Allergies.

The following morning, Aysel slowly regained consciousness, her long lashes fluttering open to the gentle glow of morning rays caressing her face.

Aysel felt a throbbing pain shoot into her head once she tried to sit upright on the bed making her wince in pain.

"Ouch" She grimaced, stroking her aching head. She couldn't remember where she had hit her head previously but the pain was almost unbearable.

"Why is my head aching so badly? Did I bump it somewhere?" She muttered. Slowly, she felt conscious of her surroundings. Her eyes glanced around at the room she was in.

She was greeted by an unfamiliar room of undeniable opulence.

Elegance and luxury adorned every surface with a regal presence, from the ornate golden chandelier casting a soft, enchanting glow, to the sumptuous furnishings that whispered lots of riches and status.

She knew she had never been there before, It was a stark contrast to her humble abode back at home, as if she had stepped into a realm of lavishness and extravagance.

Confusion filled her mind as she questioned her surroundings.

"How did I end up here? This is not my room. When did I arrive?" Aysel desperately tried to recollect the events that led her to this unfamiliar place, but the throbbing pain in her head hindered her attempts, forcing her to abandon the futile task.

Suddenly, a pungent wave of smoke invaded her nostrils, triggering an uncontrollable bout of sneezing and coughing. Aysel's allergies flared up in response to the hazardous fumes, further adding to the ache she had in her head.

She closed her nose as her eyes darted to where the smoke came from only to meet a towering figure leaning at the frame of the widow in the room, putting on black pants, his upper toned body bare to her view making her once sleepy eyes grow wide and her mouth fell agape, fully awake at the astonishing sight before her.

"You're awake?" He said as he heard the young lady in his bed sneeze, her sound resembling a kitten's delicate mewl.

Turning to face the lady on his bed whose nose was as red as a tomato due to too much sneezing, he raised an eyebrow at her as he relaxed his back at the window frame with the cigarettes between his fingers.

He had golden brown eyes that were captivating to behold. His wavy black hair framed his face with flair, while his high nose and pink, alluring lips added to his striking features.

He released another puff of smoke from his lips as it swirled, dancing toward Aysel's face.

It made her let out a hard sneeze again, with a cough following up.

"Please, stop smoking that thing… I am allergic to it." Aysel pleaded, turning her face away from it.

"Oh, you mean this baby here?" He asked while feigning a surprised tone.

" I can't leave my baby. He will miss me and I will surely miss him excessively." He feigned an innocent face. A smirk on his lips as he left the window frame, approaching her slowly.

"How did you end up in my bed? You also want to be in my bed just like those worthless bitches I've come across?" He shot an unexpected question at her as he took slow, long strides toward his bed.

"How could he be asking such an outrageous question? Wasn't he the one who brought me here? I clearly remember now how he abducted me and also made me hit my head against his stupid car window! And now he dares to throw questions at me?" Aysel felt wronged as she gave him a deathly glare.

If only looks could kill then Anthony would have been long gone by the look she shot at him

"Why would you be asking me such a dumb question? Or have you perhaps also hit your head somewhere? You abducted me, Anthony Gracia! So don't you dare accuse me wrongly! I'm not a whore like your damn fiancee, Scarlett," Aysel shot back, the anger which was quenched previously when she had fallen unconscious in the car fired up immediately.

His eyes quickly constricted, as he fiercely had his hands wrapped around Aysel's slender neck, choking her up.

" You dare not utter one more word about Scarlett if you wish to see longer days ahead.." He said in a chilling tone as his fingers tightened around her neck.

Aysel let out a desperate cry for help as she struggled to draw in a breath. His fingers were wrapped tightly around her neck, and despite her attempts to loosen his grip, it only grew tighter.

The lack of oxygen made her feel lightheaded, and she could feel her blood circulation slowing down. Her face began to turn a deep shade of purple, and every breath became a struggle for survival

"Goddammit! He doesn't even give a fuck if I'm a lady or not! Such a beast in the form of a human." Aysel hissed as she struggled to get his hands off her.

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry for what I said. I promise I won't ever say anything about her again. Her name would never cross my lips. Ever! " She quickly begged him.

She still had a lot of things going on in her life. So she definitely could not die at the hands of this intimidating man.

His grip slowly loosened around her. He went to his table and took a cheque from it, carelessly throwing it at her face, not minding where it landed as he said…

" That's a Cheque of $10,000. It's five times the deal you had with that troll. Its for the mishaps I caused you. Take it and never return for I have nothing to do with you anymore."

A few seconds ticked by. He expected her to say something at least. Even an appreciation will do but he heard none of that.

"Understand?!" He snapped at her, his voice resonating with authority.

Aysel, lost in a trance by the astonishing sum of money written on the cheque she held, snapped back to reality at the commanding tone of his voice.

"Huh? Yes, yes... But why are you giving me so much money when I haven't done anything for you?" Aysel's confusion deepened as she tried to comprehend the reason behind such an amount of money he was giving to her.

"I was intimate with you last night. I was drunk, okay? I mistook you for Scarlett. Just take the shit and leave. Use it however you wish, but let's pretend this never happened and we never crossed paths before," he uttered, his words laced with a tinge of little to no regret.

Aysel's eyes grew wide like saucers at the revelation. It was at that moment she realized she had been naked under the sheet. She slowly raised the sheet covers to confirm his words and her doubts.

A gasp left her lips as she confirmed it.

"Wh-what? How could this have happened?" Aysel stuttered, finding it hard to believe her eyes.

"Don't act surprised or pretend to be a victim here." She heard an indifferent tone from the man standing next to her as he took a long drag from his cigarettes and puffed out into the air.

"You were about to have sex with that fat pig. Consider yourself fortunate that you ended up with me, I even doubled the amount. It's far-fetched that you would ever come across such a sum in your life if not for my generosity," Anthony stated, brimming with self-importance about his supposed act of kindness.

Aysel fell into a whirlwind of emotions, her mind racing with conflicting thoughts. She blinked back a tear that threatened to roll down her cheek, determined not to let him see her vulnerability.

As he continued to taunt her with remorseless words coming out of his sinful lips. She took a deep, suffocating breath and closed her eyes, trying to make sense of the difficult situation she found herself in.

But deep down, she knew he was correct. Ending up in his bed had brought her a stroke of luck she couldn't deny. The thought of working tirelessly for such a substantial sum in a single day seemed impossible to her, considering her poor family background made her certain it truly was impossible.

Aysel swallowed hard, making the difficult decision to leave without causing any unnecessary drama, just as he had suggested.

"It shouldn't be difficult, right? I just need to walk away and never cross paths again. Last night was like an unexpected blessing. So I should be grateful... B-but," she sniffled, her voice wavering.

" But why am I not delighted about being bestowed with such a large sum of money? Was it possibly because I had hoped for a miracle to occur?

"Oh, I'm so stupid and dumb." Aysel let out a bitter laugh, tinged with heartbreak, as she fought back the teardrop that threatened to escape her eyelids once again.

"Isn't this exactly what you had decided to do? Take the money and leave. It's not difficult, Aysel. There's no reason for you to mourn the loss of your virginity," she said, a maniacal smile playing on her lips.