be free to wash up” She pointed and Rio took careful steps through the door. The minute Rio disappeared through the door, Andrea find herself clearing and cleaning up her apartment, the 2 room apartment she’d gotten during her rebellious years with her grandfather.

Andrea was in the kitchen when she started to wonder about the identity of the man she’d brought home. He was familiar yet unfamiliar, she was pretty sure she’d seen him somewhere but she just can’t remember where.

“Damnit! I’m out of groceries” She cursed under her breath after seeing her empty fridge so she ordered pizza. She was about to put down her phone when Danny’s call came right in, she sighed exasperatedly and raised the phone to her ear the moment she picked.

“Andy, I know you’re mad at me right now, so…you can take some time to think about it. Maybe I do need Mr. Morgan’s money to sort my debt, but…we are gonna be together Andrea, I’ll be sure to pay back the money I’m just really in need of it right now. I know you want us to be together too, don’t you? Regardless of my debts the wedding will go on as planned-

“There will be no wedding Danny” Andrea sharply cut in, holding back her surging anger.

“Andy-

“No, I’ve heard enough of your excuses, I can’t push through with the wedding and that’s it!”

“Fuck!” Danny cursed spitefully over the phone. “Andy this is a matter of life and death, I know I messed up a great deal, okay…I was wrong, but..you can’t do this to me, we love each other, for years, you can’t just cut me off-

“I have no intention of doing that Danny, I only said I wasn’t ready to get married to you at the moment, it didn’t mean I’m cutting you off forever but it doesn’t matter if we get married now or later-

“It matters, it’s meant a big deal, Andy, we have to get married now…I…your grandfather, he put a trust fund in our name, we only have access to it if we get married and-

“Damn it! Danny, time and time again, you sound like you only cared about the money my grandfather left aside for me, you only cared about the company that’ll be in your name when we get married, I’m sick of it Danny. I can’t believe for four years I…I actually thought you cared about me-

“Andrea, I do…I care a lot about you, why do you think I put up with all those nasty acts of yours” Andrea felt her heart squeeze in her chest. She might have truly loved Danny but she trusted him and opened up to him. Hearing him say that had her heart shattering into a million pieces. “When you miss our dinner dates for your design deadlines, when you reply to my messages late and never visit when I want you to, why do you think I put up with that selfish acts of yours, you seriously don’t think I care” Danny let out a deep sigh over the phone. Andrea knew he’d gotten so desperate that he’d utter anything just so she wouldn’t cancel the wedding but every single word that left his tramp only made it worse.

Andrea allowed him to complain about everything they’d ever done together for the past four years, turns out Danny had only been putting up with her, not that he really cared.

“If…being with me is such a hassle, you didn’t need to stay and endure all those difficulties you know…you could have just left” Andrea snickered.

“I couldn’t, because…I love you, Andrea I really love you that’s why all these four years of putting up with you didn’t matter-” Danny paused as Andrea laughed out loud hysterically, taking him by surprise.

“Love me? Bullshit! You stayed because you knew my grandfather was going to hand over Spice to you, love me, fuck that! You only loved yourself!” Andrea half-yelled over the phone before she ended it with an exasperated sigh, slamming her phone on the kitchen counter. She wasn’t surprised when felt disappointed and frustrated rather than heartbroken and devastated.

She run her hand through her hair leaving it dishevelled and then she raised her head to meet Rio’s eyes, he just made his way out of his room, it only put Andrea in an even more terrible mood to think that he’d witnessed her in such a situation, fortunately for her, the doorbell dinged and she quickly left to get it, it was the pizza.

“Are you alright?” Rio asked in a concerned tone after Andrea invited him to join her for dinner though she ended up apologising for it since she couldn’t give him a proper meal.

“Me? Yeah, I’m fine” Andrea stood, striding to the fridge to get the only thing that decorated the inside of her fridge, canned beers.

“Okay” Rio recoiled and Andrea sighed feeling terrible for shutting him out like that.

“How about this, you tell me why those guys were trying to kidnap you the other time and I’ll tell you what you want to know” Rio beamed, and Andrea felt her face grow warm after seeing the strange curiosity in his eyes. She smiled and sat opposite him, mentally scolding herself for finding him rather cute despite him looking older than she was.

“They…they are my sister’s bodyguards, they were trying to lock me up” Andrea flinched on hearing that. Lock him up? Why? Did he do something wrong?

“Why would they lock you up? That’s just…terrible” She commented, opening the box of pizza and leaving it open for him to dig in.

“Yeah, it’s your turn now” Andrea stifled a laugh, he seems eager to know her, the man’s action seems to captivate her more and more, I mean which grown-ass man asked a stranger and a woman at that they just met to spent the night with them, but then he must have been freaking desperate to escape his pursuers.

“I called off my marriage” One of the few traits Andrea hated about herself was the fact that though she doesn’t talk very often but when she gets comfortable with someone, she found herself talking more than she wants to, so…she ended up spilling all her life problems to the handsome stranger she brought into her home while slowly eating pizza and drinking can beers, and before she knew it, she was half drunk.

“I must be boring you” She smiled, face flushed with colour as she swayed drunkenly in her seat.

“Not at all, rather…I feel really honoured to listen” Rio smiled at her encouragingly while Andrea suddenly broke down, crying her heart out because of how hurt she is after realising the type of person Danny was, she might have tried to act strong but who was she kidding? She felt hurt and betrayed, and surprisingly as she cried, Rio continue to pat her back, bringing his chair closer to hers, and though he handed her tissues, he wasn’t looking, he probably thought she’ll be embarrassed if he looked.

“Rio…you are…a good man” And with that, she slumped her head but when she expected to hear a big thud since she knew her head was heading for the table, instead her head met something hard but warm.

Rio raised back Andrea’s head with his palm as she fall unconscious, she intrigues him, an unfamiliar woman who had brought a pitiful man into her home despite knowing how dangerous that can be,

Rio stared blankly at her, feeling strangely warm from the inside, no one had ever treated him like a human being but this woman treated him so kindly, it made him want more, and seeing her all defenceless, how could anyone fall asleep without a care of the world when he had a stranger in her home? a male at that. Rio finds himself staring at her, taking her in, her features…Andrea wasn’t the most pretty woman in the universe but she was a standout, her curly hair, her soft tanned skin, her sharp looks, everything about her captivates him in a way he couldn’t dare explain, Rio brought her to her room, it was messy but it made him smile, she knew by the time he also sleeps and wakes up, he would no longer be Rio so he debated whether to leave or enjoy the only time he had left with the only woman who has ever tried to talk to him apart from his therapist, he worries if he was to wake up as Oliver in the morning, things might become difficult, Rio fell asleep while still making a decision.

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