Chapter 1 Not a Prostitute

"Emm..." Carina Osborn groaned as the pain jolted her awake from her unconsciousness.

The room was engulfed in darkness. She could only hear the heavy breaths of a man and feel the pain he brought to her.

She tried her best to pummel him. However, to the man, her struggle was like a tickle.

She couldn't even call out, only praying in her heart, 'Please stop.'

***

When Carina woke again, it was dawn.

She opened her eyes, only to find herself in an unfamiliar room. The enchanting scenes from the night before popped into her brain.

Shocked, she sat up from the bed, and a sharp pain shot through her lower body.

As she stepped out of bed, she caught sight of the bloodstains on the bed sheets and clenched her fists.

'It wasn't a dream...' she murmured.

Just then, the bathroom door opened, and a man stepped out.

As soon as Carina saw his face, she fell back onto the bed, panic written all over her face.

'How could it be him?' Carina couldn't believe what she saw.

Rolando Mendez only had a towel wrapped around his lower body.

He glanced at her lazily, asking, "How was your sleep?"

Carina swallowed hard and struggled to get up. "M-Mr. Mendez."

Rolando wiped water droplets from his hair and said, "If you have something to say, say it later. Take a shower first."

Carina lowered her eyes, whispering, "No, I'm good. I-I have to leave now. I still have things to do."

"Ms. Osborn, don't you think we need to address what happened last night?"

A blush crept up Carina's face.

'What should I say? Isn't it obvious what had happened?' Carina cringed as she thought. 'Do I have to write a report and tell him that I was too drunk to remember anything from last night?'

After taking a deep breath, she looked up at him and said, "Mr. Mendez, I'm very clean and I don't have any venereal disease. Also, I don't think you suffered any losses last night, so could we just forget about it and never mention it again?"

Her tone seemed confident, but the last sentence came out more like a plea.

"I know you're clean. After all, I checked myself."

She blushed as she thought, 'But you didn't have to say it out loud. How awkward!'

"I'm just asking you if you need anything from me. I don't think giving you a cheque is a good idea. What do you say?"

"I don't need anything. I only hope that you can keep it a secret, Mr. Mendez."

"That's all?"

"Yep," she replied seriously.

Rolando raised an eyebrow, studying the slim woman before him. Finally, he nodded, his expression unreadable.

Carina grabbed her clothes and bag and fled the room.

Staring at her back, Rolando curled his lips playfully.

'She's kind of interesting,' thought Rolando to himself.

Carina, on the other hand, only had one thought in her mind—getting away from Rolando.

In Northmarble, Rolando Mendez, the 27-year-old CEO of the Mendez Group, stood for power, wealth and ... danger.

Rumor had it that he only managed to take over the reins of the Mendez Group after killing his elder brother and crippling his second brother.

If any of those was true, Carina wouldn't want to have anything to do with him.

Besides, the Mendez Group was the biggest rival of the Garrett Group.

Carina didn't want to have anything to do with the Garrett family, either.

Getting outside of the hotel, she slapped herself.

'Are you crazy? How come you slept with Rolando Mendez? So many other options out there! Why him?' Carina regretted it so much.

She kept thinking about what would happen if this were ever found out by the Garretts. The result terrified her. She shook her head, trying to get the idea out of her head.

Just then, her phone rang.

She took it out and took a look, only to find it was Rolando.

Her fingers trembled. It was the first time his number had appeared on her cell phone screen.

'Why did he call me?' Carina wondered. 'If I don't answer it, will it make me look guilty?'

When the ringtone was about to finish, she finally picked it up.

"Mr. Mendez."

"For taking your virginity, I'll make a compensation. You can ask me to do you a favor at any time, except for making me fall in love with you."

Carina was stunned for a moment before she said coldly, "Mr. Mendez, I think you have misunderstood. I'm not a prostitute."