Chapter 3

Charlotte woke up from a dreamless sleep and tried to adjust her eyes to the brightness. She yawned and stretched, feeling more refreshed than she had been in so long.

A little too refreshed, considering what had happened the day before.

Her hands stopped mid-air as she took in her surroundings, a note of alarm ringing in her head when she couldn’t recognize the beautiful room she was in.

Where was she?

Her heart started to pound as she jumped out of the bed but when she did, she realized she was wearing a big T-shirt that didn’t belong to her. She froze. Who had undressed her? Her eyes widened when she realized she was wearing nothing underneath.

The last thing she remembered was being humiliated and rejected by her college sweetheart, her husband who she had been married to for two whole years. How did she end up here? Had she been kidnapped?

She heard a deep masculine voice coming from somewhere outside and she jumped to the other hidden side of the bed when the doorknob twisted.

Charlotte shook with fear as she lay face-down, holding her head down and praying she didn’t have another asthma attack. The person who walked in was probably her kidnapper, but why would he keep her in such an exquisite room and go through the stress of undressing her if he just wanted ransom? And what made him think she had whatever amount he would request of her?

Oh no. He probably assumed she was wealthy because she had been at the Trojan House yesterday. She had no money of her own and she was sure her husband, ex-husband now, she thought sadly, would rather see her skinned alive than spend a dime to save her life.

A few minutes passed and she heard no other footsteps, but she was too afraid to raise her head to check if he had left the room.

“You can come out now,” the deep voice said, sounding so close to her neck and she jumped up, colliding with a strong sturdy wall of flesh.

She came face to face with the man who was sitting on the bed, right by the side she had crouched to hide, looking at her. She moved away immediately.

The door was open and she thought she could make it if she ran for it and if the man didn’t try to catch up with her. But she didn’t know the rest of the house. What if this was a kidnapping den and there were many other keepers that would catch her if she tried to escape?

She bolted for the door anyway and as expected, he caught her with just one hand, without even getting up from the bed.

That was…embarrassing.

He didn’t look impressed. “Sit down,” he ordered her and just the sound of his deep voice compelled her to obey.

He got up to shut the door and she realized how tall and huge he was, compared to her. Now they were locked in together and she had no way of escaping.

When he returned, he eyed her up and down for a while with no expression on his face and she felt self-conscious, wrapping her hands around her body.

Was he the person that undressed her…?

Strangely, thinking about that made her a little more excited than repulsed. The man was tall, with sharp features that made him irresistible. His face was perfectly chiseled and even though he had a few lines and a deep frown on his face, she could still tell how handsome he was.

For some reason, he looked familiar but she just couldn’t place her hand on where she knew him from. Maybe he had been at the party, a kidnapper who came to scout people who he assumed had dough on them. She had fainted, so that had made her an easy prey.

“Please, I don’t have any money,” she begged.

He furrowed his brows in confusion like he had no idea what she was talking about.

“I know you’re broke. No one is asking you for money here,” the man said sharply.

Okay, rude.

Yes, she was broke but he didn’t have to rub it in her face. Wait. If he knew she was broke then why did he bring her here? And better still, how did he even know she was broke?

“I know you’re wondering why you’re here,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “If you had just relaxed and waited for me to explain instead of trying to hide and then escape, we would have been done with that segment.”

“Who are you?” She asked, feeling very uncomfortable after waking up for the first time in a different house and in clothes she didn’t own.

From how large the shirt was on her, she realized it probably belonged to him.

“You don’t recognize me?” He asked, looking surprised.

“Not really. Am I supposed to?” She asked, hoping he did not hear the slight tremor in her voice.

“ I just thought you would, but it’s fine,” he said. “Don’t worry about who I am. Worry instead about what I want and why you’re here.”

He went silent, waiting for her to ask the questions but she was more bothered about certain other things.

“Were you the one who undressed me?” She asked, looking away and hoping the answer would be in the negative.

“Yes,” he said with a smirk, his voice dropping octaves lower when he did. She felt a pull at her core.

Something must be wrong with her body. Why on earth would the thought of a stranger seeing her nakedness turn her on?

“Why would you undress me?” She asked, wrapping her arms around herself. “I’m a married woman.”

There were many other obvious reasons why he shouldn’t undress her, yet she had managed to pick the only one that was a lie.

“But you’re not. Your husband, I mean your ex-husband had an engagement party yesterday and I vividly remember it was not with you.”

Her heart tightened in her chest when he reminded her of the worst day of her life, yesterday. Her eyes began to water when she remembered how her husband, the man she thought she would spend forever with had rejected and humiliated her in front of those people without a backward glance.

“Hey,” the man said, awkwardly patting her back. The action strangely comforted her.

Was this how desperate she was for a touch that wasn’t her own?

“I’m sorry for bringing that up. I know you’re still processing everything,” he said and she nodded.

Her jerk ex-husband who had no respect for their vows and her feelings didn’t deserve her tears. She was done being his fool and plaything. This rejection was the awakening she needed.

“You shouldn’t have undressed me,” she repeated, not wanting him to see her grieve.

He shrugged.

“Married people see each other’s nakedness all the time, so I don’t see the big deal,” he said.

Was this guy delusional?

“Excuse me?” She asked.

“That’s why you’re here,” he said, like it was the most normal thing ever. “You’re getting married to me.”