Chapter 02: Prove It

One of his dark brows rose slightly. “And what point is that?”

“That I’m not a boring nerd!” She pointed a dramatic finger at her own chest. 

“My ex-boyfriend is a shameless, lying cheater. He said that because I actually like reading books and have no social life, I’m completely boring. He even said... he said I have the charm of a library book!”

The man’s lips twitched, the ghost of an amused smirk threatening to break through his cold facade. “A library book?”

“Yes!” Elara slapped the table with her open palm.

Immediately, her head spun from the sheer force of the motion. The room did a full 360-degree flip, and she had to white-knuckle the edge of the table just to stay upright.

“But Daniel…” she continued proudly, her voice lifting, “the bartender... he’s a very smart man. He said, I can charm any man in this bar.”

The stranger remained silent. He simply leaned back, tracking the movements of the heavily intoxicated woman putting on a theatrical performance right in front of him.

Normally, he would have ignored her the absolute second she stumbled into his peripheral vision. 

Women approached him constantly. Some wanted his family's money, some wanted his looks, and others simply wanted the prestige of his attention. He never spared any of them a second glance.

Yet, the pair of beautiful, wide eyes hiding behind those ridiculous, oversized glasses somehow held his gaze. They were clear, pure. Even through the heavy, messy haze of alcohol, they remained unbelievably bright. 

For some strange reason, he didn't find her sudden intrusion annoying. Instead, he found himself patiently sitting there, listening to her bizarre complaints.

Elara suddenly leaned in closer, looking at him expectantly. “So… am I charming?”

The man silently took another slow sip of his drink, letting the amber liquid burn down his throat. He didn’t answer. But then again, he didn’t deny it either.

In Elara’s profoundly drunken mind, silence was as good as an official signed agreement. Her eyes instantly lit up with triumph.

“Then…” She took a deep, anchoring breath, steadying her voice. 

“Sleep with me.”

She hadn't spoken quietly. In fact, her voice carried perfectly over the low jazz music playing in the background. Almost instantly, conversation died at the nearby VIP tables, and a dozen heads turned to stare at them in sheer disbelief.

The man nearly choked on his liquor.

For the first time in his adult life, he was genuinely, thoroughly stunned. He slowly lowered his glass back to the table and stared at the completely serious woman standing before him. 

She could barely keep her balance, yet she had just boldly demanded a total stranger take her to bed. What kind of girl was this?

Without waiting for his response, Elara slid into the booth, sitting down right beside him.

The man immediately stood up, his towering height casting a long shadow over her. “You seem very drunk,” he said, his tone regaining its smooth, calm composure. “You should go home.”

“No!” She lunged forward slightly, quickly grabbing his tailored forearm with both hands to keep him from walking away. “I want to sleep with you.”

He frowned slightly, his grey eyes narrowing.

Before he could voice a stern rejection, Elara began clumsily tearing through her handbag. After a long, agonizing moment of rustling past receipts and lipstick, she proudly pulled out a neatly folded piece of white paper.

“I prepared this!” she announced, unfolding it with a flourish and shoving it directly into his hands. 

“I wrote it when I was completely, 100 percent sober. If I sleep with you... I won’t hold you responsible. See?”

The man looked down at the paper. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh.

He had met countless opportunistic, strange people in his line of work, but this was definitely a first. 

The handwritten note was simple, explicitly stating that whatever happened tonight would be entirely her own decision and that she would not blame or seek legal repercussion from the other party afterward.

He looked back down at the girl. She was staring up at him with a proud, beaming smile, as though she had just solved the greatest crisis in human history.

A helpless, genuine smile almost escaped his lips. She really had unbelievable courage.

Even so, he had absolutely no intention of taking advantage of a drunk woman who clearly wasn't in her right mind. He folded the paper back up and gently handed it back to her.

“I’m sorry,” he said firmly. “When you’re sober tomorrow, you will deeply regret this.”

He turned on his heel to leave the lounge.

"Wait…!"

Panicking, Elara hurriedly stood up to chase after him. The sudden movement sent a violent wave of vertigo through her brain, and her dizzy body instantly lost its center of gravity. She stumbled blindly forward, falling straight toward him.

The man's reflexes were dangerously fast. He spun back and caught her well before her face could hit the hard floor, his strong hand instinctively wrapping around her slim waist to pull her flush against his chest.

For a brief, suspended moment, both of them froze.

Elara slowly lifted her head, her breath hitching. 

They were so close that she could clearly see the stark ring of dark grey in his irises and her own disheveled reflection within them. He smelled incredibly like expensive cologne, cedarwood, and high-end bourbon.

Without a single rational thought left in her brain, she reached up, her fingers wrapping around his silk tie.

The next second, she yanked him downward.

Their lips met.

His grey eyes widened in genuine surprise. He had never expected her to suddenly, aggressively kiss him. 

A faint, sweet fragrance of cherries and white wine completely surrounded his senses. His free hand instinctively moved up, his muscles tensing as if to firmly push her away.

But somehow, his hand stopped against her shoulder. He couldn't force himself to break the contact.

Instead, his fingers slowly tightened around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer. His calm grey eyes gradually darkened with a heavy heat.

A moment later, he let go of his reservation. He gently cupped the back of her head, his long fingers tangling in her soft ginger hair, and thoroughly returned the kiss.