CHAPTER 1

EVA:

Waking up on the bed, I felt a pounding headache. When I moved my right hand, I was stunned to see that there was another person lying on the bed next to me.

"What? Who are you?" I gasped, sitting up on the bed 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 24 years old, fair, and my best friend from college.

Though I knew that Layla was from a rich family, I am from a struggling home. She had promised that I would have fun at her party, even when I didn't want to. I agreed, and now I am 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. Broad chest, chiseled abs, and six packs.

"Don't drool at me like that. Get up and get out!" He yelled at me, but 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 was sobbing, unable to believe that I had sex with an unknown man. He ignored me and pulled the bedsheet away from my body to shield his own body.

When 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 up, 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 she clung to Jacob's arm, like she was his girlfriend.

"Jacob, I don't know what Eva is saying. She came to my party, and she told me that she is 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 around," 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 had 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? Look at you, Eva. A poor woman like you cannot climb to the top of the ladder of wealth and power in this Dominic City. You need 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 do I get the money to pay Jacob now?

Jacob had promised to marry me after I had 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 used 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 of the bathroom, 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, and I quickly used the green dress to cover my chest and shield my nákedness.

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

"Mr. Owen? Who?" I asked, confused, and the bathroom opened, while the handsome man who had slept with 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 that this handsome stranger is a boss. 'Who is 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 buckled 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 and 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 will 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 couldn't believe my eyes as I barged into his room, rushed to the bed to meet him, mounted him, and started kissing his lips.

"I didn't remember doing that. That's not me, and how do you have the video in your phone?" I asked him, accusingly, and he smiled.

"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, and 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.