LOGINHer eyes locked into his. His face was familiar yet stranger. He was striking, sharp features dark hair- still damp.
“What are you staring at?” he said, sipping coffee as if she were a nuisance.
“You have sold your body for one night and I screw you. Take that money and leave. It has more than you have asked for." The man’s words stung her like a slap.
Aria's nostrils flared. Aria’s nose flared, her heart racing with anger and hurt. He thought she was a prostitute, but worse, his words reminded her of how men treated her mother. She stood tall, refusing to back down.
“Can you explain why you are allergic to women like me?” She gulped and dared to ask him. “If you think I’m disgusting for selling my body, aren’t you worse for buying it? Trading money for flesh?” Her words hit hard.
The man’s thick brows furrowed. No one dared to ask him anything like that, but before he could answer her, she placed the envelope on the table and without saying anything, she walked out by slamming the door.
Aria couldn’t process what happened. She was still smelling raw and strong, it was perhaps that man’s semen.
"Lantern Road, Eastbourne."
She took a cab and went home. She needed to wash him off, to erase his touch before it became a memory. But it was already too late—it had stuck in her head.
As soon as she got home, she rushed into her bathroom and scrubbed herself clean. It would take a few days for the hickey scars on her body to fade. She applied concealer to hide them.
Just then, her phone started ringing. She saw it was Peter calling. She didn’t go to his room last evening. And now he must be calling her for a final break up with her.
"Hello..." Her lips trembled.
"Aria, where are you?" Now he was sober and talking nicely as usual.
"I'm at home.”
"Actually, I want to apologize to you. Whatever I said and did last night, I am very ashamed of it. I got drunk, and so did Khloé. The kiss wasn’t intentional..” Peter was speaking, His words made her feel even worse. “We both love each other, and It’s not a relationship that would end with a little argument.”
Aria’s throat tightened. How could she tell him that after he left, she stumbled into a stranger’s room and slept with him?
"I need to talk to you. Can we meet this evening?" Aria asked, her hands turning cold.
"Yes, of course. Let's meet at the East Park restaurant this evening." Peter hung up.
Aria took a deep breath. She knew Peter would say some harsh things to her.
But she didn't want to hide the truth from him. She changed her clothes and took a book out of her bag to read. It was the only way for her to escape the reality of the world and divert her mind. Whenever she felt depressed, she would lose herself in a book, entering a different world.
Suddenly, there was a loud knocking on her room door, so forceful it felt like it might break.
"Open the door... Aria... Open the door..."
The shouting from outside made Aria's body tremble. And behind that, she could hear someone trying to calm down the person knocking.
"Calm down, Mark, your blood pressure is rising. Don't ruin your health for that foolish girl."
The longer the door remained closed, the angrier her dad would get. Thinking
Aria quickly opened the door. As soon as she opened it, her dad walked in
and slapped her hard across the face.
"Where were you last night? Do you have any idea how much I lost because of you?" her dad said, growling.
"You weren't even at your friend's house," Elvira said, rolling her eyes.
"What? You weren't even at your friend's place? Did you go to warm someone's bed? Did you go and fuck around with the boys?"
Aria looked at her dad in disbelief. No dad would ever say this to his daughter.
"Dad... please..." Aria started crying.
"Darling, Your dad doesn't want you to become like your mom. He is looking for a better household to marry you off. Don’t let anyone destroy your body. Do you understand what I mean?," Elvira said.
Here, not letting anyone destroy her body means not letting anyone fuck her,
Elvira knew how men demand pure women these days and even ready to give off millions over it.
If Aria told the truth, she would be the dead meat right now.
“Yes. I won’t do anything like that. I just stayed at my friend’s place.” Aria lowered her head, listening to everything like a criminal.
In the evening, She took a cab and went to the East Park Hotel. Peter was waiting for her at a corner table. As soon as Aria sat in the chair, he held her hand.
"I am sorry, Aria.” Peter again spoke like a gentleman, “Last night, I was drunk. That kiss with Khloé meant nothing. I didn’t mean it.”
It wasn't the first time he had been caught kissing a girl. It had happened before, and if he apologized, Aria would forgive him. Because Peter knew Aria was so lonely in her life and would cling to him even if she caught him sleeping with any girl.
"Even that breakup thing, I said that in anger too. You're not mad at me, are
you?" Peter asked.
"Peter, it's okay. I'm not mad at you." Aria said, as nothing could overshadow her mistake. "Actually, I wanted to tell you something..." Aria said, scratching her throat. If she hadn't concealed that hickey, everyone she met would have known how wild her night had been.
"What? Don't say we're breaking up over this little thing?" Peter held her hand knowing Aria was too kind to forgive him.
"It's not a small thing... It's something big..."
Peter didn’t pay attention to her and took out a golden invitation card from his coat.
"Well, forget all that. Look at this. Rhea and Vincent’s wedding invitation."
Aria was surprised to see it.
"What? They are getting married?" Rhea was Peter's twin sister and Aria’s good friend. They all studied in the same college and were in the same group.
"Yes, and the wedding is held on a private island. We're all leaving for there tomorrow." Peter said, looking excited.
Aria decided that she would talk to Peter about the matter after Rhea's wedding. Maybe Peter would get really angry, and they would break up for good. Or he would forgive her the way she forgives his mistakes. Whatever his decision would be, she will accept it.
"Alright..." Aria sipped her coffee and went back to packing for the wedding.
Back in the hotel room, Theodore stared at his laptop, watching company stocks. The girl had left without taking the money, slamming the door like she was mad.
“These girls today—what do they want?” he grumbled, annoyed. “One night, and she thinks she’s special? A shoe doesn’t become a crown.” He focused on his laptop to forget it.
Last night, when he was checking his mail, the door opened. A girl entered the room and started taking off her clothes. Her sparkly top fell off.
Theodore sat in the corner, watching closely. The woman before him appeared like a goddess, her beautiful skin was shining under the dim light. The way she threw every article of clothing, felt she had already succeeded in seducing him.
Theodore put his laptop aside and watched her every move amusingly. She pulled out her laced underwear and dropped it down too. It was difficult to take his eyes off her, she unhooked her bra and naked herself.
She untied her hair that reached her butts. She slowly approached him. Her curves moved with every step as she walked.
When she came close, he could read the delicate features of her face, and felt his cock was already throbbing inside his pants. He had not even touched the girl and she already erected his shaft.
Theodore was not a pervert who gets erected by looking at naked models in the magazine, but right now, he looks like the biggest pervert of this world.
“You..” Before he could say anything, the girl held his hand.
“Fuck me.” She said, Theodore brows knitted. “Fuck me now. If that makes you happy. Do it now.”
Theodore didn’t think for a second and took her to the bed. What happened next was unbelievable.
“Bye, baby…” Aria waved to Annika, who waved back with a bright smile. Aria dropped Annika to her school and headed for her office. Annika walked back to her classroom and attended her class. When the mid-school bell rang, Annika rushed out of her class excitedly. Holding her tiffin bag in her hand, she didn’t care if she fell in her way.She wasn’t alone—Hope came running out of his classroom too.“Hope!” Annika shouted, spotting him.“Annie!” Hope called back, his face lighting up.The two hugged tightly, as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. They pulled out their tiffins and sat outside together, sharing their food and chatting happily.“Annie, what’s your plan? How are we going to bring Aria Auntie and Dad back together?” Hope asked Annika, his voice brimming with curiosity.The tense atmosphere at home had made it clear to both kids that something was deeply wrong between Aria and Theodore. They both were small but they had clear ideas about everything.After meeting at t
“You can’t take Annika anywhere. Especially not to him. She’s my daughter. I’m her father,” Theodore said, his voice firm but laced with a selfish undertone.He couldn’t bear the thought of Aria going to George Kingston. He knew what kind of man George was—a predator filled with lust who had ruined countless women’s lives. Theodore had seen it firsthand.Even after catching her, he didn't want to see her life ruined by that dirty man.“Annika is my daughter too, Theo. No one knows her better than I do. I will keep her safe no matter what.” Aria retorted. She couldn’t even imagine living without Annika. If there was one person who mattered most in her life, it was her daughter. “Wasn’t one man’s love enough for you?” Theodore asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Obviously it was something else, Theodore was much better than George in everything. Looks, money, power. “Is there something that I couldn’t give what your body wanted?”Aria’s brows shot up. She had seen him in the bar’
“Maybe you and Daddy forgot,” Annika said, her voice heavy with disappointment.Outside, children stood holding balloons, looking as if they’d just returned from the amusement park. Aria realised Annika just remembered it now.“Sorry, darling,” Aria said, immediately pulling Annika into a tight hug. “I promise I’ll take you to the amusement park tomorrow. We will have so much fun.”Aria made the promise, and Annika’s face lit up with joy.“Promise, Mommy?” Annika asked, her eyes wide with hope.Aria nodded firmly. A week had passed since Aria left the mansion. Theodore had thrown himself into his case, or rather, he wanted to stay busy—anything to escape the painful memories of Aria.He could never have imagined, even in his worst nightmares, that Aria would leave him the way she did. She vanished like an air. Her traces left nowhere around him.He parked his car at the mansion’s entrance and stepped inside.Despite his reluctance, he had to return. Aria’s presence may have vanished
Theodore opened the cupboard and froze, shocked.Aria’s wardrobe was completely empty. Her clothes, her makeup, even her guitar—everything was gone. But there was something inside the little drawer. He opened it. He was stunned when he saw the greeting cards, and gifts that he gave her on valentines day every year. Even the jewelry he brought her. Everything was there, intact.“Where did she go?” Theodore asked, his voice trembling. His heart breaks to see her taking away every trace of her from his life.Amanda, realizing Theodore was clueless about Aria’s whereabouts, seized the moment. She could tell from his disheveled state that he’d been heavily drunk last night. Theodore probably remembers nothing from last evening.“Where else? With her boyfriend. She left with that man we caught her sleeping with,” Amanda said coldly.She was lying without hesitation, her confidence so convincing that Theodore couldn’t help but believe it was the truth.“Did Aria say this?” Theodore asked,
She felt a little weird, because she knew what it was. Her mother used to stand like this to lure the men entering the secret room. Probably a man would pick one of the call girls and use that room for a night.Aria, clutching the memory chip tightly, rushed toward the private room. The door was already ajar.As she reached the doorway, she froze. Her hands gripped her black skirt tightly. The sight before her was enough to shake her entire world.Theodore stood there, shirtless, with a call girl kneeling in front of him. Her face closer to his hips. . Aria’s heart stopped. Even though she couldn’t see her face. She knew what that girl was doingIt looked like the girl was giving Theodore a blowjob, his hand gripping her head.His belt, which she had gifted him once, was already unbuckled and lying on the floor. His shirt was thrown on the corner.The secret room was strictly used for sex inside bars. Aria was not a small baby who couldn’t get it. The noise from the bar drowned out
Theodore stormed into the private room and pushed the girl onto the bed. His fingers fumbled as he started unbuttoning his shirt, rage coursing through him. His mind was stuck on a loop, replaying the same agonizing moment like a broken record—Aria with George Kingston, the most painful sight he’d ever witnessed.He wasn’t even looking at the girl on the bed. The only image appeared to his eyes was Aria's face.“Mr. Windsor…” the girl purred in a seductive tone, her voice dripping with intent. Her hands slid over his chest.Theodore’s nostrils flared, his anger boiling over.“If you can do this, why can’t I? You betrayed me, Aria. I’ll do the same… If it’s so easy for you.. For me too..” he muttered bitterly, his words slurring with alcohol and pain.He ripped open his shirt, the buttons coming undone in one swift motion.His chiseled six-pack abs gleamed under the dim red lights, his lean, muscular body radiating a raw, dangerous allure, tinged with the sharp scent of alcohol.Theod







