Chapter 2

Stirring her body slowly, Sierra was asleep in an uncomfortably tight position. So that when she woke up, her whole body was aching like crazy. She clicked her tongue in annoyance as her eyes trailed to the wall clock hanging above the hotel room door.

Both her eyes scanned the entire room she was currently staying in. The situation was still the same as last night, she was still alone in this room. There was no sign that her husband on the paper had come back last night. Sierra kicked off the thick blanket that was wrapped around her body and even the dress she wore last night was not taken off.

"Gosh, was I really that tired last night? To the point of having to sleep in this damn wedding dress?"

She painstakingly pulled down the zipper. Just as she managed to get the heavy dress off, her cell phone buzzed. With her body half-naked, Sierra made her way to the nightstand. She frowned, seeing that a new number had been called and yet she was not willing to take the call somehow. However that damn buzzing is getting on her nerves.

Picking up the phone, she answered. But she was abruptly interrupted by the caller instead. "Hello, who—" 

"Are you going to stay in a hotel room forever? Did you forget that you are married now, Mrs. Valentino? Go home right away before that pesky media finds out you're there!"

Sierra scrunched up her forehead again, this time with her folds looking so much deeper. She even slightly moved her cell phone away from her ear. Her eyes quickly caught sight of the phone number that had just popped into her dialing area.

She cleared her throat first before she replied to the man who was nagging at her. Whose fault is it? The man who abandoned her as if she were nothing more than a good for nothing. So don't blame her if she would be more at home in this luxurious hotel room, rather than going back to the mansion of her husband... husband on paper, that is. That was what he had said to her yesterday.

"My dear Mr. Valentino, aren't you the one who forgot that you married a woman a few dozen hours ago, and you so heartlessly left her here, sleeping alone, cold and even lonely? And you still dare to ask who forgot that title? Me or you?"

There was only an irritated groan from the other side of the phone. She was sure that the man who was already her husband was upset right now. She knew for a fact that Ace would prioritize his image in front of many people. He would not let his name fall from grace just because he had left his wife whom he had just married... in a hotel room alone. While he was sitting in his luxurious mansion now. What would people say, if an Ace Valentino who was known to be kind and caring to people, boldly left his wife alone?

"Don't argue with me, Sierra! Go home now, Sarah will pick you up!"

Beep! And the call was cut off just like that.

Sierra let out a huff of annoyance as Ace ended the call instead. The man is not only arrogant and forceful, but he is also totally unpredictable. With the same attitude as her, Sierra was someone who could not be controlled or argued with. And now, she could feel how bad it was when someone had the exact same attitude as her.

"Damn him! If it was not for my father at stake, I would have run away from you last night!" She threw her cell phone onto the bed in frustration.

She swayed her legs and headed for the bathroom. It was already 8 am and that meant she really had to move fast.

When a few minutes had passed, Sierra finally got out of there. It was a good thing that Claire had given her a paper bag of clothes last night before she went into her hotel room. Otherwise, she might have had to deal with the heavy dress that had kept her warm all night.

*****

Brughh!

Sierra slammed the car door loudly. She briskly made her way to the luxurious mansion that would be her home away from home after she finished work, and she happened to be part of Ace's company. So, her husband was indirectly her boss.

As she opened the main door of the mansion, the first sight she caught was two men... cuddling on the sofa. Her eyes blinked at the shocking sight. When it came to women hugging each other tightly, she had seen it many times, as she also liked to do the same with Claire. But if it was a man, it was not pretty to look at. Instead of looking sweet, it looked so disgusting in her eyes.

"Ekhem!" The loud throaty sound that came from her mouth made the two men break the link of their bodies. Both of them even looked completely out of place when they saw her walking closer to them.

"What are you guys doing? Hugging like lovers, you guys are straight, right?"

Her mouth had always been like this, Sierra could never help it. She would jump straight to the main topic without even bothering to say anything. Just like her attitude during photo shoots, Sierra would never like a crew member who just wasted her time while working.

"Si-Sierra, you're home," she lifted one eyebrow when she heard Ace's gentle, low voice. The man who had become her husband seemed to be coming closer to her while sneaking a glance at the man who was standing upright near the table.

"Who is he?"

The flustered and awkward look on his face, she could see it clearly. This man who had been acting rude and arrogant this morning, why was he all of a sudden not able to speak? Did he suddenly become mute?

"I asked you who he was, why did you keep quiet, Mr. Valentino?"

"He-he's my secretary! Yes, my secretary. Meet Lance, and Lance this is Sierra, my wife."

The man, whose name was Lance, nodded his head slowly at Sierra, while Sierra seemed to be acting casual. Instead, she was busy eyeing Lance up and down. His appearance, which was probably about the same age as Ace, did look like that of a secretary, with his neat black suit fitting his well-proportioned body, not to forget the gray shirt and matching tie attached to his body.

"So, he's your secretary?" Ace and Lance nodded their heads in unison and that made Sierra frown even more.

“Then why are you two hugging like lovers?” His eyes blinked rapidly. His lips twitched painstakingly, throwing a smile at her, leaving her feeling even more cringed. Instead of being happy at the smile he showed, Sierra felt shivers running down her spine.

"Sierra honey, Lance was grieving because his grandmother just passed away. So I had to hug him like before to make him feel that there are still people who will always be there for him. It's normal because his grandmother was the one who took care of him from childhood. So Lance already considers his grandmother like his own mother."

She simply nodded casually, glancing slowly at Lance who was lowering his head deeply. It seemed to be true that this man was grieving the loss of his grandmother. Despite being a pretty fierce person and always being labeled as a bad girl, Sierra was easily touched when it came to her mother. Because she had also felt the pain of losing a mother.

"Alright then, just continue the hug. Be strong Mr. Lance, I know how it feels to lose someone precious in our lives. I'm going to head upstairs first... oh yeah, where is our room—" Sierra trailed off, as if at a loss for the next word. "Hubby?"