Liora, mess, reality...

Liora.

A deep and pounding headache yanked me awake, and I stirred groggily from my sleep.

Deep silence stretched heavily in the room, not the usual calming silence, but the kind that buzzed deep into your scalp.

My body felt weak, fatigued, like I'd been run over by a speeding truck. And then there was a pain pulling below my waist, deep, unfamiliar, and that completely chased away any traces of sleep.

I was in a huge and unfamiliar room, eerily quiet, and dark-themed. The sheets were silky, soft, expensive, gliding fluidly against my body as I pushed myself up. The small movements had sharp pain tearing through my body, and a frown settled on my lips.

It then dawned on me.

I was naked, under the sheets. Slowly, fragments of memories started piecing together, torturously slowly, and with it came the deep headache.

Tavian's betrayal, the chaos, the alcohol, and the voice.

Deep and commanding, then came my bold declaration.

' I want you to take my first. ' Those words rang in my memories, familiar, and yet, somehow, I couldn't believe that they'd come from my lips.

Naturally, I was soft, restrained, controlled, and deliberate. To think I had told the stranger to fuck me, I almost couldn't believe it.

It felt like a nightmare, a dream..Even the stranger's face was vague in my memories. I wanted to so strongly believe that that night, the alcohol, the boldness, didn't happen, and yet, the soreness in my body told a different story, altogether.

I had lost my virginity. And worse? To a stranger.

I didn't even get to experience what it truly felt like to be taken... just a hand gripping my waist, deep synced groans, moans...vaguely.

Slowly, I lifted the silky cover, and to my view came my bruised thighs, and the patches of blood that stained the white sheets, they all told everything I was unwilling to confirm.

He had taken me, my first.

Next to me, the space was empty, cold, you would think he hadn't been there from the very beginning.

' Shed your virginity!' Tavian had mocked. And I had impulsively acted on his mockery.

I had given my first to a man I didn't know.

And the realisation? And my exact feelings about it?

Nothing!

Not pain, not bitterness, and certainly, not regrets.

It was just calm, emptiness that dug deeper into my bones.

Slowly, I pushed myself up, gritting through the pain as I took shaky steps, heading to the bathroom.

The room was spotlessly clean, and the dress that I wore was placed neatly on the nearby couch, a towel folded neatly next to it, and a business card, gold-rimmed, expensive.

For a moment, I wanted to ignore it, to leave the identity of that sinfully hot stranger hidden from my memories, because clearly, that night meant nothing, not to me, and certainly, not to him. And yet, my curiosity won, and my fingers trembled when I took it.

Soren Knight, the words were boldly written over the card, and for a moment, I thought I was seeing things.

I closed and opened my eyes , trying to re-read, and that bold name glared back at me.

Soren Knight... A cold shiver slid down my spine as I repeated the name, and as the realisation struck, the ridiculously expensive card slid past my fingers, my hands shaking.

Briefly, I surveyed the room, just to make sure I wasn't being watched...And even after confirming, I didn't relax. Thin beads of sweat lined my forehead, visibly disoriented as I retreated backwards until my back hit the wall.

Soren Knight! I had just fucked Soren Knight. The man who took my first wasn't just anyone.

He was the Capital's ruthless billionaire, filthy rich, with a reputation that forbade people from even whispering his name. He had a presence that commanded respect even without trying. ..

And yet, that wasn't even the worst. He was Tavian's uncle. Yes! Soren Knight was my ex's uncle.

Tavian had dared me to shed my virginity, and I had directly spread my legs for his uncle instead, the man that he worshipped and feared at the same time.

Soren was a household name in the country. A name that dominated the finance channels as much as it did the gossip ones.

He was the Knight's family's youngest heir, a genius, a business mogul, and highly accomplished.

He was the current president of the Knights family group. Single and unclaimed, the country's number one eligible bachelor. Everyone wanted to marry him, and yet no one had ever succeeded.

I had boldly seduced him, and it was a miracle that I was still breathing. For a moment, I even tried to feel my pulse, just to be sure I was alive, and yeah, I was breathing, and yet, that was not enough to reassure me.

I had intended to shower, but after that realisation, I didn't have the energy to. As quickly as possible, I just wanted to disappear while praying that Soren hadn't noticed who I was.

Luckily, he and I hadn't had many interactions in the past.

In the past, I had gone to the Knight's ancestral home, but I hadn't had an encounter with him.. that was consoling.

With shaky hands, I slipped into my dress, my core hurting from the intensity of the night, but I didn't let that slow me down.

With rushed movements, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, and just before I could slip out through the door, my phone vibrated, and I was so shocked that I nearly dropped it.

I had an incoming call, and the caller ID had my blood turning cold.

It was my foster mother.

A part of me wanted to rebel, to hang up, but the little girl in me, the one that had suffered under that vicious women's hands, for years, couldn't dare.

I found myself pressing the receive button, fingers trembling, breath held as I waited for her voice.

For a brief moment, I was greeted by heavy silence from the other end, just briefly, and yet, it spoke louder than words could, ever. Even from where I was, I could feel her anger through her controlled breathing from the other end of the line.

" Liora Quinn!" When she finally opened her mouth, it was a shriek, too loud that I had to move the phone away from my ears.

" Mother.." I whispered, knowing very well that that name would earn me an insult, but not acknowledging her wasn't any better either. Welcome to the life of Liora, the Quinns ' adopted daughter.

" Where did you sleep last night?" She questioned, sternly, and even from where I was, I bit on my bottom lip, nervously. That woman had it in her to spot lies from a thousand miles away, especially from me.

"I am giving you five minutes, "

" Be home between that period.."

The call ended, and I couldn't even release my breath,

It was just me, reality, and nowhere to run to...