1. Messed up big time

The sun had gone down, and even though it was nighttime, it wasn't as dark as the terrible situation the helpless woman was facing. Sara Owen was sitting on the couch, tears still flowing down her face, while a tall man stood by the bar counter, looking at her with a drunken gaze. They hadn't spoken for a while because Sara had nothing to say, and the man, Kevin Johnson, was anxious about the questions weighing on his heart.

"I'll tell you everything about your kidnapped husband. In return, you have to spend one night with me."

And this was his condition.

Sara Owen’s frightened gaze and pale face gave him space to calm down. Her innocence was effective.

“Turn back.”

“Huh?”

He stood there, hands in his pockets, looking at her innocent face with his red and dark eyes.

“Turn… Back…”

Her throat tighten. She swallowed hard, trying to calm herself, and turned around.

He approached her, sending shivers down her spine.

"Unzip," he ordered.

Sara shut her eyes tightly, mustering her courage while tightly holding onto her sense of shame. The thought of a stranger touching her made her tremble, wishing she had died long before this moment.

With clenched fists, she slowly opened her hands and brought them down to her waist, near the zipper of her dress.

Meanwhile, Kevin Johnson lit a cigarette, seeking some relief from his discomfort. He was determined to show no mercy tonight. He wanted to see Sara Owen naked, her innocent and beautiful face consumed by shame and regret. Exhaling smoke, he eagerly desired every inch of her fair skin, hoping to see her bare back. Once the smoke cleared, he flicked the cigarette away and holding her trembling shoulders, he buried his face in her neck, inhaling her sweet scent.

Sara tried her best not to bite her lip. He gently pulled the dress off her shoulder, and it fell to the ground. The sight of her black lingerie against her sparkling white skin seemed alluring. He turned her around, nuzzling his neck against hers, gripping her thigh and placing it on his waist while holding her buttock. Feeling repulsed, Sara closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath.

Suddenly, their attention was drawn to the beautiful balcony as they heard the sound of a pot shattering into pieces.

Furrowing his brow, Kevin let go of her and went to investigate. He discovered fragments of a broken vase on the floor and looked around. The breeze wasn't strong enough to cause such a heavy vase to fall easily.

He closed the curtains and gazed at the trembling woman's back. His eyes fell upon her thighs, and he froze. Old scars marred her white skin near her buttocks, as if she had been hurt there in the past, perhaps by a stick.

Touching the scars, he asked, "What happened to these marks?"

"Just hurry up. I want to know about my husband," she replied, rudely.

Her response didn't affect Kevin, but he grew irritated at not getting an answer. He grabbed Sara's arm forcefully and made her look at him.

"When and how did you get these scars?"

"They're from my childhood.”

"Who are you?"

"Seems like you've lost your mind due to alcohol and vanity. I'm Sara, Yohan Dixon's wife."

"No. Talk about your childhood. Who hurt you so badly?"

"It was the orphanage dean, where I lived as a child."

Kevin's boiling blood instantly cooled down upon hearing Sara's response.

He was no longer angry; instead, regret consumed him.

He turned away, feeling ashamed of how he had treated her.

Insulting a woman so profoundly was something he had never done before, but for some reason, he had succumbed to it today, and he realized he had failed.

"Get out," he said, not even willing to glance at her for a moment.

Sara Owen swiftly zipped up her dress, trembling with fear, and hastily departed from the hotel room without even inquiring about her husband's whereabouts.

Kevin Johnson raised his fiery gaze and looked at the closed bedroom door.

So, it turned out that Sara was the same person from his childhood whom he had been searching for all this time. Sara, who was only four years old at the time, had left the orphanage and never returned.

The eyes, tenderness, scars on her thighs, and innocence of this Sara matched with the one he remembered.

Kevin Johnson hurriedly left the room, snatching his coat. When he spotted Sara Owen near the elevator, wiping her tears, he dashed down the hallway.

“Sara,” he called out, relieved to finally have found her.

Sara Owen spun around, surprised to see Kevin Johnson standing there. She tightly clutched her purse.

"I totally hate your husband, no joke. I called him up, planning to kill him. But then we talked, and something changed inside me. I couldn't go through with it, so I left him alone in the jungle. I don't know where he is now, though."

"Why should I trust you?"

"I know I messed up big time in the room, but I swear to you," he pleaded, his eyes begging for understanding. "I'm telling you the truth."

Sara Owen, her voice dripping with anger and desperation, spoke up.

"Whether you had a hand in Yohan's kidnapping or not, time will reveal the truth. But let me warn you, once Yohan finds out what you did to me tonight in that private suite of yours, that will be the end for you.”

Kevin Johnson remained silent, clenching his fists as he stared blankly at the wall.

Sara turned to leave, but before she did, she looked back at Kevin with a fierce gaze. "Remember this, no matter how many enemies Yohan has, none of them will ever sink as low as you have."

Sara Owen stormed out, leaving Kevin Johnson alone with his thoughts. He stood there for a few moments.

Yohan Dixon had no dearth of enemies in the world. But no one could know who kidnapped him.

"I messed up big time," he muttered to himself.