1

“What happened?!”

Madeline got up, her heart beating fast. Her breath caught as her eyes looked around the strange, bright room. Her head throbbed from the drink last night; but what really scared her was the sharp hurt under her.

With shaking hands, Madeline grabbed a blanket that was around her, slowly pulling it up to check something.

She wasn’t wearing anything.

“It can’t be…”

Madeline quickly looked around and froze.

She saw her things spread out on the ground and a set of guys' shoes arranged close to the coffee table, because she wasn’t alone last night!

Fear took her at once. Madeline quickly grabbed her head trying to recall how all this had happened.

Last night, Madeline saw her future man, Ethan, giving a loving kiss to another lady in his apartment. And even more bad, that lady was Sonia, the girl who had picked on her the most in high school.

Who would have guessed that this girl was now a lover of the man who was going to wed her?!

It was not sad enough, Madeline even found out that Ethan did not really love her!

"If she ain't the only girl of the Brooks clan, why would I wed a dull lady?"

The time those words came out of Ethan's lips, Madeline's world fell apart. Her body could not budge, and she stayed stuck in place till the two betrayers saw her.

"Ma-Madeline?!"

Ethan tried to run after her but Madeline just turned and went out of the apartment.

In a burst of anger and sadness, Madeline drove without direction and found herself at a bar.

Madeline had never sipped a drink before. But, that night she gulped the booze like water. Each sip hurt her neck, but nothing was as sore as the hurt in her heart.

She didn't remember how much she drank.

All she could recall was a set of sharp eyes looking at her from far away.

Then, someone helped her up. A man.

A weak grin appeared on her mouth. Back then, she believed he was a nice guy who would bring her to the home safe.

But after entering the hotel room…

That warm feeling. The mouths that took her hungrily. The powerful arms that raised her form and put her on the bed.

Too clear.

Too real.

Madeline shook her head vigorously. No. No. No.

She didn't want to remember any more.

She tried to rise up slowly, but her body got stiff right away. The hurt...

Tears welled up in her eyes.

She had done something she couldn't take back.

Quickly, Madeline grabbed her clothes from the ground. But as she leaned down, the noise of the bathroom doorknob turn made her stop.

The door opened.

Madeline spun, her body right up against the wall, holding the blanket to her chest like a final hope.

Her heartbeat was chaotic.

A man emerged from the bathroom.

Tall. Cold. Dangerous.

The man wore just a white shirt with some buttons open, and he seemed to be easily fixing a Richard Mille watch that Madeline knew cost as much like a fancy flat.

He looked at her straight in the eye.

"Are you awake?"

His voice was low and quiet, like what took place last night wasn't a big thing.

Madeline swallowed, but her throat felt dry.

He didn’t say anything more. With smooth steps, he walked to a mirror, fixing his collar like it was just another morning for him?

But, his next words made Madeline's body tight.

"Are you not scared of being told off by a client?"

Customer?

Madeline's forehead creased a lot. Did this guy just think she was a worker?!

Her eyes widened.

No. This had to be a nightmare.

But when she saw his calm face, real life hit her more.

Madeline wished to reply but her lips were too numb. She could only look at him, the man who had taken something very dear from her.

As the guy turned and was gonna talk Madeline quickly ran to the bathroom and shut the door.

Her back pushed up to the wall, her body shaking hard.

The drops she had kept in check now flowed easily.

What did she do? Because of her silly choice to go to a bar, now Madeline had to give up her innocence to a man who didn't even mind about her!

Madeline didn’t know how long she was in the bath, thinking about how ashamed sh͏e would be if her folks found out what had happened.

She just wished that when she came out the man would have been gone.

However, her hopes were dashed in an instant.

When she opened the door, the man was still there.

Dressed up, she sat on the couch with her legs crossed. She looked at her phone screen with a blank face.

Madeline nibbled her lip. She did not want to stay here.

Without a word Madeline took her bag from the ground and walked by him to the door.

But—

"Take your payment."

Madeline stopped in her tracks.

Her heart was pounding.

Slowly, she turned around.

The man didn't even look at her as he spoke.

His hand went easy, showing to a pile of cash on the coffee table.

"Payment?" Madeline muttered, her body frozen in place.

At that moment, Nathaniel Sebastian Luis raised his gaze and glanced at Madeline. He raised his eyebrows, then decided to stand and approach the woman before him.

Tall. Dominating. Dangerous.

Madeline had to look up to meet Nathaniel's sharp, unreadable face.

"Isn't that enough?"

Madeline wanted to cry. This man really thinks he's...

"I don't know how much my friend paid," the man continued, grabbing Madeline's hand and forcing her to accept the stack of bills. "But take this. It's a fair price for you."

Madeline's blood boiled.

Her chest heaved, trying to contain her exploding emotions.

Without thinking, Madeline raised her hand and slapped him hard!

SLAP!

"Watch your behavior, you bastard!"

Without waiting for a response from the man in front of her, Madeline quickly left, holding back tears at the corners of her eyes.

On the other hand,

The man, Nathaniel, remained unmoved. He hadn't expected to be slapped when he wanted to overpay the escort his friend had booked.

Inwardly, he couldn't help but wonder: Are escorts these days really this fierce?

Sighing, Nathaniel turned to grab his jacket and leave. However, at that moment, his gaze fell on the bed.

The man froze.

Red stains. Blood?

 Nathaniel stared at her for a long moment, then frowned.

Was the call girl still a virgin?