The Perfect Solution

SIA POV

"Who the hell are you?!" I snapped at the stranger who sat, with crossed legs, watching me. 

He let out a mirthless laugh, the next second, his face hardened, and his lips were set in a thin line. 

Silence filled the room, making me uncomfortable. 

I picked up a pillow and flung it at him. His frown deepened and he rolled his eyes as the pillow smacked his face before falling to the floor.

"Are you deaf?" I yelled, as raw panic swept through me. I threw off the covers from my body and my mouth hung open. 

I didn't have any clothes on. That only meant one thing, but I forced myself not to think of it.

"No...it can't be true" I muttered under my breath.

He eyed me in silence.

A few moments passed and I jumped out of bed, taking the bedsheets with me as a cover. I was now unable to deal with the heat of his stare, and I edged backwards to the window behind me.  

I stood a good distance away from him. At least, It would give me more advantage over him if he ever wanted to lunge forward and grab me.

My mind felt chaotic with different questions. 

 How did I end up in this stranger's bed? Where was I?

The memories of the previous night were hazy, but I knew I had done something crazy. 

 "What do you want?" I asked the man again, my voice was barely above a whisper.

"I want to know what happened last night," he said.

I was confused. He was supposed to know what had happened because I didn't have any memory of how I had even found myself in his bed, naked.

"Wha-what do you mean?" I stammered.

He sighed, "We had sex, Sia. You forced yourself on me."

Anger coursed through me. "Forced myself on you? I don't fucking remember how I got in here. You owe me an explanation" I yelled at him. 

"Two men brought you in here, and—"

 "You took advantage of me!" I lashed out at him, tears streaming down my face.

Nicholas raised his hands, his palms facing me. "I was drunk too, Sia. No one is to blame."

I didn't believe him. Why was he now claiming to be drunk when he clearly remembered how I entered his room. I broke down, and my vision became blurry.

It was now that everything came back to me with a rush. 

Nathan had cheated on me, barely an hour after proposing to me. He went further to tell everyone who cared to listen that he didn't even want to be married to me. 

While that was the truth, I hadn't expected him to be so blunt about it.

Between sobs, I managed to explain what I could remember about the previous night while he listened.

Then, something he said earlier hit me, "You said that two men brought me to your room. Who were they?"

He shrugged, "They wore uniforms—most likely ushers from the engagement party that held down the hallway"

I cocked an eyebrow, confused. The last thing I recalled was sipping from a bottle of alcohol which my mother had pushed into my hands. 

I started to cry again and the man got up, and went to the bathroom.

 When he came back, I was on a call with Elise, my best friend.

"Sia, you've lost your position at your father's company," Elise said. "And several other benefits."

I sobbed harder. There was not much to live for again, I reasoned. 

 Nicholas stood there, his eyes fixed on me, but I couldn't bear to look at him.

"Did they have to do it so fast?" I asked her. 

"Your parents have decided to cut you off from the family wealth, Sia. They're furious that you broke up with Nathan and went to the room of another man."

I wanted to protest that I didn't head over to another man's room on my own, rather I was escorted by two unknown men, but I fell silent.

The room started to spin. I staggered over to the bed and sat on it, dropping the phone. My breath hitched as I cried for the next few minutes. 

His voice cut through my sobs,  "Sia, stop."

I tried to calm down, but the tears wouldn't stop. I raked my fingers through my hair.

"The media is having a field day, Sia," He said, "They're carrying news of our affair, and it's not looking good for either of us."

 "I'm always in these unfortunate situations! I can't catch a break! First, Nathan cheats on me, and now this!"

The man didn't make a move to offer any comfort, nor try to soothe my tears away. 

He just stood there with a frown on his face. I felt like I was a burden to him, like he couldn't wait to get rid of me.

Minutes passed and I had calmed down. I still found it hard to believe my parents had cut me off. They had always threathened me about it. I quietly got dressed in the bathroom and went back to the bed.

Just then, a knock at the door broke the silence. 

Nicholas got up, and opened the door a crack, blocking a view of the room. I held my breath, nervous.

"Hey, man, we're looking for Sia," A male voice said "We brought her here last night. I think we had the wrong room number"

 "She's not here. She left last night, after...whatever happened."

From where I stood, I saw the men look at each other, clearly unconvinced. "Dude, we understand that we brought her here, but you aren't the Mr. N we were asked to take her to," the other man said.

 "I'm telling you, she's not here. And even if she was, it's none of your business."

The men looked at each other again, then shrugged. "Alright, man. But if we find out you're hiding her...," the first man trailed off, leaving the threat hanging in the air.

The man in the room closed the door, and turned to face me.

He waited a moment for the other men to walk away from the door before he cleared his throat, "I know the perfect solution to clear up this mess"

"Tell me."

"Marry me, Sia Stanton."