Chapter 4

"That was when I was a teenager," Karina said tiredly.

Honestly, she didn’t understand why Saka kept accusing her without reason. Why did he keep judging her so harshly when he didn’t even know the truth?

“Let me go, Saka!”

But Saka only smirked. “Why are you calling me that? I’m your boss. Don’t be so impudent.”

“You need to be punished.” Then Saka grabbed Karina’s nape and kissed her slowly.

Shocked, Karina struggled.

She kept pounding on Saka’s chest to make him stop. But it only seemed to excite him more.

Saka now ran his hand slowly along her waist and bit her lip to gain access with his tongue.

When he succeeded, he tasted something sweet—addictive.

Karina could only close her eyes as Saka’s lips continued to tease her.

She clenched her fists below.

She knew this was wrong. Especially when Saka’s fingers started to roam along her back.

Tap!

A tear fell from Karina’s eye. She was crying.

“Leave,” Saka said abruptly, letting her go and walking toward his desk without a hint of remorse.

Karina wiped her tears and left the room.

But she could still hear Saka mutter under his breath, “She acts like some innocent woman.”

Karina chose silence after that incident.

Whenever she was ordered to do something, she only responded with a nod.

She never talked back or argued with Saka anymore.

Karina also kept her distance from him.

That continued even after they arrived in Hong Kong—specifically, at the hotel where they would be staying.

"That's your room," Ronald said, pointing to a door. Karina nodded.

She took her room key and went to her assigned room.

"Don't forget you have to join us tonight," Ronald reminded her.

Karina nodded again before finally entering her room.

"Why is she like that?" Ronald wondered. Last time he saw her, Karina wasn’t this gloomy. Maybe she was just tired of dealing with Saka.

“Oh right, where’s the boss?” Ronald said, unaware that Saka had already entered his own room.

The man was in the shower, letting the water cascade over his body.

“This still isn’t enough. I need to completely break her.” Saka punched the bathroom wall hard.

Just as planned, a formal dinner was held between both parties.

Karina sat beside Saka, quietly listening to the conversation.

Truthfully, she understood everything being discussed. But she had no desire to join in.

Business conversations between company leaders were heavy—mostly strategies to grow and expand.

“Thank you for coming all the way here.”

Saka nodded. “It’s an honor to meet you in person.”

“As for our potential collaboration, we’ll continue the discussion at the office.”

Saka shook hands with the prospective client. He seemed satisfied with how things were going. Once the client left, Saka loosened his tie and glanced at Karina, who was enjoying her food.

“What’s my next schedule?”

“Meeting a client at Paradise Club,” Karina and Ronald answered in unison.

Saka raised an eyebrow. Karina and Ronald exchanged glances and smiled at each other.

Karina slowly sipped her drink, realizing how in sync she was with her colleague.

Paradise Club… Paradise Club… Karina repeated in her head.

One…

Two…

Three…

Her eyes widened. “I’m going too?” she whispered nervously.

Saka glared. “Your job is to follow me wherever I go. Why can’t you get that through your head?”

Karina looked down. Just asking one question, and he already scolded her harshly. She pouted. Dealing with Saka was emotionally draining. His insults and reprimands required inhuman patience.

It only took a few minutes to get to Paradise Club.

As the top club in Hong Kong, only elites could enter.

Karina looked at her clothes. Nothing was wrong. She looked just as pretty and sexy as the other women there.

She continued to follow Saka’s steps. Eventually, they entered a private room.

“I’m Hao,” said a man, introducing himself.

“I’m Saka.”

As a well-known property businessman in Hong Kong, Saka's main goal in meeting Hao was to buy land here.

Not just land—he also wanted to purchase buildings, maybe apartments or houses.

They chatted, while Karina nodded occasionally.

Anyone watching might think she was deeply engaged in the conversation. In reality, she was 99% sleepy, 1% paying attention.

“I’ll send you pictures of the properties you’re interested in,” Hao finally said.

Saka nodded, and they moved to the open lounge area where music and alcohol flowed freely.

Onstage, several nearly naked women danced.

Everyone raised their glasses. Karina, too, lifted hers filled with wine. “Cheers.”

She downed her drink. Now she stood stiffly beside Saka, feeling an urge to drink more.

She couldn’t allow herself to get drunk.

She needed to hold back.

But when she opened her eyes, she saw Saka refilling her glass.

“Cheers.” Saka raised his glass toward her.

“I—” Karina shook her head slightly. She didn’t want to make him angry, so she lifted her glass as well. “Cheers.”

Okay, Karina was getting dizzy.

She looked around for help.

“Ronald,” she called.

“Yes?” Ronald leaned in.

“Stop me if I try to drink again.”

Ronald nodded and gave her a thumbs-up.

Karina took deep breaths. She was fighting herself. After two glasses, she still felt thirsty. So, she poured another.

Three, four… glasses.

Just as she was about to drink more, someone pulled her by the waist.

The glass and bottle were taken away from her. She looked up to see Saka. Her vision was blurry—she was already halfway drunk.

Don’t ask where Ronald went. He was dancing happily with a sexy woman in the crowd.

Saka’s assistant had completely abandoned her.

“Mister,” Karina called out. “Can I go home?”

Saka blew smoke from his cigarette right into her face. “Go where?”

Karina waved away the smoke. “Back to my apartment,” she whispered.

Unconsciously, Karina smiled a little. “I want to sleep,” she said like a child, even miming how she’d sleep.

“No.” Saka put down his cigarette and drank again.

“You’re so mean,” Karina whimpered. She rested her chin on her hands.

She watched Saka drink heavily but remain completely sober.

At clubs, Saka never let go of cigarettes and wine. To him, they were a non-negotiable pair.

Saka turned.

He looked at Karina from the side. And somehow, the more he looked, the more beautiful she seemed—even when she was just sitting there, lost in thought.

“Karina,” Saka called out in a deep voice.