Chapter Two 

**Natasha’s POV**

The second drink came faster than I expected. I didn’t even remember asking for it, but there it was in front of me, fresh and cold, the glass sweating against my fingers.

I took a sip, slower this time. The vodka didn’t taste any better, but it made the edges of my thoughts blur a little. That was good. I didn’t want to think too clearly.

“I don’t even know who she was,” I mumbled, staring at the liquid swirling in my glass. “Tall… long hair… pretty.” The word tasted bitter on my tongue. “He looked at her like….like he used to look at me.”

My throat tightened, and I quickly took another gulp before the tears could fall. The music thumped behind me, the bass heavy in my chest, but it still couldn’t drown out the picture in my head—the way he bent her over, his flushed face and half-lidded eyes like nothing else in the world existed.

I shook my head, as if that could erase the memory, but it didn’t.

Someone slid into the seat next to me, but I didn’t bother looking up. I was too busy staring at the glass in my hand, watching the way the light bent through it.

“I graduated today,” I said suddenly, almost as if I had to remind myself. “I was… happy. No…” I laughed, the sound sharp and short, “....I was floating. Like nothing could touch me. And then… one door. Just one stupid door, and it all fell apart.”

The stranger beside me didn’t answer. Maybe they weren’t listening or maybe I didn’t care.

I finished the drink in one swallow, feeling it burn all the way down, leaving behind a numbness that was almost comforting. I waved at the bartender for another, ignoring the way his eyebrows lifted.

The warmth in my chest had turned into a strange weight in my head, pulling my eyelids lower with every blink. I tried to lift the glass again but found it empty. When had I finished it? I wasn’t sure.

“Another…” I started, my voice slurring, but before I could wave at the bartender, the stool beside me scraped against the floor.

I turned my head slowly, my blurred vision settling on a tall man dressed in a fitted black suit seated next to me. His face was half-covered by a sleek black mask, the kind you’d expect at an exclusive masquerade, not in a noisy club. The mask’s sharp edges caught the light and froze me in place.

“You’ve had enough,” he said, his deep voice carrying the weight of someone who was used to being obeyed. The bartender, without a word, took my empty glass away.

I blinked at him. “Why… are you wearing a mask?” The question sounded clumsy even to my own ears.

He ignored it, studying me like I was something he was deciding whether to keep or throw away. “You don’t belong here.”

I let out a small laugh, though it sounded more like a hiccup. “And you do?”

One side of his mouth curved—not quite a smile, more like a challenge. “More than you’ll ever know.”

He leaned in slightly, the faint, expensive scent of his cologne slipping past the heavy smell of alcohol and sweat in the club. There was nothing soft about him—his presence was sharp, dangerous, like standing too close to a blade.

“Come with me, Natasha.”

My breath caught. “How… do you know my name?”

His eyes didn’t blink. “I know a lot more than that.”

I stared at the hand he extended toward me—strong, steady, gloved in black leather. Every warning in my head told me not to take it, but my fingers twitched.

Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the pull in his voice. Or maybe it was that, even through the coldness, there was something—just a flicker—like he could be dangerous in all the ways that weren’t meant to hurt me.

I should decline but his hot and deep voice hit me like a wrecking ball. I shakily stood up and placed my hand in his.

The moment his fingers closed around mine, the world seemed to narrow down to the two of us. His grip was firm, unyielding, like he was making a silent promise I didn’t understand.

**************

The Next Morning 

I woke up with a banging headache that it was even difficult for me to open my eyes. I blinked slowly and managed to open it, my head was aching but I managed to sit up.

Then, I saw my clothes on the floor.

“Where am I? And what the hell happened here?” I asked myself. Still confused on what happened and how I got here.

I looked around and that was when I realized that I was still in bed and the room wasn't looking familiar. “Wait, how the hell did I get here?” I asked myself and just like flash….. memories of last night came crashing on me. I remembered drinking myself to stupor, meeting a stranger on mask. It seems like we had a little conversation and then ended up in this room.

“Oh my God! I'm naked.” I finally realised and held the duvet close to myself.

Then, I heard the sound of a running water in the bathroom.

“Seems like the stranger from last night is still around?” I tried to stand up but felt some kind of pain from my inside that I immediately understood why. I recalled him rising above me, the serpent coil tattoo by the side of his chest while he was sliding inside and repeatedly stroking me.

“How did I get here? Sleeping with a stranger I just met yesterday night. Oh Lucho! God will punish for making me go through this.” I said to myself.

How do I explain this to Ashley?

How will I face him, if he comes out of the bathroom?

What do I know that I want to say to him?

How will he look at me?

I was so confused on what to do. “I have to run before he comes out of the bathroom,” I said to myself unable to believe the mess I found myself in.

I gathered enough strength and hurriedly picked up my clothes, wore it and grabbed my bag.

Immediately I stepped out of the room, I could tell it was a hotel, so I made my way out out the place. I didn't even look back or stop running. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, I didn't want to know who the stranger was and I didn't want to see him again.

“It was just a mistake,” that was what I said to myself as I opened my bag and reached for my phone and I saw eight missed calls from Ashley.

Why eight missed calls? 

“Did something happen?, hope she is fine,” so I thought. We've been friends since high school and we don't joke with each other. 

I called her back and she picked almost immediately.

“Hello babe, what happened? I called several times and you didn't pick, it's unlike you, are you okay?” she asked with her gentle voice as usual.

“I wasn't okay but I am now, I'm on my way home.” I replied trying to be strong.

I stopped a yellow taxi and told the driver where I was going to. He stopped me right in front of her apartment and drove off. I walked in quietly trying to organise my thoughts and words together because I know that she will never let me rest until I've told her why I said I wasn't okay.

I opened the door and entered gently.

“What the fuck is wrong with you Tasha?, do you know how worried I was about you? She said with her legs crossed while sitting quietly on the sofa.

“I'm so sorry babe, I had to put my phone on silent mode after what happened yesterday at Lucho's place.” I answered while locking the door behind me.

“Are you serious? What happened? Talk to me” She asked looking all concerned and drawing close to me.

“Lucho cheated on me or should I say, he has been cheating on me because I just saw this one, I don't know what he has been doing since I'm away. I caught him pants down with a lady. He was fucking her like it wasn't a first time. You needed to see the way he held her waist, they were so lost in themselves that they didn't see or hear me come in.”

“Ahhh!!! Lucho!!! Why will he do such a thing?”

“I'm so sorry that he made you feel that way, he is a damn fool.” she said while placing her hand against her head.

“But something else happened, I can't really remember but I think I had sex with a stranger yesterday night, I woke up in a hotel room feeling pains in the inside of me.” I said with so much shame but I didn't want to show it.

“What! You had sex with a stranger?” She asked and I nodded.

“How? What happened?”

“Sincerely, I don't know. After I caught Lucho cheating on me, I ran out immediately and I found myself in front of the clubhouse. I recalled drinking myself to stupor and then this stranger came, he was wearing a black mask, we had a little sort of conversation and the next morning, I saw myself in a room naked with my clothes on the floor.”

“What about the stranger?” She asked.

“I don't know him and I don't even want to see him again, but I remember him calling me by my name and saying he knows a lot about me. He was already in the bathroom by the time I woke up. I didn't see his face or know his name but I recalled seeing a coiled serpent tattoo by the side of his chest.” 

“Coiled serpent tattoo, wow! This is really serious.” she said with a raised eyebrow.

“Don't worry, it was just a mistake caused by too much vodka, it's never going to happen again” I said trying to brighten up a bit.

She opened her mouth to talk but was interrupted by a knock.

Knock…knock…knock..

We heard someone knock at the door and my eyes widen.

“Who is it?” I asked as I made my way to the door.