Chapter Three

The bed was so soft and comfortable. Avalynn thought as she adjusted herself, smiling sheepishly.

Wait. Bed?!

She jerked up from the hotel bed; her gaze met the wall clock; it was 7:30 a.m. She wasn't wearing anything aside from her pants. What the heck? How come? She looked around. Where was she? She heard the tap running in the bathroom.

The last thing she remembered was a stranger who offered to buy her a drink at the club. Wait, so Dylan isn't back? She tried to stand up from the bed; her private part hurt. No. What's that pain? She quickly lifted the duvet to inspect.

Damn! It wasn't a dream! Nooo. Who the heck did this to her?

She tried to remember how the night went, but it wasn't coming through. She spotted her dress on the sofa by the bedside. She quickly reached for it and put it on.

“You're awake,” she said, hearing a strange voice. She lifted her head and saw the same guy she had met at the club last night coming out of the bathroom shirtless and with a towel around his thighs; it seemed like he had just had his bath.

“How dare you bring me here? How dare you do this to me?” Avalynn cried out.

She was so hurt. What had she done? How could she do this?

“Hey, calm your nerves. I haven't said I wouldn't pay you; just name your price,” the guy said with a smirk on his face.

He had concluded she was a prostitute who needed money. Which girl would offer her body so cheaply to a guy she doesn't even know?

“Are you insane?! Pay me? Is that what you've got to say after taking advantage of me?!” Avalynn fired, getting off the bed and moving towards him.

“Calm down. Taking advantage of you? You offered yourself to me. ‘Make love to me,’ didn't you say that?? So why are you so worked up? Fine, I know you need money; I will give it to you. Like I already said, just name your price.”

The words hit Avalynn’s heart so deeply. The words he just claimed she said rang a bell, and the memories flashed back. She remembered just how she pulled him to the bed and how she had pushed him into sleeping with her.

A tear streamed down the corner of her eyes as she became speechless.

So it wasn't a dream. She wasn't dreaming. Dylan wasn't back. Amelia still had him, and here she was. She had just slept with an unidentified man she had never met; she was unaware of his name as well.

What the heck! She collapsed on the sofa by the bedside. She just cheated on Dylan. Oh God, it was a mistake. She swore she didn't mean to.

“I am so sorry... I don't... I don't even know what to say.” She couldn't look him in the eyes.

She turned towards the door, making her way to leave. She didn't even bother freshening up.

“Wait, I don't even know your name. Don't you think we should know each other's names?”

She ignored him, turned the doorknob, and ran out of the hotel to the main road. As she walked by the sidewalk, looking tattered and her blonde hair rough, she tried to rack her brain to remember everything that happened last night, but they weren't just coming.

Though, with the way she was feeling between her legs, they definitely had sex. Shame gripped her. How was she supposed to face Dylan now? For three years, they had been dating, but nothing of the sort ever happened.

They were even eight months into the relationship before she allowed him to deflower her. He was her first-ever boyfriend and first love.

“Ava!” A familiar voice echoed in her ears. She didn't turn the first time. She had probably imagined Lisa’s voice, as she was the one person she always turned to when in situations she couldn't handle on her own.

“Avalynn!” The person called her by her full name this time. She turned, and her eyes met her best friend since childhood, Lisa.

Lisa approached Ava, smiling so brightly, and hugged her tightly.

“Did you hear the entertainment news, girl? Jace Malvis is back in New York!”

Malvis is the biggest business company in New York at this time, and the only heir to the company's business is back to claim his inheritance.

“Oh, really?” Ava didn't care about that. Who was he anyway? She forced a smile on. She didn't want her friend to see her sad. It was their first time seeing each other in two weeks. She had been so busy with work.

Work?! Her heart skipped. “What does the time say?!” She asked with a sense of urgency as Lisa approached her.

Lisa glanced at her wristwatch and said, “It's 8:20 am; why?”

“Oh, my freaking God! I am late for work!” Ava was about to run off when Lisa said,

“Hey, it's Saturday; your day off!” she said, laughing as Ava breathed a sigh of relief. “What's up with you? You don't look fine. Why are you so rough so early in the morning? Is something wrong with Dad again?” Lisa said the lines without pause.

The mention of her father, who had been on the sick bed for months after he was diagnosed with heart disease, weakened her. That poor man didn't deserve that much pain.

Her stepmother and sisters had abandoned her to deal with his medical bills alone, which had been a burden she had been carrying ever since. Her restaurant job wasn't helping matters, but at least she was coping.

Taking a deep breath, Ava murmured, “No, nothing is wrong with Dad. He's responding to treatments and will have his surgery soon. It's Dylan; he broke up with me.”

There was a moment of silence.

“What?” Lisa couldn't believe her ears.

“The worst part is he dumped me for Amelia.” Tears gathered in Ava's eyes. This time, she didn't bother stopping them. She was with Lisa, someone with whom she could be very vulnerable and at her lowest. “He dumped me for that b*tch, Lisa,” she cried.

“Wait, you mean Amelia, your stepsister?” Lisa was still finding it hard to believe.

Avalynn just nodded; she couldn't find the words.

Seeing that Ava was wearing off, Lisa offered, “Wanna talk over a cup of coffee?”

“Sure,” Ava managed to murmur.

They arrived at the coffee shop, and after ordering Americanos, Ava’s favorite, they headed to a very reserved spot and took their seats.

“You want to hear the worst part?” Ava said, taking a brief sip from her coffee cup.

“Spill it, girl.”

“I just had a one-night stand by mistake with some pervert,” Ava said, her frustration rising.

“One night...” Lisa couldn't finish her words; Ava's phone interrupted their conversation.

It was her stepmother. Her stepmother didn't call her unless it was something very important. She fidgeted, taking a quick glance at Lisa, who urged her to pick up the call. She did and pressed the phone to her ear.

“Hello, Mom,” she stuttered.

“Come home right now; there's some very vital information for you,” her stepmom said over the phone and hung up immediately.