"Vicky," rang Cece's surprised voice, "are you sick?""Cece?" Vicky recognized her voice and paused as memories rushed back to her.It was the day for Jennifer to be discharged from the hospital, and she had told Jennifer that she would be picking her up from the hospital.She opened her eyes abruptly and glanced at the clock, realizing that it was almost one in the afternoon. She told Jennifer that she would arrive at the hospital at ten in the morning!Vicky stared at the screen on her phone and noticed that there had been a lot of missed calls.Frustrated, she said, "I'm sorry, Cece. Something happened. Just wait for me. I'll be there right away.""There's no rush, Vicky," Cece said. "Jennifer and I have nothing else to do, anyway."Vicky sat up and said, "You two should get something to eat. Don't wait for me.""Sure."After washing up, Vicky noticed how pale she looked in her reflection in the mirror and put on a blush to make herself look more energized before heading ou
Jennifer's eyes lit up. "Sure!"The three proceeded to talk about work and cast aside any thoughts about men, relationships, and their troubles.Two hours later, Vicky glanced at the time and realized that it was almost eight. There was not enough time for her to make it to the hotel.She lowered her gaze thoughtfully before sending the masked man a text message.[My friend has been discharged from the hospital, and we're having dinner together. I might be late.]A few minutes later, the man replied. [Alright.]An idea formed in her head, and she typed, [Can I not come over tonight?]This time, the man replied within a matter of seconds with just one word. [No.]Vicky was displeased at his authoritative tone. According to what the masked man said, they were not going to see each other for long, but he seemed to be more restrictive than Tyler.Cece noticed that Vicky had been texting and giggled. "Vicky, are you talking to Mister Hart?"Since Vicky returned from Forever Night,
Vicky glanced at the television and noticed that the masked man was watching finance-related news.He grabbed the remote controller and shut the television.Darkness instantly returned to the room, and Vicky's heart sank."Come here."She walked over and stopped right before him stiffly.Surprised, the man asked, "Why are you being so obedient today?"Vicky had not given up, of course. She simply discovered that the best way to deal with the masked man was to approach him with a softer attitude, and it was best not to disobey him.She did not answer his question, but he did not seem to mind. "What should I reward you with for being so obedient?" he murmured seductively. "Should I let you rest for another day?"The man seemed to know her well and would feed her with sufficient hope whenever she was close to giving up, before disappointing her again.She felt as helpless as a child before him."Why aren't you speaking?" He chuckled. "Don't you want to rest?""I do," she said.
"Tyler…" Vicky murmured, "when did you come back?"Tyler's voice was clear and melodious like the river as he replied, "This morning.""I thought you'd be away for more than ten days," Vicky wondered."You haven't been sleeping well with nightmares these few days." Tyler looked at her and added, "So I finished my work ahead of schedule and decided to come back."If this happened on a usual day, she would be thrilled to hear that. At this moment, however, she was not ready to face him…yet here he was, home already.His eyes darkened when he noticed the lack of excitement in her eyes."What's wrong? You're not happy to see me?" he asked."No," Vicky answered without thinking twice, "I'm just a little surprised…"She tried to calm herself. "Why didn't you tell me ahead? I said…I'd go pick you up from the airport."Tyler stood up and walked to her. "I want to give you a surprise, but…you weren't at home."Her heart throbbed. "What… What time did you arrive?""Six." He stood righ
"What's wrong?" Tyler looked worried. "Are you not feeling well?"Vicky was not feeling ill. She was just… Her heart and mind were a mess, and she no longer had the courage to tell the truth."I'm…fine," she muttered."Head upstairs. I'll go get some cream to treat those swollen lips," Tyler said."Alright…" she replied.Not long later, Tyler entered the room with a cream, and he spotted Vicky sitting on the sofa, daydreaming.He approached her and said, "Let me apply it for you."With the medical-grade cotton bud, he started to sterilize the wound on her lip and applied the cream. The moment he was serious, his face looked extremely stern, and the vibe he presented was rather intimidating.A refreshing sensation graced Vicky's lips, and it soothed the pain and dryness of her lip injury.Suddenly, her tears started to spill without any warning. Tyler was still concentrating on applying the cream to her lips by then.Stunned when the cold tears dropped on the back of his hand,
Vicky looked up and saw Tyler walking toward her after finishing his shower. His robe hung on his body, but his lean, toned chest and muscular body were out in the open. The eight-pack abs looked sturdy, so much to the point she could have a nosebleed.Despite having seen it numerous times, her face always turned red and hot seeing that hot body. She quickly looked away. "Nothing…"Tyler walked to her and placed both hands on the bed beside her body, trapping her between the bed and his chest."Are you sure it's nothing?" he asked.She still did not dare to look at him. "Yes."Surely, she was not going to tell him that she was wondering about the difference between him and the man with the mask. There were some differences, but she got a feeling…that there was a similarity of sorts.'Are men all built the same? Like, you can't tell the difference between two men once the light is off?' she thought.Tyler did not think too much and said, "I'm going to work for a while in the stud
[Yes, he came back this morning.] That was Vicky's reply.The man with the mask texted back instantly, [If that's the case, I'm going to let you have a day off since you behaved nicely last night. Come and spend time with me again tomorrow.]Vicky frowned. [I have no chance to go out if he's at home at night.]The man with the mask replied, [That's not my problem.]Vicky tried to reason. [He's going to suspect if I go out every night.]The chat stopped there because she did not get a reply from the man. She tried to send a few more messages, yet she received no response.It felt awful not knowing what was going to happen and where she would end up the following day.Just then, steady footsteps sound were heard from the stairs. Vicky quickly deleted the messages in her phone and put on a new expression.The tall, strong man walked down the stairs gracefully.She looked at his handsome face and asked softly, "Where did you go?"Tyler stopped walking and replied, "I just remembe
Tyler walked over to Vicky. "What happened?""Nothing," Vicky explained, "I accidentally knocked over a waiter and my gown is soaked with the drinks. I'll be fine after I change."Tyler looked at her. "Do you need me to go with you?"She looked at the people from the other companies gazing at him and smiled. "It's alright; I'm fine on my own. I can get some rest, too."Tyler knew she was not a fan of the party, so he nodded. "Okay."…It had been over half an hour since she changed into a new gown, yet she did not return to the party and decided to rest for a while. A waiter passed a key card of the room to her. "Missus Hart, this is your room."Vicky politely thanked him. "Thank you.""You're welcome, Missus Hart."Vicky took the card and entered the designated room.The room was pitch black. Just as she was about to turn on the light, a hand suddenly appeared and pulled her into the room. Startled, she subconsciously struggled to shout for help, but the hand covered her mou