Chapter 03

Chloe grabbed the keys and drove Ruan’s car to his apartment. At her side, he seemed to sleep, his head leaning to the side, eyes closed, and the smell of alcohol escaping from his mouth invading her nostrils. She felt almost certain she would regret this the next day.

Ruan had been engaged to Chloe’s half-sister for more than two years. They met in college, and since then, they never separated. They were a perfect couple. Ruan was a good man, but Chloe couldn’t remember ever having a conversation with him that lasted more than five minutes.

This was the first time she found herself alone with him. He had been so kind, remembering her birthday when everyone else had forgotten, that Chloe felt obligated to help him get home safely.

After parking the car in the garage, she got out, opened Ruan’s door, and took a deep breath. She checked if he was awake when he opened his eyes and looked at her. His gray eyes looked a little red, but almost imperceptibly so.

His beauty almost unraveled her. She swallowed the lump in her throat and stepped back. But it wasn’t enough—he stood up and wrapped his arms around her. Ruan was tall and strong. Chloe could hardly balance herself at his side.

She dragged him up to the apartment, and, when she thought she could leave him in a safe place and walk away, Ruan grabbed her waist, lifting his other hand to her chin, raising it.

“Are you going to tell me why you were crying, Chloe?”

Chloe couldn’t tell him; the words were too painful to be spoken aloud. She only shook her head, fresh tears threatening to spring from her eyes.

She blinked at him. Why was he asking so many questions? Why didn’t he seem as drunk this time?

“You need to take a shower and rest,” Chloe said, but she couldn’t pull his hands away from her.

Ruan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“You are wonderful, Chloe.” His body wavered, making him lean closer this time, so close that Chloe felt her legs burn.

Chloe froze. This wasn’t right. Ruan was her sister’s fiancé; he wanted to marry her. Ruan was only upset because Megan had refused to marry him, and Chloe was only heartbroken because her boyfriend had dumped her.

They were two broken people trying to find comfort in the wrong place. Before Chloe could think about escaping, Ruan grabbed her nape and pulled her, closing the space between them, pressing his lips to hers.

For a moment, she didn’t move. Then her body burned. His hands gripped her legs, desperate to hold something solid.

It felt so different from everything she had experienced with Leonidas. But she pulled away when she remembered him, panting, looking into Ruan’s gray eyes, filled with desire.

“Ruan,” she murmured. “We mustn’t…”

He silenced her with another kiss. Chloe had never been kissed like this, with urgency, as if time didn’t matter, and as if the ground couldn’t hold her feet.

Just that kiss showed her something was wrong in her relationship with Leonidas. She loved him, but Ruan’s kiss and the way he held her made her feel far more than her ex-boyfriend’s caresses ever had.

When he sensed her consent, he pinned her against the bed and ravaged her lips. Chloe’s mind spun with her own emotions. She could feel the heat between her legs and how wet she was just from the kiss.

A sigh slipped from her lips. It was too late to escape. Without other words, she leaned in and kissed him back. His touch was exquisite; every stroke of his thumb on her body made Chloe feel desired.

That night, Chloe, who had always considered herself to be cold and not ready for s*x, discovered for the first time how good it felt to be wanted.

When Chloe woke up, with the faint morning light piercing through the heavy curtains, she realized what she had done. Her naked body beneath the sheets reminded her of the previous night.

Panic surged in her chest when she saw Ruan walking across the room shirtless, his hands on his head. His eyes, now burning with anger and hatred, looked at her. He wasn’t the same kind and overwhelming man from last night.

“What are you doing in my room, Chloe?” Ruan raised an eyebrow, his expression tense, but Chloe couldn’t answer.

With difficulty, she got up and began gathering her clothes from the floor, ignoring his question. If Ruan remembered nothing whatsoever, it would be far too humiliating for Chloe to tell him what had happened.

Before she could continue, Ruan grabbed her arm, forcing her to look into his eyes.

“Tell me what happened now.”

Chloe thought he couldn’t be serious. How could someone forget a night like that?

“You really want to know what happened, Ruan?” She decided to end it once and for all. “What do you think I’m doing naked in your bed?”

“No…” he murmured, stepping back, his eyes wide. “It can’t be. Today is my wedding… and you… you’re telling me I slept with my fiancée’s younger sister?”

She quickly started gathering her clothes. The last twenty-four hours had been the worst of her life. She had lost the man she loved on her birthday and had the most intense night of her life with her brother-in-law. She should have felt guilty for it, but she didn’t.

“No one needs to know what happened here,” Chloe said, breathless, while putting on her clothes quickly in front of him. “This will be our secret. We don’t even need to remember what happened.”

“No.” He shook his head. “I’m not that kind of man, Chloe. I would never be with you on the eve of marrying your sister.”

“But you were.” Considering he had made love to her for hours the previous night, his cold behavior now only confused her more. “Are you saying I seduced you and forced you to be with me? I never planned this.”

Ruan grew violent. His expression tightened as he realized the problem he had caused. He walked past her, shoving her aside.

“Just get out of my house.” He crouched, grabbed the rest of her clothes from the floor, and threw them at her face. “I hope I never see you again in my life.”

She obeyed him, wiping her tears with the palms of her hands. She gathered her things in silence and left, knowing she had made a terrible mistake.