4

Beep! Beep!

With the sound of the alarm from her phone, she slightly moved on the bed searching for her phone with her hand.

A slightly ruffled sound left her mouth as she couldn't find it anywhere near. Usually, she turned off the alarm every morning, since she had to make breakfast for everyone in the Lincoln Residence she used to wake up earliest in the morning.

'I can't be late. Mom will sco... Wait, this is not Lincoln Resi...'

Avery opened her eyes and darted around, all she could see was telling her that she was in some unfamiliar place.

Feeling something as if claiming her, her eyes turned toward her midsection as she felt someone's hand on her waistline. She enlarged her eyes and examined the masculine figure that was sleeping on her next. Due to having his face turned to the other side, she couldn't see his face.

She gobbled and remembered everything that happened last night. Her face turned red and she bit her lips. 'I... I slept with a stranger last night... I was the one asking him for a one-night stand... '

Avery felt her cheeks turn red, she scarfed again, and biting her lips she peeked at the man's muscles. Wow, they damn!

'I am so done for. Not only did I get cheated but I slept with a total stranger. Goodness, gracious...' Looking at the man's hand that was placed on her midsection gently she pulled his hand over. She let out a sigh and yanked the bedsheet a little, making sure to not make a sound in case it would wake the man then she crawled down to the bed.

'Screw your audacity! Find some clothes and leave. It's so embarrassing, gosh!' Looking around she couldn't see her clothes. She remembered how she tore her dress and the rest were done by her one-night stand.

Gnawing on her lips as she saw some men's clothes on the sofa, without a second thought she grabbed onto a pair of shorts and a shirt.

'I don't have anything else to wear so I am taking yours, Mr.' 

Putting them on she turned towards the man to take a last look. He was not that bad of a choice to be laid with, he seemed to be more muscular than her cheater ex-husband, taller than him, and he seemed to be richer than him too. It was bad that she was not going to see how he looked.

Sigh!

While checking him out, her eyes caught on the beautiful bird tattoo on his shoulder. It looked cool and gorgeous. Somewhere she saw the tattoo before and she remembered it clearly. As if the voice from the tattoo owner rang in her ears like a bell.

"Birdie! My birdie! You are forever caged in my cage!"

A shiver ran down her spine, even on the summer morning her forehead was sweating. But how could he be here?

Avery snapped out of her imagination. Letting out a sigh she mumbled, 'It's a stranger. A stranger who I will never meet after today again... I know what I lost. I don't know what's going to happen after this. But thanks for the night, Mr.'

With that, she crept towards the door. As she grabbed onto the doorknob she discontinued. There came the man's husky yet icy tone to be heard and it felt utterly familiar to her ears for some reason.

"Where do you think you are going? Miss." Damn that voice of his. It reminded her how words from his mouth felt so celestial to her ears last night.

Avery downed and didn't make a sound.

"Are you planning to leave stealing my clothes?"

Steal? Was he calling her a thief? Avery clutched tight onto the doorknob and contended, "I was just... Just borrowing them. Sir."

"I remember you said we were going to go our separate ways."

"I... I did say that but..."

"But?"

The man wrapped the bed cover around his waist and walked towards the woman he spent last night with. Suddenly feeling him getting closer to her Avery quickly proclaimed, "You... You seem quite rich, you wouldn't mind if I take some clothes of yours right?"

"Well... I never said I was going to let you borrow them with whom I had s*x last night."

Avery the least wanted him to mention it again. She was already feeling embarrassed and he was reminding her what just happened last night.

Unsettled yet helpless she bit her lips, "I..." she held onto her self-esteem. He was being too much.

"Fine, what do you want? I can pay for these clothes if you want me to. Just say how much it is!" She said so in a frustrated tone of voice.

The man had an amusing look on his face. He smiled and spoke out, "Do you think you can pay for it? Why don't you have a look at what brand are you wearing?"

Avery hearing him randomly glared at the shorts she was wearing and her eyes dilated. Was he serious? Though she was not rich she had good knowledge about clothing brands. She had good fashion knowledge. 

"Hiatus!"

"Do you still want to pay?"

"I..."

Avery held onto the shirt she was wearing and mumbled to herself, 'Even if I sell my organs, and do some part-time jobs, I can barely manage to have half of the money. What should I do then?'

"Since it's so much for you, I will take them off!" (He is a good man, he won't agree to it!) Though she started disliking him he didn't look that bad. She thought he was going to be considerate. Her hopes got low as soon as she heard the man.

Her facial reaction changed as he affirmed, "I don't have a problem with that."

Avery broadened her eyes and wanted to bite him. Gosh, he was so annoying. She was wrong to think he was a good man!

"You are such a rude..." Annoyed, Avery turned around to be obscene to him but she was taken aback. The man was standing some inches away from her, he had the cover wrapped around his waist and his torso was naked, he looked so alluring and good-looking but that's not what caught her off. It was his face.

Avery could still remember that face of his even though so many years has passed. She couldn't believe her eyes, her lips were fluttering and the only word she could utter was, "You..."

The man smiled at her and walked forward towards her. "Long time no see, birdie." 

"No way!" Taken aback she almost got faceplanted on the floor but the man's strong arm helped her. He grabbed her midriff and pulled her close so that her head hit his muscled chest. 

When she was still in a quandary she heard him cracking up while saying, "You still didn't change, as same as you were eleven years ago."

Avery felt frightened. Everything that he did to her, she still remembered them from bone to bone. How could she forget those bad memories?

Feeling he was close to hers, she quickly propelled him away and questioned him in a trembling tone of voice, "You... How come you are here?"

"Well, that's not how we welcome our seniors right?"

"Stop! Stop it! I... I asked why are you here?"

The man's smile disappeared as he saw her scared self. He ran his hand through his jet-black hair and walked towards the bed. He took the cover off his waist and she quickly turned around. 

'He is shameless like he used to be!'

"Don't you know the answer well? Wasn't it you who threw yourself on me last night?"

Avery swallowed. It was too dark last night and she was crapulous. She could only see his eyes but not his face. If she knew it was him she would have never...

"I... I..."

"I am not surprised to see you being so spirited. After divorcing the brother, you quickly jumped on his brother's bed. Interesting..."

"Call it rather step." She cut him through. For a second the man stopped and then he let out, "It doesn't differ much."

"..." Avery could see him dressing up. He looked the same as eleven years ago, nothing much changed except him becoming more handsome, those exquisite facial features of his could make any woman kill the other to just sleep with him a night. 

'No, I can't stay here. I better run from him, run as far as possible. He is a devil that I must stay away from.' thinking so as she turned to leave he declared, "I didn't give you permission to leave yet." He sounded cold but who cared!

Avery remembered how he used to bully her back in school. He made her days worse. Did he think she was the same as before? Avery changed for good. "I don't need your permission to leave."

"Is that so? But I thought you were curious to know who sent that killer after you last night." The moment she heard him she halted. Right she almost forgot about those men.

Turning around she asked him, "You know who sent them?"

"Of course, I do."

"Who are they?"

"Cool baby, if I tell you about them now. It won't be fun."

Annoyance!

"If you don't want to tell me then forget it."

Interesting! He always saw her as a scared kitten, he was dominant and she was the submissive one. She always obeyed him and he was always happy to make her submit to him if for once she went back to her words but now...

"The moment you set your feet out of here, you will be killed. It's me only who can save you."

"What... What do you mean?"

The man threw a tab toward her. Looking at it, Avery was stunned. She quickly ran towards the curtains, moving them a little she looked at the men who were looking for her with weapons, she could see them in the CCTV footage in the tab more like someone kept eye on them. With utter disbelief, she murmured, "Why are they doing this..."

"No matter where you go, they will kill you the moment they see you."

Avery looked at him. People said Apollo Wyatt Lincoln was known to be treacherous, they said since a young age he was very manipulative and very inhuman, unkind towards everyone. Avery suffered because of him before already so she knew how he was but this time it seemed different as if he wanted to help her but why...

"What do you want?"

The man snickered. Standing up he walked towards her while with every word he emitted, she could hear them clearly, "You have two options. Either marry me... Or die."

"What???"