Chapter 2 ~ A Big Mistake

“Oh God, I must be out of my mind!” Jeslyn yanked at her own hair in frustration as she stepped into her hotel room. “This is all Jefran’s fault!”

She collapsed onto the bed, her emotions in total disarray. How could she have ended up sleeping with her future brother-in-law—the stranger who had just returned from overseas? A man she had only met last night.

“This is insane, Jeslyn! What am I supposed to do now? What if he remembers what happened last night? What then?” Jeslyn was panicking, her thoughts a tangled mess.

“Idiot! Why did I have to get drunk and walk into the wrong room? Why did I mistake him for Jefran?”

Jeslyn bit her lip, her eyes fixed blankly on the hotel ceiling. Her heart hadn’t stopped racing since she woke up and realized her mistake. That man—her future brother-in-law—he could remember everything. What if he told Jefran? Or worse, what if he demanded she take responsibility?

“I have to get out of here before he wakes up and realizes what happened,” Jeslyn muttered anxiously. “I need to avoid him at all costs!”

In a rush, she packed her clothes into her suitcase, cleaned herself up in the bathroom, and changed into a fresh set of clothes. She had to leave calmly, acting like nothing ever happened.

“Okay, I’m leaving now!” she said to herself, dragging her suitcase behind her as she exited the room.

But the moment she shut the door, a voice startled her.

“Trying to run away?”

Jeslyn froze. Her entire body went stiff. Swallowing hard, she turned around slowly.

He was leaning casually against the wall near her door, arms crossed over his chest. He looked refreshed, as if he’d just showered.

“Damn it! Jellyfish and catfish! I wasted too much time—now I’m caught!” Jeslyn cursed herself internally.

Clearing her throat, she faced him, trying to act nonchalant. But the intensity in his gaze pinned her in place, leaving her breathless.

“Damn it! Of all times, why does he have to look this handsome now?” she groaned inwardly, then forced her nerves down and put on a calm facade.

“Good morning, Leonel,” she greeted with feigned innocence. “You’re here to see Jefran, right? Too bad, he’s not here. He, uh…” Jeslyn paused to think. “He already left. Yup, he went home earlier.”

“Well then, I should be going too. I have some urgent things to do today,” she added quickly.

Leonel remained where he was, not moving an inch. A faint smirk curved on his lips—it was hard to tell if it was teasing or just casual. His eyes were sharp, almost like they were stripping away her lies.

“Jefran left already?” he repeated flatly, then glanced at the suitcase in her hand. “And you're also heading out at the crack of dawn?”

Jeslyn forced a nervous smile. “Yeah! Total coincidence. Something urgent came up.”

Leonel raised an eyebrow, then pushed off the wall and started walking toward her. Jeslyn instinctively stepped back, only to find the closed door behind her blocking the way.

“Are you sure this isn’t because of what happened last night?”

Jeslyn’s chest tightened. “W-What do you mean?” she asked, faking confusion.

Leonel gave a small smile and leaned in, closing the distance between them. Jeslyn could smell the fresh scent of his soap—he had just showered.

“You were drunk,” he said in a low, steady voice. “Then you came into my room and…”

“Enough!” Jeslyn quickly covered her ears with both hands, her cheeks flaming red. “I don’t want to hear it!”

Leonel chuckled softly. “So, you do remember?”

Jeslyn lowered her hands and scowled. “Of course not! I don’t remember a thing, so I’m not going to worry about it. And you shouldn’t make up stories either!”

Leonel studied her face for a moment before shrugging casually. “Alright. If you don’t remember, I won’t force you to.”

Jeslyn frowned, thrown off by how easily he let it go. “Seriously?” she asked, suspicious.

He gave her a crooked grin. “Seriously.”

For a brief moment, Jeslyn felt relieved—until he added something that sent her pulse into overdrive.

“But if you ever do want to know what happened last night… I’m more than happy to tell you in detail. And I will be asking you to take responsibility.”

Jeslyn’s eyes widened, her heart nearly leaping out of her chest. “R-Responsibility?” Her voice trembled, though she tried hard to appear calm.

Leonel braced one hand against the wall, right beside her face, effectively caging her in between him and the door.

“Of course,” he said smoothly, but his tone carried weight. “Do you really think I’m the kind of man who would just let something like this go?”

Jeslyn gulped. “But I don’t remember anything! How can I take responsibility for something I don’t even know happened?”

Leonel stared at her, almost as if waiting for something. But when she kept avoiding his gaze, he smirked.

“Alright then, I’ll give you time.”

“Time?” Jeslyn echoed, frowning.

“Time to remember.”

Her panic returned. “And what if I still can’t remember?”

Leonel tapped his chin thoughtfully, then said with maddening ease, “Then I’ll help you remember… in my own way.”

His grin widened.

Jeslyn’s face flushed with heat. “Don’t you dare!” she hissed before pushing past him and dragging her suitcase down the hallway.

Behind her, Leonel chuckled quietly, his eyes still fixed on her retreating figure.

“Interesting,” he murmured, his smirk deepening. “I wonder how long you think you can run from me, future sister-in-law?”

***

“Ugh, how annoying! Huhu…” Jeslyn abandoned her suitcase the moment she got to her room and flopped onto the plush bed.

“I’ve totally lost it. Why do I have to get involved with that guy?” she muttered, cursing herself.

She hugged a pillow tightly, burying her face into it with a groan. “Why him?! Of all the men in the world, why did it have to be my future brother-in-law?! Huhuhu…”

She rolled around in bed, her mind flooded with images of Leonel and his smug smile. “And worst of all, why did I actually think he was handsome?!”

Jeslyn slapped her own cheek. “Snap out of it, Jeslyn! This is a total disaster!”

She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “Okay, okay. I just need to forget everything. Act like nothing ever happened.”

But then, Leonel’s voice echoed in her head: “Then I’ll help you remember… in my own way.”

Jeslyn sat up in alarm. “Oh God! Don’t tell me he’s really going to remind me—in that way?!”

She scrambled for her phone, opening her chat app to contact Jefran. “I need to find out just how dangerous this guy is!”

But before she could even type a message, her screen lit up with an incoming call from an unknown number.

Jeslyn squinted suspiciously before answering. “Hello?”

That deep voice—one she was already too familiar with—came through the speaker.

“Think carefully, Jeslyn. Because I will come to collect what you owe.”

Jeslyn yanked the phone away and stared at it in horror.

She swallowed hard, her fingers trembling as she clutched the device. “L-Leonel?” her voice wavered.

On the other end, his low chuckle sent a chill down her spine.

“Did you really think you could just run away from me?”

His tone was casual, but something dark lurked beneath it—enough to put Jeslyn on high alert.

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she tried to deny, her voice clearly shaky.

“Really?” Leonel sounded amused. “Alright then…”

Jeslyn waited, heart pounding, but instead of more words, she heard three sharp knocks at her door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

She jumped, her heart practically stopping. Slowly, she turned to stare at the door.

Leonel’s voice came again, low and teasing through the phone.

“Why don’t you open the door, Jeslyn?”

Degh...

***