1. Do you still recognize me?

"Amanda, I'll take you home." Jeff still tried even though the blue-eyed woman still refused.

"I'm fine, and it's just a mild hangover. I can still drive. Stay here, Jeff. If you leave your birthday party, what about everyone else? They want to have fun with you." Amanda hoped Jeff would understand her wishes.

They stood in the corner of the ballroom. Renting a large room at a famous hotel in the city for his birthday was no hardship, as Jeff was born the only son of a wealthy man and was poised to inherit the family business.

"But—"

"Jeff, calm down. I'll call you when I get home."

The man grunted; he looked disappointed, but there wasn't much he could do. "I have to give in?"

"Of course, I appreciate you. So, stay here. I'm fine." Amanda smiled. She touched Jeff's arm, the smell of alcohol wafting from her lips. "I'm going home now. Have fun."

Amanda left the man and went out the door guarded by two burly men, and Jeff was undoubtedly annoyed. His attempt failed again.

Jeff liked Amanda; she worked for Jeff's father's company as a secretary, but Jeff's every attempt to get close to Amanda showed no signs that the girl was melting because Amanda was always warm towards others. It was no different when Amanda faced Jeff or other men.

"My head feels very dizzy." The woman with the white dress on her body staggered as she approached the elevator. Honestly, Amanda needed a friend to take her to the basement, but everyone was busy partying, so she was reluctant to disturb them.

The elevator doors opened, and Amanda sat down and touched her head as she entered the elevator. She hadn't even noticed that a man in a maroon suit was already standing there.

"Did I drink too much?" Amanda muttered. She stood to the left of the tall man beside her, the woman leaning against the elevator wall. "Very dizzy."

Then, suddenly.

Hoek.

Amanda spewed clear liquid from her mouth and littered the elevator floor.

"Damn! I should have gone to the toilet before entering the elevator. It's a good thing there wasn't any—" She paused after turning her head to the right side and finding another person watching her.

The woman squinted as she endured the nausea in her stomach. She tried to remember anything from the man staring at her without blinking as if sharing signals, and Amanda was busy translating them.

"Do I know you?" asked Amanda, still half-conscious.

The man tilted his head and smiled dismissively. "I was surprised to meet a girl from an arrogant family after years of disappearance."

"You—" Amanda bent down again to spit out the contents of her stomach.

"Your behavior is very detrimental to others, and the cleaning service will get pressure from their superiors because of your bad attitude. Can you think?" The man scoffed again, and he didn't care about the condition of the woman near him.

"Ori, Oriaga Niel. Am I right?" Amanda tried to act normal. She wiped the vomit off the corner of her lips and looked back at the man.

"It's good that you still recognize me. If not, it's probably because you found a man who your family should ostracize."

"Why bring up the past all of a sudden?"

"Because I want to talk about it, Amanda Claire." Oriaga was quite ruthless, his eyeballs becoming wider with rows of eyebrows coming together.

"But, I never insulted you."

"Really? But, you just kept quiet when they did. You never defended me in front of anyone, you remember!" Oriaga was angry.

Just then, the elevator doors opened, and Amanda got out and walked away even though the dizziness in her head had not disappeared.

Oriaga had silently let the woman go, but suddenly, his body moved towards Amanda, who had almost reached her car in the basement parking lot.

Oriaga grabbed Amanda's arm before pulling her against the side of a pillar. Amanda's back had to hit the post because Oriaga's pull was quite strong.

"What. What do you want, huh? My head feels dizzy, and I have to go home soon. Get out of the way." Amanda tried to escape, but Oriaga intended to hold the woman back.

"Are you drunk? Did you meet a man in this place? Did you become a bitch and engage in prostitution?" Oriaga accused her without hesitation.

"Oriaga, your words are too mean."

"Really? This is what you deserve."

"Looks like you've changed a lot."

"Of course." Oriaga grinned. "The wheels are turning too fast for me."

Amanda smiled, her head leaning against the pillar. She hated the situation because she couldn't fight the man before her. Getting drunk was the wrong choice, and it had already happened. She should have stomped on Oriaga's feet with the tips of her heels, then run away.

"What business is it of yours if I become a bitch and have sex with anyone. Are you going to get mad?" Amanda laughed. "My whole life is none of your business. We haven't interacted in a long time, and when we do, you say many bad things."

Oriaga paused but kept her grip on Amanda as the woman tried to get her off.

"Let go of me. Do you want to get—"

Hoek.

Once again, things went from bad to worse when Amanda accidentally spewed her guts on Oriaga's maroon suit.

She looked into the man's eyes, looking cold and intimidating.

"I need to go to my car and get tissues to clean your suit." Amanda hoped Oriaga would grant her wish.

However, the man was still silent. He took out his cell phone from his pants pocket and dialed someone.

The direction of his eyes reluctantly turned away from Amanda's face, making a little fear in the woman appear.

Amanda realized that Oriaga was utterly different.

"Open the mansion's gates in the north for me and prepare everything now. I'll stay overnight at that place," Oriaga ordered the person who answered his phone, then put the cell phone back away.

He looked down at the stain on his suit.

Amanda swallowed.

"I—"

"You asked, what do I want from you? Now, I want you." Oriaga pulled the woman in another direction. The situation in the basement parking lot was tranquil; only they were there, but at some angles, the CCTV cameras installed could record the surrounding case.

"What does that mean? What do you mean!" She was losing strength from vomiting so many times, but Oriaga was brilliant to seize the moment.

"I want you. Still not clear?" He forced the woman into the car and buckled her seatbelt, then looked down in front of Amanda's face. "If you are a bitch, this is your job. I can pay you as much as you want."

Fear was getting the better of Amanda. "Oriaga—"

"Shut up." Oriaga closed the door and sat behind the wheel. "If you keep trying, I will drop you on the highway when the car speeds up. Do you want that?"

"YOU'RE CRAZY!!!"

"Thank you for realizing it."

The car moved out of the basement. The situation locked in Amanda. She touched her dizzy head without being able to rebel or escape, and Oriaga smiled meaningfully as if seeing victory in sight.

***