One Night Stand With My Billionaire Boss

Ciara's POV

“Love is for fools, and I am never falling in love again.”

The words tasted bitter as they left my lips. I lifted the glass of tequila in my hand and drank it in one gulp.

The liquid burned its way down my throat, making my eyes water slightly, but I welcomed the sting because it distracted me, even if only for a moment, from the ache sitting heavily in my chest.

The club was loud.

Music thumped through the walls like a heartbeat, vibrating through the floor beneath my heels, while neon lights flashed in every direction, painting the room in shades of blue, purple, and red.

People were laughing, people were dancing, people were kissing, and everyone looked like they were having the time of their lives. Everyone except me.

I leaned against the bar counter and motioned for the bartender again.

“Another one.” He raised an eyebrow, but he poured the drink anyway.

This time I did not hesitate. I swallowed the tequila like medicine. I hated alcohol. I had never been the drinking type, and the smell alone used to make me wrinkle my nose, but tonight was different.

Tonight I needed something strong enough to erase the memories playing repeatedly in my mind.

Unfortunately, the alcohol was not doing its job, because no matter how much I drank, I could still hear his voice, Thiago’s voice, cold, detached, and cruel.

“I am tired of us, Ciara.”

My fingers tightened around the glass. Five years. Five whole years of my life, spent loving him, supporting him, and believing in him, and that was all it took for him to throw everything away.

“I have met someone else,” he had said, as if it meant nothing, as if the years we spent together were just a temporary inconvenience he had finally grown tired of. I clenched my jaw, blinking rapidly as my vision blurred.

How could he say that to me? How could he look me in the eyes and claim another woman was better than me? I had given him everything: my time, my loyalty, and my love and yet he walked away as though it meant nothing.

The glass in my hand hit the counter harder than I intended.

The bartender glanced at me cautiously. “Rough night?”

“You have no idea.” I grabbed the bottle and poured myself another drink before he could stop me. Tonight was not about dignity; tonight was about forgetting. I raised the glass again, and then I felt it, a gaze. Someone was watching me. At first, I ignored it, but the feeling did not go away. It grew stronger, more intense. Slowly, I lifted my head, and that was when I saw him.

He was standing a few feet away, watching me. He was tall, easily over six feet, with broad shoulders beneath a simple black shirt. However, it was not his build that caught my attention; it was his eyes sharp, piercing, and a strange bluish color that seemed to glow under the club lights. For a moment, everything else faded, the music, the lights, the crowd, until it felt like it was just the two of us. Something dangerous stirred inside my chest. Perhaps it was the alcohol, perhaps it was the heartbreak, or perhaps it was both.

Before I could change my mind, I grabbed my drink and walked toward him. Up close, he looked even more intimidating and even more attractive. His jawline was sharp, his lips slightly curved, as though he knew something I did not. Thiago did not even come close to looking like this.

“You are staring,” I said, my voice slightly unsteady. One of his eyebrows lifted.

“And you walked over here to confirm it?” His voice was deep and smooth, the kind that wrapped around you before you realized it.

I leaned closer, studying his face.

“You are handsome.” The words slipped out before I could stop them.

His lips twitched. “You are drunk.”

“Maybe,” I replied with a shrug, “but that does not make it less true.

” He chuckled softly, and the sound sent a strange shiver down my spine. My gaze dropped to his lips, and an inappropriate thought crossed my mind, what it would feel like to kiss him.

“Careful.” His voice pulled me back.

“You look like you are imagining something dangerous.”

Heat rushed to my face. Had I been that obvious? I opened my mouth to respond, but suddenly the room tilted. The alcohol hit me all at once. My vision blurred, and the lights above us spun. Strong hands caught my arm.

“Easy. You are about two drinks away from collapsing.”

“I am fine,” I muttered. “You are not.” I tried to pull away, but the world spun again, and everything faded into darkness.

Sunlight woke me. It was bright and blinding, and I groaned as it pierced through my eyelids.

My head ached terribly. Slowly, I opened my eyes. The ceiling was white and elegant, and the room was unfamiliar, with large windows, expensive furniture, and a king-sized bed.

This was not my apartment. My heart began to race. Then I noticed my clothes scattered across the room, and my face burned with realization. The memories came rushing back, the club, the drinks, the stranger.

“What did I do?” I whispered.

A sound behind me made me freeze.

Slowly, I turned, and there he was the stranger standing by the window, fully dressed and even more striking in the daylight. He watched me silently, his expression unreadable. Panic filled my mind. This had to be a mistake, just a one-night lapse in judgment. I quickly put on my dress, my movements rushed and clumsy. When I turned back to him, he was still watching me, as though he was studying me, and something about it irritated me.

My pride flared. If he wanted to judge me, then I would not let him have the upper hand. I reached into my purse, pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, and tossed it onto the bed. His eyes followed the money before returning to me, and something dangerous flickered in his expression. I smiled lightly.

“You are very handsome, I will give you that,” I said. Silence followed.

“But you could try putting more effort into what you do.”

His jaw tightened. “What exactly do you mean?”

His voice was calm, but there was tension beneath it. I stepped closer, close enough to catch the scent of his cologne, and reached up to adjust his shirt.

“I mean you should learn how to satisfy a woman better. If you do, you might get more clients.”

The room fell silent. The tension was unmistakable, but I had already picked up my bag and turned toward the door. I did not look back, because something told me that if I stayed even a moment longer, that stranger might lose control completely, and I was not ready to face what would happen if he did.