CHAPTER 1

EVA'S POV

I woke on the bed with a pounding head. As I moved my right hand, I was shocked to touch another person lying on the bed next to me.

"What? Who are you!" I gasped, sitting up immediately.

The man had a sharp jawline, full brows, and thin lips.

I took a look at my body and was stunned that I was naked together on the bed with him.

"Who the hell are you!" I yelled at him, before the events of the previous night hit me hard.

I had been invited by Layla Parker to celebrate her birthday at the hotel. Layla was from a rich family. She was twenty-four years old, fair, and my best friend from college.

Though I knew that Layla was from a rich family, I was from a struggling home. She had promised that I would have fun at her party, even when I didn't want to go. I agreed, and now I was on a bed with an unknown man.

"I should be the one asking you what the hell you're doing on my bed. This is a VIP suite. How did you get in here, miss?" asked the handsome man on the bed, and he shifted away from me. I was stunned by his masculine physique. He had a broad chest, chiseled abs, and six-packs abdomen.

"Don't drool at me like that. Get up and get out!" He barked at me, and I refused.

"I am a virgin. I am not a prostitute, and you slept with me. Is this how you take responsibility for your actions? How did we get entangled on the bed?" I sobbed, unable to believe that I had had sex with an unknown man. He ignored me and pulled the bedsheet away from my body to shield his own.

He went into the bathroom, and the sound of water running filled my ears. The entrance door swung open, and Layla came in with Jacob Stone, my fiancé.

"So this is what you do, Eva. You do hook ups, after everything I did to support you," Jacob accused me, as he stood there at the door with Layla.

"No, Jacob. I don't know what happened. Layla, you invited me to your party. How did I end up with that stranger in the bathroom?" I asked my best friend, needing her help.

Layla wore a short blue dress and black shoes, and she clung to Jacob's arm, like she was his fiancée.

"Jacob, I don't know what Eva is saying. She came to my party and told me that she was looking forward to meeting a rich guy in this luxury five-star hotel—the Owen's Hotel. I honestly don't know how she got here, until I asked the security man," Layla lied to Jacob, and he believed her.

"I cannot believe that you would do this, Eva. After everything I did to feed you, sponsor you—and this is how you repay me. It's over between us," Jacob said, as he stood there glaring at me.

"You never let me touch you, and now you gave your body willingly to another man. I want back all the money that I spent on feeding you and clothing you for the five years that we dated. Failure to do that, and I will have you arrested. Trust me," Jacob said, and he snatched his hand away from Layla and walked out of the hotel room.

Layla glanced at me and smiled. "Do you think that you are deserving of a rich man like Jacob Stone? Look at you, Eva. A poor girl like you cannot climb to the top of the ladder of wealth and power in this Dominic City. You are to return to the slum where you belong, and don't worry about Jacob—I will take care of him." Layla smirked and walked out of the room, slamming the door with a deafening sound.

Tears flooded down my cheeks as I sat on the bed, speechless.

'Where would I get money to pay Jacob now?'

Jacob had promised to marry me after I graduated, and now Layla had ruined everything after I graduated this year.

Wiping my tears off my cheeks, I knew that crying didn't solve anything. But I wouldn't just leave. I needed an explanation from the man in the bathroom.

How dare he use me despite knowing that I was intoxicated, and yet he acted like I was the one who had taken advantage of him.

I waited for the man to get out, as I grabbed my clothes from last night that I saw sprawled on the ground.

It was a green dress that I had worn to Layla's birthday party.

A knock on the entrance door startled me again, and I quickly used the green dress to cover my chest and shield my nakedness.

A tall man in a black suit came into the room, and seeing me using the green dress to shield my chest, he lowered his head and apologized. "I am sorry, miss. Where's Mr. Owen?"

"Mr. Owen—who?" I asked, confused, and the bathroom door opened while the handsome man who had taken care of me stepped out.

"Leave, Pete. I will call for you later," he said.

"Okay, boss," the tall man in black replied, and my eyes widened. This handsome stranger was a boss. Who was he, and why did the tall man call him boss?

However, the man ignored me and went to get his clothes ready.

"Mr. Owen, you cannot take advantage of me without an explanation. I was drunk last night, and I bet you were drunk too," I said, my tone accusing him as he wore his shirt and buttoned it.

Turning to face me with his sharp green eyes, he replied, "I wasn't drunk. But how do I know you were drunk, when you came into my room, offered yourself to me, and kissed me first? Do you need me to replay the footage to see what you did?"

"No, I—" I was at a loss for words. "I would never do that. You are accusing me wrongly," I said, my voice quivering, as I didn't remember doing any of that.

"I see," Mr. Owen smirked and walked up to pick up his phone.

"Have a look," he said, as he played a video from last night on his phone.

In the video, I could not believe my eyes as I barged into his room, rushed to the bed to meet him, mounted him, and started kissing his lips.

"What? I don't remember doing that. That's not me. And how do you have the video on your phone?" I asked him accusingly, and he smirked.

"Don't play dumb with me, young lady. I own this hotel and the Owen's Group in Dominic City. If there is anyone who needs compensation between us, it's me, because you took advantage of me. I could only help you when I sensed you were drugged. If I hadn't slept with you, who knows what damage would have happened to your body. So you should compensate me," he smirked, and my jaw dropped.