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Chapter 1

Lola

I felt a gentle squeeze on my shoulder as my tears dropped to the ground.

It was my father's burial. I was yet to wrap my mind around the fact that the man I considered my hero was gone forever.

"We need to leave, Lola," Reid whispered to me softly.

He was my best friend and my support system apart from my mom. He was the reason I wasn't shattered completely.

"Can't I stay back and mourn him? I can't believe he's gone, Reid," my voice trembled noticeably, and Reid, unable to see me in pain, gathered me into his arms.

He ran his fingers slowly through my hair. It was one soothing gesture of his that I loved so much. It always helped me to relax.

"You can always come back to visit him, but for now, you need to be with your mom," He reminded me.

I nodded against his chest, sniffing and blinking hard to keep the tears from gushing out.

He led me to my mother. I stared at her, wondering how she was unable to shed a single tear throughout the burial ceremony. It wasn't news that she didn't care so much about my late father, but couldn’t she have cried a little?

"Mom," I melted in her arms while she held me.

I couldn't remember being this vulnerable with her in a long time.

"Oh, my baby," I could hear the tremor in her voice.

"He's gone, mom. He's never coming back," I croaked.

She kissed my forehead, her grip on my body a bit more tight. "He's in a better place now,"

I didn't say anything. I couldn't.

He’d fought lung cancer for the past three years and finally caved in last month. I watched him smile through the pain, concealing it with lots of laughter until there was nothing to hide anymore, and when he took his last breath, I feared that my life had ended with his.

"Maybe he is," I disengaged from her embrace, taking a step away from her. "I need to clear my head, mom. This is just too much for me to handle,"

She seemed reluctant, but she didn't hold me back, which I was grateful for.

It was crazy that I was staying away from her when we were supposed to be together, but it was much easier for me to process my grief alone.

I headed out, stopping a taxi that took me to the club.

The signpost of the club 'Sweaty nights' was tempting enough to draw me in. I wanted the noise. I didn't want company, but I also didn't want to be alone. I wanted to be out of my head and this club provided all of that.

Loud music blaring from the speakers mounted in every corner of the building temporarily swallowed the dull ache in my heart.

I was wearing a black, long-sleeved dress. It wasn't a club fit, but it was good enough. Once the security man was done checking my ID, I headed straight to the bar.

At the counter, the barman stared at me as if I'd been prohibited from coming to these kinds of places, but I ignored him. Even though I was young, I wasn't underage.

"Give me the strongest alcohol you have," I demanded with a bossy tone which instantly changed his perception of me.

His brows furrowed slightly and then he turned to the cellar and did as I asked. I didn't watch. I just wanted the shots to be brought to me.

The first gulp hit my chest like a dagger, slithering through the ventricles of my heart with sharp claws. My head took the remaining hit as I felt a heavy intoxication.

I grimaced, taking another shot. The screams from drunk people on the dance floor compounded the effect of the alcohol and in no time, I was swooning. My legs moved on their own accord to the dance floor, my body swaying effortlessly to the beat of the music.

“This is so much fun,” I shouted to no one in particular, chugging down another shot.

My vision was becoming blurry, the ground felt unstable under my feet. It was at that point that I should have called Reid, but then I remembered that the only thing waiting for me at home was sadness. I couldn’t even remember where I kept the damn phone.

I pushed the thought aside, bending over and twerking. It was all fun, until I felt someone behind me.

A crawling sensation on my skin made me flinch. I wobbled slightly, but found a stool to steady my footing. A frown appeared on my face, and when I glanced at the disgusting scrawny male that tried to harass me, it turned into a full blown scowl.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

He flashed his brown set of teeth at me. “You’re smoking hot, girl. Dancing with me will make your evening,”

“No… It won’t. Stay away from me or I’ll scream,” I threatened, but I doubted it would make an impact because of how slurry my voice sounded.

A malicious chortle spilled from his lips, his arm forming a circle around my waist. He looked like the devil himself with the hideous sneer on his face.

“Go ahead and scream, bitch. No one’s going to save you from me,” he teased.

Infuriated, I sent a fist across his chin and tried to pull away from him, but he was quick to grab my wrist, caging it with the other. My scream only echoed in my ears. From the blurred peripheral of my vision, no one seemed to mind that I was in danger.

I wasn’t even sure they heard my voice.

“Let go of me,” I fought the stupid tears that threatened to rain down my cheeks.

Like a psychopath, he grinned and grabbed a fistful of my hair. “I’ll only let go of you when I’m done with you. For now, you stay with me,”

He made to lift me onto his arms when an uproar broke out. In a fleeting second, I was being pulled away gently from the pervert. Screams, coupled with the sound of broken glasses sent people flying in different directions.

What the hell was going on?

It was hard to make sense of the happenings around me when my head ached like war drums were being played on it.

However, I couldn’t sit still so I stood up from the chair I’d been placed on, staggering to the bar. The crowd had dissipated and then I saw him, the handsome man that saved me.

“Are you alright?” His gruff baritone voice sent chills down my spine.

The magnificent sight of him made me dumb for a second. He touched my arm, his brown eyes staring intently at me. I kept the contact, mesmerized by the masculine aura he exhibited while trying to save me.

Instantly, I became thirsty for him.

“No, I’m not good,” I admitted, batting my lashes. “I was almost raped, but you came right on time. I kept screaming at the top of my lungs but no one came to rescue me. I’m indebted to you now,” I summarized the whole episode hurriedly as if he didn't see it for himself.

“You’re not indebted to me. I’m only happy I was able to stop that bastard when I did,” he glanced at his wristwatch. “It’s getting late, and you’re completely drunk. Let me take you home if you don't mind,” he offered.

Home? No home. I didn’t want to be anywhere near there.

I decided to be forward with how I felt even though I'd regret it later. “Why go home when we can have fun together right here or maybe somewhere else?” I nudged him, biting my lower lip.

He smirked, his eyes darkening quickly with a hint of lust. “I don't want to take advantage of you, princess. You're drunk,”

I chuckled, cupping his cheeks. He didn't try to get out of my grip. “I can see through the daze how much you want me. Don't fight it, sir,”

His sharp intake of breath told me all I wanted to know, and being the stubborn person I was, I pushed forward.

“Take me to your place or a hotel, let's see if you can fight what you feel,”

His hand traveled down my back, stopping at my waist. My body heated up instantly. I nearly went off balance. How could I have so much connection with a man I barely knew?

“A hotel it is then,”