"Hm~"
The light sound was accompanied by the stirring of the blanket as a pair of arms peeked out from underneath for a comfortable stretching.
Sharon exhaled, then opened her eyes. They glowed clear and bright, devoid of the pain of the previous night. The blonde blinked at the unfamiliar environment, then suddenly sat up, her heart beating fast both out of anticipation and apprehension.
Throwing the blanket aside, Sharon hurried to the window to glance outside. It took her a moment, but her heart started to calm down. She recognized the scenery, even though she last saw it at night, and she hadn't had the mind to pay much attention to it at that time.
A hint of relief crept up her mind, and a small smile made its way to her lips before freezing.
She got what she had been after, but it was nothing honorable, nothing worth being happy about. Moreover…
Turning around, Sharon glanced around, then hurried to her handbag to take out her phone. Without checking any of the messages she had received the previous night, she opened her browser and searched for the confirmation she sorely needed. And when it came, the mountain pressing on her heart seemed to melt, and it might have been an ice mountain, as its melting brought water to her eyes, making the display she was really trying to focus on blurry.
Despite that, the title of the article she had found seemed to have impressed itself within the sapphire blue eyes of Sharon.
'Alex Lenner and Sharon Kenner together! The first scandal of the famous actress?'
Along with the attention-grabbing title was a photo, rather, a series of pictures, first of them drinking together, then leaving in a sports car, the night leaving little doubt about what might go down between them later, especially with the famous playboy's reputation and the famous actress's beauty.
Sharon smiled between her tears as she lost the strength to remain on her feet and let her backside fall onto the bed.
It had been one day, just one day, but what had seemed to have forgotten her for barely a month came back to slam her in the face like a slap, even worse than a slap. Just one day, but with a crumbling world leaving her dizzy, with her ears ringing, and a heart seemingly heavier than a mountain.
But now, even though her mother was still in a bad situation, even though her troubles were still there, at least, she knew she would be able to breathe, even if only a little.
Sharon's smile grew while becoming uglier, but it just would not go away, just like the tears would not stop falling.
After a while, Sharon took a deep breath. One minute spent feeling emotional was already enough, so she exhaled, and composed herself.
Blinking to stop any more tears from falling, Sharon took a napkin from the bedside table to dry her face. But as she raised her hand, she froze. She looked down at her left arm, then recalled the pain from yesterday that now seemed like an illusion. But she was certain it had not been an illusion.
Moving her arm, the result of the test negated her certainty, but even now she could still recall the pain that had started like a distant reflection in the mirror then grown into something so debilitating that she had had to battle through it and force her way into the playboy's car. That was not normal.
Standing up at once, Sharon forgot the tears she had been about to wipe away. She looked around, then hurried to one of the doors aligned with the wall. She pushed it open, and it was indeed the bathroom behind it. She went to stand before the mirror, put the napkin aside, then started to take off her top.
After a while, Sharon frowned. Facing the mirror sideways with her left arm raised up while wearing only a dark-toned bra, she tried to get a better view of her side by turning one way or another, but still got the same result. There was nothing there.
There was no wound, nor was there any bruise. And even though a wound could not have just scarred after a single night, there was not even a fading bruise to show something worse going away. But it was impossible, because she was certain the pain had not been an illusion yesterday.
Taking a deep breath, Sharon put on her clothes again with a deeper frown. It was like she had been in an accident yesterday without even knowing it, and now everything was pointing to the fact that it had been an illusion.
While trying to get the matter to make some sense in her mind, Sharon opened the cabinets around and found unused toiletries still in their packages. It was normal for a guestroom to have those, and this one seemed to have always remained that, a guestroom, one that had never belonged to someone.
Wondering if this was the only guestroom of the apartment, Sharon absentmindedly recalled the playboy saying yesterday that he never brought anyone home.
Tying her hair and brushing her teeth, Sharon looked at herself in the mirror, and started moving past the relief from earlier. Though her confusion still remained, she started truly realizing the situation she was in. It started to truly sink in that she was in Alex Lenner's apartment, and he was not just a playboy.
As she rinsed her mouth and finished cleaning herself up, she recalled the night a month ago, and apprehension started to set in.
Her plan worked, but she might have just stepped into another pit on her own. She had always been bold, if not, she would not have succeeded in her acting career in just a few years, nor would she have built a company that could be valued at a hundred millions or so during that same time. And she had not even majored in acting, nor had she been able to devote herself to her company. Capability was one thing, but boldness was the greater part of what had brought her where she was now, her troubles notwithstanding.
Nevertheless, it was nerve-wracking thinking of facing someone who had faced threats and pain with a smile. And it had not even been because he did not think much of her. It was like he was just like that, and it was that which was unsettling her.
With apprehension taking over most of her mind, Sharon could not distract herself thinking about something else anymore. Coming out of the bathroom, she glanced at the door of the guestroom, and listened to the silence on the other side.
She frowned slightly, as it seemed that when she had woken up a few minutes ago, it had not been so quiet out there.
Holding the doorknob, Sharon took a deep breath, and slowly, not quite like a thief but almost there, she turned it and opened the door, and took a step to peek outside.
She saw him, and he suddenly turned around, seeing her too, and making her freeze. Then he smiled at her:
"Hey, you are up?"