1. A Foggy Night

***

"Ah, that feels so good, Leon. I'm almost coming."

"Hold on, baby. Just a little longer."

The moans echoed clearly in Leon Hale's private room - a rising star actor who was taking the world by storm.

Still lost in the throes of pleasure, Leon Hale could never have imagined that behind his bedroom door someone stood frozen, holding back tears.

That someone was Anastasia Noire, his girlfriend and soon-to-be fiancée of five years.

Anastasia couldn't believe the strange message she'd received on her phone, accusing Leon of betrayal. She was supposed to be filming a commercial in Paris today, but her schedule had been abruptly cancelled. Depressed, she decided to visit her boyfriend's luxurious apartment.

"This can't be real, can it? Those sounds... they're just in my head," Anastasia muttered, trying to calm herself. With trembling hands, she reached for the bedroom door, hoping that the bizarre noises were nothing more than a figment of her imagination.

As she gripped the doorknob, her hands shook violently. Her heart pounded erratically as she stood outside what should have been an empty room. Leon Hale, the man who always made her heart race, was supposed to be at a photo shoot today. So why were these noises coming from inside?

"I'm probably just hallucinating," she whispered again, trying to calm the storm of fear that was gripping her. But curiosity and a gnawing sense of fear drove her forward. Slowly, she turned the doorknob and opened the door, inch by inch.

When the gap was wide enough, her eyes widened in disbelief. Her heart felt as if it had stopped beating as the scene inside became clear. There, in the dimly lit room, on the bed that would symbolise their future together as husband and wife, Leon and another woman were locked in a fervent act of passion. Their naked bodies moved together in an unrestrained frenzy.

Anastasia's shaking increased. She could barely breathe, let alone call out Leon's name. Her heart shattered into a million pieces, broken beyond repair.

And then, as the woman shifted slightly, her identity became unmistakably clear in the dim light. Anastasia's world crumbled in an instant. The woman was no stranger. It was Elora Viviana - her stepsister, the one who had always been a thorn in her side, brazenly jealous of her.

"Elora..." her voice trembled, barely audible but enough to startle the two on the bed. Leon jerked his head towards the door, shock on his face, while Elora just stared back at Anastasia with a smug look of triumph.

"Anastasia!" Leon shouted, hastily grabbing a blanket to cover his naked body. His face turned ashen, as if the blood had completely drained from it. "This... this isn't what it looks like."

Tears welled in Anastasia's eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She wouldn't show weakness in front of them - especially not in front of Elora. "Not what it looks like?" she repeated, her voice dripping with pain and betrayal. "Then what? What exactly is going on here, Leon? Explain it to me, because from where I'm standing, it's pretty damn clear."

Leon fell silent, unable to form words. He could only hang his head to avoid her piercing gaze. He hadn't expected her to show up tonight. Wasn't she supposed to be in Paris?

Elora, on the other hand, showed no sign of remorse. Instead, she smiled, a satisfied gleam in her eyes.

"I figured you'd find out sooner or later," Elora said sweetly, her tone laced with venom. "I should have invited you sooner, Anastasia. Perhaps you'd like to join us? Your friend is happier with me, you know. I satisfy him in a way you never could. You're nothing but a burden to him."

Elora's words were like poison, stabbing deeper into Anastasia's heart. She clenched her fists, resisting the urge to slap the woman she once called her sister. "You're disgusting, Elora! Enjoy it while it lasts - I don't care," she said coldly. "And you, Leon, I thought you were different. But you're just like the others. No, worse."

Leon stepped closer and reached for Anastasia's hand. "Anastasia, please, listen to me. I-"

"Don't touch me!" Anastasia snapped, backing away from him. "I'm done with you! I'm done with your lies! And I'm done with being touched by your filthy hands!" Her eyes burned with hatred, even as tears finally spilled over. "You can have him, Elora. Have everything. I don't care anymore!"

With that, Anastasia turned and fled the room. Her sobs echoed through the empty corridor as she ran, each step heavier than the last.

Leon started to run after her, but Elora stopped him. "Let her go," she whispered, stroking his arm seductively. "She just needs time to adjust to reality. We both knew it would happen sooner or later. I've given you pleasures she never could."

Leon let out a deep breath and stared at the door Anastasia had just left. Something felt wrong in his chest, but he pushed it aside, choosing instead to pull Elora closer to him, as if that would erase everything.

Deep down, though, he knew he had made an irreparable mistake. But Elora was right - for the past five years, Anastasia had refused him every time he wanted intimacy, insisting they wait until marriage.

"Leon, shall we pick up where we left off?" Elora purred.

Leon grinned devilishly and the two were lost in another night of passion.

***

Meanwhile, Anastasia continued to run, desperate to escape the reality that had just shattered her world. But no matter how far she ran, the pain clung to her, haunting her every step. She didn't know how to face tomorrow, where to go or who to trust.

One thing she knew for sure, her life would never be the same again. Leon Hale, the man she once thought was her angel, had turned into a demon like the rest of her family. After her father's emotional abandonment, she had thought Leon was God's answer to her prayers. But Leon Hale was just another man who had hurt her.

When she reached her car, she froze. There, beaten and bruised, lay an unconscious man. Without hesitation or fear, she approached him.

"Sir, are you conscious? Let's get you to hospital," Anastasia said urgently.

The stranger shook his head weakly. "N-no... take me... to your place..."

Anastasia furrowed her brow, about to refuse, but then she noticed several burly men running towards her. Without thinking twice, she lifted the injured man into her car, realising he was in grave danger.

"I'll treat you in my apartment for now."