"Ah….. my head!" Ana whispered, staring at the city lights beyond the window, she finally sat upright, noticing the nakedness of her body as she remembered the previous night, she suddenly began battling the storm of regret rising inside her. She knew for a fact that moment, that she had to leave.
She turned to the other corner of the bed to meet the man she had committed to unconsciously lying on the bed, so comfortable, so without a problem. She hastened up to leave before it became something more. Before he woke up and realized.
The sheets were twisted around her body, the scent of Fred's cologne lingering in the air. She stared at the pale light seeping through the floor-to-ceiling windows, her heart hammering in her chest.
She shouldn't have done it.
The sheets had a deep red stain bloomed beneath her, stark against the white silk, it was her blood.
Fred Nork had taken something from her tonight. Something she could never take back. And he didn't even know it yet.
Ana felt so much shame, she panicked from the thought of what she had given a way, something she had done all because she was in debt. She couldn't let him find out, she couldn't let anyone find out. Couldn't bear to see the look on his face when he realized.
Carefully, she slipped out from under his arm, her movements were slow and calculated. She gathered her dress, her heels, barely daring to breathe as she backed toward the door. She took one last glance.
He was still asleep, he looked so strong with steady breaths. Her heart clenched. Then she turned, and ran, praying not to ever meet the man that had made her feel so ashamed.
Few moments later, Fred woke up in a haze, his body still aching from the intensity of the night. Fred's lazy hand reached for the warmth that had been beside him. But then he realised as his hands went searching that the corner was empty.
His heart raced, the remnants of passion and desire still clinging to him like a drug. The scent of her, her softness, was all around him. And yet, she was gone.
His brows furrowed, eyes cracking open. He sat up, pushing the dark strands of his hair away from his forehead, confusion clouding his thoughts. He hadn't expected to wake up alone.
He dragged out his wallet to check if his money was still intact, everything seemed the way he had left them, his money was intact, his cell phone and everything valuable.
Fred didn't panic. His life had been filled with beautiful women, none of them ever stayed the night. But there was something about her, something different. Something that made him uneasy.
He threw the sheets off himself and stood up, pacing the room. Fred ran a hand through his tousled hair, trying to shake off the nagging feeling creeping up his spine. Something felt off. He could still smell her, a mix of vanilla and something uniquely hers, clinging to the sheets, haunting the room. But she was gone. No note. No trace. Just a ghost of her presence.
His gaze drifted down, and that's when he saw it.
A deep red stain, against the white silk sheets. His breath stopped for a while, his body going still as he stared at it, noticing for a fact that it was blood.
His heart pounded even harder, a strange mix of confusion and concern settling in his chest. Had she been hurt out of his pleasure and drunkenness? Had something happened that he hadn't noticed?
Fred sat back down on the edge of the bed, running a hand over his face as his mind raced. She had been a mystery from the start, slipping into his world for one night and vanishing without a trace. But now, this wasn't just about that.
He had never dis-virgined a lady before, who was she?
His mind began to race. It hadn't been a one-night stand for him and he knew that. It had been something else, something more intense.
He pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt, grabbing his jacket before heading out of the penthouse. His fingers brushed over the sleek surface of his phone, scrolling through his contacts, but he hesitated. No, he didn't want to get her number that way. He didn't want to force her into anything.
Instead, Fred called his security team. "Find her. Find out everything you can. I need to know who she is."
He didn't wait for a response. He didn't have time. There was something in him, a need, an obsession, that was starting to take root.
Ana had left before he woke up, slipping away like a shadow. But Fred didn't like it, especially with what he had seen. He couldn't let it go.
Ana stood in front of the cracked mirror in the small bathroom, her stomach churning. She looked at herself, wild hair, smudged makeup, and eyes that were far too tired for a girl her age. What had she done?
She wasn't the kind of woman who gave herself away so easily. She wasn't like the others, the women who lived for nights like that, in luxury houses with billionaires. But she had been caught in something more than just his touch. It was like Fred had somehow slipped under her skin, made her forget the rules she had set for herself.
But no matter what, she was determined. No more stripping. No more living in that world. She would find a way to live honestly, she had to.
The money she made was the only thing keeping her afloat, but it wasn't worth the damage it was doing to her. She couldn't keep doing it. The thought of it made her stomach twist in disgust.
"I'm done," she whispered to her reflection, wiping off tears of pain, pain of losing something she could never get in this world again "I'm done with all of it."
She turned away from the mirror, her mind was made up. Ana would find a new job, a way to earn a living that didn't make her feel cheap or empty. She didn't know how, but she would.