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Chapter 3: Price To pay

Julia’s POV:

When the glimmering sun rays fell over my face, I woke up from my long deep sleep. While trying to rub my eyes as the first thing in the morning, I realized I was still wearing the mask covering my upper face.

But at that moment as if I was struck by a lightning bolt of thunder, I blinked open my eyes and jumped to sit up on the bed.

I was completely naked, alone on a giant cozy bed inside a luxury hotel room with red swollen hickeys covering my upper body, especially on my breasts which were too prominent for me to ignore! I gasped in disbelief and even pinched myself, desperately praying for all this to be a dream, but sadly, it was all real.

After standing up to leave with that handsome stranger inside the bar, I couldn’t recall anything that happened later, no matter how hard I tried. My head was heavy from the effect of hangover, but when I tried to step down from the bed to grab my dress lying on the floor, an electrifying current ran through my spine.

My entire body shuddered from the tremendous pain I felt below my lower waist! When I tried standing up, the clear throbbing sensation around my vagina made my jaw drop.

Just how hard that jerk had fucked me to leave me sore all over? I didn’t even go through this kind of uncomfortable sensation the first time I gave my virginity to Marco.

But now, I was riddled with guilt and shame, realizing I slept with a man I didn’t even see his face…neither I know his name. In fact that stranger has left all these shameful marks on my body as if he was some kind of pervert who had marked me as his territory!

First, I checked all around myself inside the room to make sure that the man wasn’t there. The only gratitude I felt was realizing he didn’t take off my mask, which means he didn’t see my face either…

I didn’t waste a single second and put on my dress as quickly as I could. Though I could sense it was still early morning, but that jerk had left his black suit coat on the couch near the bed, as if it was a hint that he would be coming back there.

After putting on that skinny dress, when I checked myself in the mirror, I felt extremely humiliated to see all those red bite marks he had left around my neck. But when I stretched my left hand to grab his coat, my breath almost hitched when I glanced at my ring finger!

There was a big red diamond ring shimmering on my finger where I had deliberately hoped for Marco to put a ring on it! Unable to believe the sight, I took off the ring and checked it thoroughly, only to realize it was the original, most expensive red diamond in the world which was very rare in the first place…

Standing jaw-dropped for a few moments, at first I wondered why would that man put this crazy expensive diamond ring on his one-night stand partner since I could barely recall the memories from last night.

Initially, I thought of taking off the ring and leaving it back there, but when my glance fell over the marks he had left on my body, I felt anger gushing inside me and decided not to take it off.

The ring will be his price to pay for what that jerk did to me last night.

Draping his coat around me, I grabbed my purse and bolted out of the hotel room, without any courage to look behind anymore. I got into a taxi and rushed over to my apartment within half an hour. After getting home I was still struggling with my sore body, but the first thing I did was check my phone…as a part of my wrecked heart still had a lingering hope.

But a wide sad smile curved my lips when my last hope was also brutally crushed. There were no messages or calls from Marco, and in fact, Melanie had posted the picture of both of them kissing at a pool party last night on social media, quoting that it was the happiest night of their life.

While I was left behind with this heartwrenching shame and guilt eating me up, watching their picture made me unable to suppress my tears anymore. Stumbling down to the doorstep inside my apartment, I cried out to my heart’s content, finally realizing it was the end.

I blocked Melanie and Marco’s number and deleted all my pictures with him, crying helplessly alone to realize I was left behind once again, similar to the agony that I had felt after Dad brought his mistress home within a few days of Mom’s death.

After I was done with my bitter sobbing, my gaze fell on the shimmering red diamond ring on my finger put by the stranger. I felt a sense of small gratitude, thinking my ring finger wasn’t all empty after all thanks to him, which provided a little comfort to my wrecked heart.

……………….

After freshening up and taking some painkillers to cope with the extreme ache all over my lower body, I rushed to work going back to my usual self. I had to wear a turtle-neck shirt to cover all those hickeys, despite sweating like crazy.

I knew the moment I stepped inside there, I would be bombarded with questions from my nosy colleagues since I had applied for over 15 days of leave.

But I mustered my courage and took a heavy breath before stepping inside the main entrance office gate. Upon opening the door, my gaze fell on a bunch of female colleagues who were gathered outside the CEO’s chamber, but everyone had a deeply perturbed look on their faces.

“Julia?” My only reliable friend there Miss Martha called me from behind, as she also greeted me with a surprised gaze. Ms. Martha was 10 years older than me and assigned to a higher post. Besides, she was also a single mother.

I knew she was the only one on whom I could count upon in the office, so walking closer to her, I asked her curiously, “Good morning, Martha. Why does everyone look stressed here?”

She made a perplexed expression before narrating to me in a concerned voice, “Well, things have gotten complicated here. Our company had an overnight handover to a new company last night, and we are assigned a new CEO today. Arriving here, he reassigned a sudden interview among many listed female candidates for the position of his assistant.

“Your name was also included there in the list but I thought…you wouldn’t be able to come and attend it anyway. But…why are you back here, Julia? Shouldn’t you be enjoying your vacation now?”

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