Chapter 2

JAN attended the banquet because he had an important business. But things did not go on smoothly, which annoyed him. He could not convince Mr. Abel to sign cooperation with their company no matter what he did to persuade him. So, Jan left the banquet early and went to the hotel’s bar and drank a few glasses of whisky until he was tipsy. Minutes before heading up to his suite, he called Daniel, his annoying friend, to inform him of his failure. He said that a surprise awaits him in his suite to cheer him up. That was why when he saw the woman inside the bathroom suite, he jumped at her like a lion to his prey. Jan was so ready to spend a night of ecstasy with his present.

But when he brought her to his bed, the woman started crying. That was when he realized that she was not the kind of woman he expected her to be.

Jan held the woman’s chin that made her flinch.

“Who are you?” he asked with a deep knot on his forehead.

He did not get any response from her this time, which started to annoy him. Then, his phone buzzed. Jan moved away from the woman with his gaze still fixed on her. He then picked his phone from the table and answered his brother’s call.

“Fernan—”

“What the hell are you doing there?!”

Jan raised a brow. His little brother sounded furious on the other line. Perhaps his mother had already heard the news that he had failed.

“Look, I did try my best to persuade Mr. Abel, okay? But he—”

“What? I am not talking about business here, brother! I am talking about you destroying our family’s good reputation!” his brother cut him off.

“What the hell are you talking about, Fernan?” Jan heard his brother cussed in the background. “Damn it, can you please cut to the chase!”

“See for yourself, brother. I already sent you the link. You are now famous online.”

Jan took his phone away from his ear and opened his brother’s message. He immediately clicked the link, and he was directed on a video going viral on social media. To his astonishment, it was a video of him and the woman on his bed.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

He was filmed inside his hotel suite! He turned his gaze to the woman on his bed who was still sobbing.

“What are you gonna do now, brother? Mom is—”

“Call the IT department and tell them to take down the video. I will deal with Mom later.” Jan ended the call and pulled the woman up.

He showed her the video. She looked at him with wide eyes and an opened mouth.

“H-how—”

“Who are you?! Who the fuck sent you here?!” Jan tightly grasped the woman’s arm.

“Ouch, you are hurting me…” She tried to withdraw her arm, but there was no way he would let her escape.

KATE was shocked to see a video scandal of her with the stranger in that hotel suite. The scene happened just a while ago, and now it was posted online. How come? Was he a pervert or something?

“L-let me go…” she said in a hoarse voice.

“I am not letting you off the hook until this issue is settled,” the man said through gritted teeth.

“B-but I am innocent!” Kate insisted. “Why won’t you believe me—”

“Because I don’t even know you in the first place!” he snarled at her.

Now, her fear tripled. She was caught in a scandalous situation with a man she did not know. What awaits her after all of that?

Kate moved further away from him. She folded her legs and hugged them tightly.

“I swear to heaven that I am innocent. I only ended up here because I was trying to escape. Believe me, I don’t have intentions to harm you in any way…” Tears started to roll down Kate’s cheeks again. “I just… I just want to save myself.”

The man did not say a word. He just stood there and looked at her as if he could see through her.

A few moments later, the doorbell rang, followed by consecutive knocks at the door. The man then sauntered to the door and opened it. A group of security personnel started searching the entire suite.

“Sir Jan, I apologize for the damage this incident had caused you,” said the manager who arrived in the suite a little later.

Kate turned her gaze to the man whom the manager called Jan. So, that was his name.

Jan ran his fingers through his hair and breathed exasperatedly.

“How come I got filmed, Claire? Have you not checked my suite?” There was a hint of irritation in his voice.

The manager clasped her hands and lowered her head.

“I checked every nook and cranny of your suite, Sir Jan. Everything is clear before you enter the suite.” The manager then turned in her direction. “Who is she, Sir Jan?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you start the investigation with her?” Jan folded his arms over his chest and arched a brow.

The manager strode towards the bed and pulled her up. “Did you—”

“I did nothing wrong! I…” Kate’s voice trailed off. No matter how many times she tried to explain why she was in there, it seemed that no one would believe her. It was no use.

“Katherine!”

Kate felt her whole body tremble when she heard Aunt Bernice’s voice inside the suite. Her aunt rushed inside and grabbed her.

“What are you doing here?! What have you done, you stupid—”

“Take your hands off her.”

To her surprised, Jan snatched her away from her aunt.

“This woman is my niece. I am taking her with me—”

“No one is taking this woman away until the investigation is done,” Jan said in a firm tone and beckoned one of the security personnel to come over. “Please escort this madam out of my suite,” he ordered.

“Wait! What?!” Aunt Bernice’s face turned red as the security dragged her out of the suite.

“Sir, we found the camera attached to the stereo,” the security informed Jan afterwards.

“We will run a fingerprint test if there is any and check all the CCTV footage. We will inform you as soon as we find a lead,” the manager told Jan before everyone exited the suite.

When Jan freed her, she plopped down on the carpeted floor. Kate’s legs felt like they were wanton. Now that Aunt Bernice had found her, she was sure her aunt was just around the corner, waiting for her.

“Is this your aunt’s doing, Katherine?”

She raised her head.

“Have you offended my aunt?” Kate asked, puzzled.

“Well…” Jan sat on the accent chair. “I have offended a lot of people, but I don’t think your aunt is one of them.”

“Then my aunt has nothing to do with this.” Kate sneered when she realized she had just defended Aunt Bernice. Perhaps she was still a good person who did not know how to hold a grudge. “Aunt Bernice has no time for this kind of plot because she’s busy hunting me down to sell me out to that Mr. Abel—”

“Mr. Abel?” he cut her off.

“Yes. My aunt was after Mr. Abel. I overheard her talking to my cousin on the phone that he wanted to have me in exchange for cooperation. The very reason why I ended up here in your suite. I was trying to escape, you know…” Kate hoped he would buy her alibi now.

Jan’s brows furrowed. “How did you manage to sneak inside my suite, anyway?”

“The door was open.”

“I am sure I locked the door before I leave for the banquet.” He caressed his chin. “Now, that was really suspicious.”

“Did my alibi check out?” Kate asked afterwards.

“I think so.”

She rose to her feet. “Then I should leave.”

“Are you sure you want to leave, Katherine?” asked Jan. His voice was gentler now. “You made your aunt’s blood boil. Do you think—”

“Would you help me then?” Kate did not know where her courage came from. Those words just escaped from her mouth.

He arched his brow and snorted. Jan did not look away as he leaned against his seat.

“It depends on you…” He propped a finger on the side of his forehead and chuckled.

Kate could not follow.

“W-what do you mean? Of course, I badly need help—”

“If you can pay the price, then I will help you.” Jan waved his other hand outwardly. “I don’t do favors, lady. I make deals…”

The firmness of his tone and his baritone voice made her shiver. Kate did not have the money to pay him, which she doubted he would ask from her. Jan looked like someone who belonged to the high society. He must have a lot of it.

Her hand clenched onto her robe when she noticed his gaze reverted to her chest, then down to the lower part of her body. Kate might be stupid, as what her aunt called her, but she was not that innocent. She was well-aware of such matter.

Jan stood up and sauntered towards her. He held her chin and looked at her straight in the eyes. She swallowed hard as she tried to remain calm. There was something in his gaze that made her feel… enchanting.

“I need your service, Katherine,” he drawled.

“Then…” She grabbed her robe’s tie and was about to pull it when his hand stopped her. “What are you doing?” she asked, puzzled. “I thought you want my service in exchange for helping me—”

“I don’t want a service this quick.” The corner of his lips twitched. “I want it to last for a long time.”

Her eyes grew wide as the realization hit her.

“Y-you want me to be your sex slave?”

Jan sneered and freed her afterwards. He strode towards the table and picked up his phone.

“It’s not what you think it is. As you can see, we are both caught up in this scandal. I’m a man who needs to protect my image and my family’s reputation. People on the internet will accuse me that I sleep with random girls during my stay in hotels. It will drive my mom crazy mad at me, you know. So, given your situation, I would like to offer you a deal.”

Kate slowly let out her breath she was not aware she had been holding.

“I am… really desperate. I don’t want to go back to that shabby attic in my aunt’s house. I am sick and tired of crying every single night. So, whatever you want me to do, I will do it.”

“I only know one way to get out of this mess. Marry me, Katherine.”

Her mouth dropped open.

“I—”

“What? Are you in a relationship?” Jan arched a brow.

“No, I’m not.”

“Good. We don’t have a problem then.” He dialed on his phone and brought the gadget to his ear. “Rose, I need your help. Could you please shop for this lady with me? Okay… Hm… I will send it to you later.”

Jan then turned to her, holding out his phone. She heard his camera shutter.

“Turn around, Katherine. I need to send photos of you to my assistant.”