2. The Bastard on My Bed

"Dave, I love you..." Shienna babbled and slowly opened her eyes, turning her head briefly to find a man still sleeping beside her. Her eyes traveled down from the man's head to his bottom; he was not wearing any clothes and was only covered by a waist-length blanket. Shienna widened her eyes and checked herself.

"Oh my! Why didn't I wear—" Shienna's sentence was cut short when she heard the man beside her moan.

"Selena, I love—" The man turned, and his face was now facing Shienna, whose eyeballs were almost stroking.

"Bryan?!" she screeched, waking the man who was just as shocked as she was.

"Shienna? What are you doing here?!"

"Shouldn't I be asking you? What are you—no way!" Shienna covered her mouth with both hands.

The two simultaneously looked at their respective bodies. Shienna pulled up the blanket to cover her bare chest and body while the man did the same. One blanket was a struggle between Shienna and the man she had probably spent a hot night with.

"Take it off! It's my blanket! What are you doing in my room, huh?!" Shienna screamed, still trying to maintain a blanket to tip over her breast. "You must be looking for an opportunity in a tight spot because you know I just broke up with my boyfriend—ooh... that's right. You're the cause of all the bad luck in my life, you bastard!" Shienna attacked Bryan brutally, beating him until she didn't realize that the cloth covering her chest was now open and revealing his naked body.

Bryan, who originally tried to protect the part of his body that Shienna attacked, no longer cared whether the girl beat or even killed him because his gaze was now fixed on the beautiful scenery before him.

"I can finally see the part you've been covering up all this time. Hmm... you're not bad. I didn't expect that even though you are a spoiled and fierce girl, you have well-arranged curves," Bryan complimented with a flat look that made Shienna stutter and covered her body immediately.

"You bastard! You perverted bastard! Even without meeting you, I already feel unlucky. Now I have to meet you after being free for so long and feeling happy. Do you know why? Because your swearing is unproven, and now—damn it! You must have been stalking me on purpose! You maniac! You must have followed me everywhere I went! What's your purpose, huh!? Are you trying to make fun of me for being cheated on and having my heart broken again?!" Shienna nagged at the man and then rubbed his forehead. "Get out of here, asshole! Get out!"

Bryan seemed undaunted by Shienna's wrath and moved closer to the girl cause Shienna's words instantly disturbed him.

"Cheated on? What are you talking about?" asked Bryan.

"You pretend you don't know, now, huh? Get out of here!"

"Ouch! Shie, I don't know what happened to us, but while I'm still here and the junior will rise soon, how about we reenact what happened last night?" Bryan teased, raising his eyebrows. Hearing the words of him, who was now cutting the distance from her, Shienna backed away with a worried look. "Why? Are you scared?"

"Leave! If you don't, I'll call the hotel security to arrest you!" the girl threatened, making Bryan chuckle.

"Calm down, calm down. I'll go." He got off the bed and put on his clothes before Shienna, who turned her head the other way. "No need to look away. You saw everything last night. And must have felt how fierce the junior is."

"Ewh! Disgusting! You must be bragging! There's no way I'd do that with you!"

Hearing Shienna's harsh words, Bryan only gave a crooked smile. "You don't even remember how naughty you were last night. Naughty and fierce. I like that." He finished putting on his clothes and stood straight to face Shienna, still on the bed, clutching the blanket to keep her body from being exposed. "Alright, tell me, how much did you charge me for last night, hm?"

"Wh-what? Charge you? Do you think I'm a slut, huh?!" shouted Shienna intending to provoke his reaction, but to no avail. Bryan, with his firmly chiseled jaw and athletic curves, stared at Shienna with a sharp, unfeeling gaze.

The sharp and hilarious look in Bryan's eyes instantly turned cold and seemed to portray the pent-up anger in his heart that he was reluctant to show in front of Shienna.

"Don't you like men with money, huh? What else is there to do if not give them pleasure? Oh, of course, on me too. Because I already felt it last night." Bryan grinned sarcastically. The look on his face that had originally shown a mischievous and lascivious character suddenly changed drastically. He then took out his cell phone and contacted someone. "Come here quickly and bring clean clothes for me. I'm in room number... just found out via GPS; I don't remember this room number. Yeah, you know—business as usual. The rate is too expensive. Maybe you can find another woman for me later. Okay, I'll wait."

Bryan ended the call, which left Shienna dumbfounded. What did too expensive mean? Was he referring to her? And again, he calmly waltzed away, leaving Shienna, who was still pensive, trying to collect memories of what happened last night. Not long after, however, footsteps returned to her room.

"Take it! Is it good enough for you? This is my business card. You can call me at the number above if you feel like what I gave you wasn't enough—or if something happens to you. If you don't get an answer, call the number below. That's my assistant's number." He tossed a few hundred-dollar bills and a business card onto the bed.

"What do you mean? Are you consider me a whore? After all, what did I contact you for?"

"Well, just in case you wanted me to take responsibility. Because from what I remember, we didn't use protection at all. If you don't want to, that's fine. But I assure you I won't believe you, let alone take responsibility if you come and claim to be carrying my child. Offers don't come twice. Bye."

Bryan left, leaving Shienna, who was again uncertain. After ensuring he would not return, Shienna checked her lower body and the clean sheets without any stains. She sighed with relief when she realized there was no trace that she had made love to the man.

"Thankfully, there are no blood spots. They say that if it's the first time, it will bleed. That means I didn't do anything with that bastard last night. What a bastard! I must never see that pesky man again." Shienna grumbled to herself amidst her relief at discovering that she did not do anything with that man. It could be that the effect of the wine she drank made her overheated and undressed last night.

She then put her clothes back on and pensively thought about Bryan, who was her ex-boyfriend when she was in college.

"What is he doing in this country? It can't just be a coincidence, can it? He's changed so drastically, and so..." Shienna shook her head violently, trying to drive away the shadow of Bryan, and slapped herself on the cheek. "Wake up, Shienna! He's the least okay ex-lover. He probably came to try his luck. There's no way he has that money to go abroad and pay me. Shit! He paid me like a whore! Or maybe..."

Shienna was still lost in thought about her ex-boyfriend when her cell phone rang. She had sent a text message to her best friend before she finally got a call from her friend.

They talked for a while before Shienna decided to go outside for a breath of fresh air. Not fresh, but cold and bone-chilling. She regretted going outside without a layered coat. Her bones felt like they were being stabbed, and her teeth began to chatter. Shienna entered a convenience store to warm up, and unexpectedly, she met the man she had spent the night with.

Don't tell Shienna that night was beautiful because for her, it was still a nightmare.

"You changed your mind?" Bryan taunted, flashing a crooked smile. Shienna didn't know what dream she had last night that she had to spend the night with that man and in a matter of hours have to meet him again.

"Don't be so confident, Mr. Sanders. I'm unwilling to hold you accountable because nothing happened last night!" Shienna snapped with a serious look. Bryan just snorted, grinning mockingly.

"Why? Am I not filthy rich by now? You shouldn't be ashamed to take me everywhere you go and take me on top of you simultaneously."

"Watch your mouth, Bray! Or I'll scream at you for harassment!" snarled Shienna in a half-whisper, making Bryan laugh even more at her attitude.

"Alright, I'm sorry. I'll get serious now." Bryan stepped up to erase the distance between himself and Shienna, who was about to retreat, but he quickly wrapped an arm around her waist. "Don't run away again, Shie. Come with me. Let's see if you're pregnant or not."

"I'm not going to get pregnant because making love with me was your fantasy a long time ago. I won't wonder why you're in this place. A sociopath like you would not be at ease if you did not interfere with my life," Shienna retorted.

"Let's stop this bickering because the one who should be angry and resentful is me after you broke off our relationship for absurd reasons. And I meant it when I asked you to come with me. I know you still have a feel for me."

"Dream on, Bryan!" Shienna was about to leave Bryan but turned around, reached into her bag and pulled out the money she had been carrying, and handed it to him. "Take your money because I don't need it!"

Shienna stepped away from the stunned Bryan for a moment. He then realized that he couldn't let the opportunity slip away again. Bryan hurried after Shienna, who had already left the shop.

"Shienna! I only have one chance. If you don't come with me, you'll have trouble finding me for the next few months. Let's stop this pointless bickering and come with me. I'll wait for you at the airport until ten o'clock. I hope you come because if you don't, there won't be another chance for us."