Chapter 1

In the darkness, that man took out his phone and sent a message.

The footsteps outside the door stopped abruptly.

A moment later, Emma Moore left. I heard the front door close behind her.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Once I was sure Emma was gone, I reached for the switch beside the bed.

Light flooded the room.

Quinn Anderson's handsome, sharply defined face came into view.

He was Emma's boyfriend.

Emma told me he was away on business and wouldn't be coming over anytime soon.

For some reason, he came back unexpectedly that night.

My clothes were disheveled and my face burned as I huddled at the foot of the bed, clutching the covers around me.

A flicker of regret crossed Quinn's face when he saw how frightened I was.

"I'm sorry. You were sleeping in Emma's room, wearing her pajamas. I thought you were... her."

I was still too shaken to speak.

Once I calmed down, I said quietly, "It's okay. I understand. It was just a misunderstanding."

Quinn and Emma were together for almost a year.

He was aloof and a man of few words.

On the few occasions we ate together, we barely exchanged more than a couple of sentences.

None of this would have happened if I weren't staying at Emma's.

"Thank you."

Quinn's brow finally relaxed at my words.

Then something occurred to him, and he turned to open the bedroom door.

"I'd better head downstairs. I told her security stopped me at the entrance. If she can't find me, we'll have a problem."

Emma came upstairs about fifteen minutes later.

She was alone.

"Nora, were you asleep in there?"

"Yeah. I was a little tired, so I went to bed early. Did you call for me when you got home?"

"I did, but then Quinn showed up unexpectedly, so I went downstairs."

I felt a little uneasy at the mention of Quinn.

"Why didn't he come up?"

"I told him you were staying here for a few days. He thought you might feel uncomfortable with a man coming over so late, so he left."

Emma seemed completely normal, which put me more at ease.

That night, after she fell asleep, I tossed and turned, unable to drift off.

Intimate images of Quinn kept flashing through my mind.

His hot breath against my neck and chest.

His warm hands roaming over my waist.

His firm, muscular body pressed against mine.

The harder I tried to suppress those memories, the more they spread like a virus...

Until they consumed my every thought.

Emma said Quinn treated her well but wasn't particularly interested in sex.

Yet earlier, he was almost too eager, like a starving wolf ready to devour me.

The next evening, Emma invited Quinn to join us for dinner at a nearby restaurant.

After we ordered, Emma went to the restroom.

Quinn and I were left alone in the private dining room.

We never talked much to begin with. He was quiet, and I was a little shy.

After what happened the night before, being alone with him felt even more awkward.

After a brief silence, I reached for the water pitcher, just to give myself something to do.

Across the table, Quinn reached for it at the same time.

The moment his cool fingertips brushed mine, I jerked my hand back as if I'd received an electric shock.

Quinn froze at my reaction, his ears turning slightly red.

A moment later, he picked up the pitcher and poured me a glass of water.

"Does what happened last night still bother you?"

He held out the glass.

I looked at his long fingers and prominent knuckles, and my face flushed.

"N-no. It was just a mix-up. We both know that."

I lowered my eyes and took the glass, trying to appear calm.

But my mind returned to everything those large hands and long fingers did to me.

His hot palms slid down from my waist.

Every inch sent a burning tingle through me.

I had very little experience with dating.

My only relationship was a three-month college romance that never went beyond hugs and kisses.

I'd never been more intimate with a man.

No one ever touched me the way Quinn did.

"Don't worry. I'll act as if nothing happened. You didn't mean to do it, after all. I won't tell Emma and cause problems between you two either."

Emma was my best friend.

I never intended for anything to happen between her boyfriend and me.

And Quinn didn't cause me any real harm.

We needed to put it behind us.

That was best for everyone.

"Thank you."

Emma returned soon afterward.

Our conversation came to an abrupt end.

Toward the end of the meal, Emma received a call. She said something urgent came up at work, and she needed to go back to the office.

She asked Quinn to take me home.

He agreed.

Emma invited me to stay with her a few days earlier because Quinn was away on business.

Now that he was back, he would be visiting her often.

It was time for me to leave so I wouldn't get in their way.

My rented apartment was in an older complex with no vehicle access. There weren't even any streetlights nearby.

Quinn was concerned about me walking alone, so he kindly walked me to my building.

As we reached the entrance, an older security guard I knew came over.

"Oh, your boyfriend brought you home today? Handsome fellow. You've got good taste!"

My face flushed at his words.

I quickly waved my hands. "You've got it wrong. He's not my boyfriend. Please don't say that!"

"No need to be shy. With a boyfriend that handsome, why would you keep him a secret?"

The guard didn't believe me and kept teasing.

I glanced awkwardly at Quinn, who stood silently beside me, and wished the ground would swallow me whole.

"He's my best friend's boyfriend. He just dropped me off on his way home."

The guard finally realized his mistake when he saw how flustered I was.

He apologized and walked away.

"Um... thanks for bringing me home. I'll head upstairs now. You should get going, too."

"Okay."

Once I got home, I slumped onto the couch, suddenly feeling deflated.

That guard gave me far too much credit.

How could someone as plain and unremarkable as me ever have a boyfriend as handsome as Quinn?

He was six foot two, with broad shoulders and a trim waist.

His features were so perfectly sculpted that even movie stars couldn't compare.

Maybe it was because I'd been shy since childhood, but I always felt intimidated by people with striking features and the kind of beauty that commanded attention.

Emma was different.

She was gorgeous, vibrant, and confident.

In both looks and presence, she and Quinn were a perfect match.

Still, I did have someone interested in me.

When I arrived at work that morning, I found a sandwich and a latte on my desk.

A little note beside them read, [Don't forget to eat a proper breakfast.]

It wasn't the first time someone left me breakfast.

And I knew who it was.

Jason Chase.

He worked in the department next to mine.

We exchanged WhatsApp details because our work brought us into contact.

He had been pursuing me for a while. From breakfast delivered with a sweet note to afternoon desserts, he never missed a chance to spoil me.

"Breakfast from an admirer? I'm so jealous."

Emma walked up behind me at some point and patted my shoulder with a smile.

"Was it Jason?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

"He's really thoughtful. Quinn has never done anything sweet like this for me."

Emma said it casually, then returned to her desk.

I took out my phone and sent Jason a message. [Thanks for breakfast. I'll make sure to enjoy it.]

He replied almost immediately. [Then I'll bring you breakfast every day.]

During our lunch break, I quietly asked Emma, "What do you think of Jason?"

Emma and I had only been with the company for a year. Jason had been there longer and was two years older than us.

"He's pretty good. You could give him a chance."

"You think so too?"

"Well, he's nowhere near Quinn, but he's still pretty cute. And he's good at his job."

"Yeah. He's a nice guy, and he's been pretty forward about liking me."

"Then give it a try. If you two get together, the four of us can go on double dates."

That evening, our department went out for dinner.

To my surprise, Jason came too.

I was secretly thrilled. I assumed he came because of me.

He picked a love song, and he kept looking at me while he sang.

Emma sat beside me and whispered that it was so sweet.

She made me so embarrassed that I could only lower my head and keep sipping my water.

Everyone played games together halfway through dinner, and the mood was lively.

I drank too much water, so I went to the restroom.

When I came out, I saw Emma and Jason leave the private room together and head toward the end of the hallway.

I found it strange.

They had barely spoken to each other earlier, yet the way they walked off together made them seem very familiar with each other.

I followed them, but I never expected to find Jason and Emma embracing behind the door to the emergency exit.

They stood around a corner, so they couldn't see me.

But I could see everything they were doing perfectly clearly.

"What do you like about Nora?"

Emma leaned against Jason's chest and looked up at him with a smile.

"Nora seems sweet and innocent. She's the type who'd make a good girlfriend."

Jason answered, but the way he looked at Emma was filled with unmistakable desire.

"Ha. She's boring, and her personality is so stiff. Wouldn't dating her get dull?"

My back stiffened involuntarily when I heard Emma's words.

"Though I guess she is easy to win over. She doesn't have much dating experience, so all you have to do is treat her a little better than usual, and she'll fall for you."

Emma's voice was full of mockery and disdain.

I stood frozen in place, as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over my head.

"The person I actually like is you, but you already have a boyfriend. So, I had to settle for the next best thing."

"Just because I have a boyfriend means you can't pursue me? I really do love my boyfriend. But I can still spare some time and attention for you.

"Besides, you have qualities my boyfriend doesn't."

"Like what?" Jason asked curiously.

Emma ran a finger over Jason's lips. "You're a really good kisser."

"My boyfriend is handsome, but when it comes to that kind of thing, he's pretty cold."

The moment she said that, Jason kissed her.

Emma wrapped her arms around his neck, and the two of them kissed as if they couldn't get enough of each other.

I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

Was that really the Emma I knew?

She was the one who encouraged me to give Jason a chance.

Yet behind my back, she was fooling around with him while mocking and belittling me.

I didn't know when this had started.

But I couldn't bring myself to believe that my best friend of more than ten years was really this kind of person.

I was about to storm over and confront them when someone suddenly grabbed my wrist.

I spun around.

Quinn stood behind me, his expression dark.

I froze.

When did he get here?

Did he hear everything Emma and Jason said?

"Quinn, you—"

Before I could finish, Quinn pulled me into a small room nearby.

The door shut, and he pinned me against him.

The room was dim. Our bodies were pressed close together, and our breaths mingled in the darkness.

"Emma said I'm cold and that I'm bad at kissing. What do you think?"

My eyes widened, and my heart pounded wildly.

"Wh-Why are you asking me?"

Quinn leaned closer until his sharply defined face was only inches from mine.

"Didn't you find out for yourself that night?"