Fire.
That was the only thing Eunice could feel. It wasn't a normal heat; it was a scorching, unnatural fire that coursed through her veins, turning her legs to jelly.
She leaned heavily against the cold marble wall of the hotel corridor, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Her logical mind—usually sharp enough to debug complex code—was crashing.
'What was in that drink?' she thought, her vision blurring. 'Vanessa gave it to me... she said it was just a toast to my new project.'
She needed water. She needed ice. She needed to get to her room and lock the door.
She squinted at the golden numbers on the doors. She was staying in room 808, a standard room paid for by the company.
She stumbled forward. The hallway seemed to spin. Finally, she saw a door with eights on it.
In her delirious state, the three eights looked just like 808.
"Finally," she whimpered, swiping her key card. The lock didn't click open with the card, but the door was slightly ajar—likely left by housekeeping. She didn't question it. She pushed it open and fell inside.
The room was pitch black, but the air was freezing. It smelled of expensive tobacco, mint, and danger.
Eunice didn't care about the darkness. She only cared about the cold air conditioning hitting her burning skin. She stumbled toward the massive bed in the center of the room and collapsed onto the silk sheets.
"Who sent you?"
The voice came from the shadows. It was deep, terrifying, and vibrated with authority.
Eunice froze. She wasn't alone.
A man was sitting in the armchair by the window, his silhouette sharp against the moonlight. He stood up, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop another ten degrees.
[TARGET DETECTED]Name: Hart Matthew Status: CEO of Matthew Group Net Worth: Unknown (Trillions) Current Mood: Lethal Danger Level: SSS-Rank
Hart Matthew looked at the small woman trembling on his bed with disgust. He had severe insomnia; he hadn't slept in three days. And now, someone had sent a woman to his room?
"Was it Viktor?" Hart growled, stepping closer. "Or did my grandmother send you to 'warm my bed'?"
He reached out to grab her arm and throw her out, but the moment his cold fingers touched her burning skin, something strange happened.
The pounding headache that had plagued him for days... stopped.
Eunice whimpered at his touch. To her, his cold hand felt like salvation. "Please... hot... help me..."
She clung to his hand, pulling him down.
Hart stiffened. He should throw her out. He was known as the 'Cold-Blooded CEO' for a reason. He hated physical contact. But the scent of her—like vanilla and rain—was intoxicating. It was the only thing clearing the fog in his brain.
"Woman," he warned, his voice low and dangerous. "If you don't let go in three seconds, you won't be able to leave at all."
"Don't go," she whispered, her eyes filled with tears as the drug took full control. "Please."
Hart Matthew's resolve snapped.
"You asked for this."
He leaned down, and the darkness swallowed them whole.
The Next Morning
Sunlight pierced through the heavy curtains, hitting Eunice's face.
She groaned, her head pounding. She tried to sit up, but her body ached all over. Memories of the previous night flashed through her mind like a corrupted file.
The heat. The room. The man.
Her eyes snapped open.
She turned her head. Beside her, sleeping peacefully, was a man. His arm was thrown possessively over her waist.
Eunice's breath hitched. She recognized that face. Every person in the city recognized that face. It was on the cover of every business magazine.
Hart Matthew.
She covered her mouth to stop a scream. She had slept with the CEO of the Matthew Group? The man who was rumored to ruin anyone who offended him?
'If he wakes up and sees me, I'm dead. He'll think I planned this. He'll blacklist me from the tech industry forever.'
Panic took over. She had to run.
With trembling hands, she carefully lifted his heavy arm off her waist. He stirred slightly, his brows furrowing, but he didn't wake.
She grabbed her torn dress from the floor, threw it on, and snatched her shoes. She didn't dare look back. She opened the heavy door and slipped out into the hallway.
Outside Room 888
Eunice leaned against the closed door, her heart hammering against her ribs like a drum. She was safe. She had escaped.
"Never again," she whispered to herself. "I will delete this from my memory like a bug in the code."
She reached into her dress pocket to check for her belongings.
Phone? Check. Keys? Check.
She let out a sigh of relief. She was about to walk away when she realized something was missing. The weight around her neck was gone.
Her hand flew to her chest.
Her lanyard.
Her Employee ID Card. The one with her full name, her photo, and her department: 'Eunice – Junior Developer'.
Her blood ran cold.
She had left it in the room.
Inside, she heard the sound of movement. Hart Matthew was waking up.
There was no time to go back in. If she went back, she was caught. If she ran, he would find her eventually... but at least she would have a head start.
Eunice turned and ran down the corridor as fast as her legs could carry her, praying that Hart Matthew never looked at the ID card lying on his pillow.