Chapter 1 ~Waking up at hotel bed~

"Baby! Why don't you just trust me since you already know how much I love you?" The gorgeous man in a black shirt and pants exclaimed to the person seated next to him, "Kristi, believe me." He looked apprehensive.

 

  Kriti gave him a skeptical-looking stare and said, "How on earth do you expect that I will trust you, Rick?"

 

  He seemed to have a gloomy and dejected expression as he gazed at her. "Kristi! I beg you, just once. Please accompany me tonight when I meet up with my pals at the club. Believe me! They are absolutely great and will appreciate you as a sister-in-law, I can assure you."

 

 Even though he was assuring her, she couldn't bring herself to trust him. She heavily sighed, saying, "I've lost count of you always using the exact same phrase over and over. I hope you didn't forget that; you did nothing as they made several attempts to touch me. You simply lingered there, sipping drinks and interacting with some random women as if I didn't exist." She gritted her teeth. "How am I supposed to trust you again?"

 

  He tenderly held her hand as his eyes resembled those of a puppy. "Baby, I'm sorry. I'll never repeat the same mistake again in my entire life. Like I said last time, I was merely attempting to improve my communication abilities and establish a rapport with influential individuals. They can be of tremendous use in the future, you know. I'll keep my word, but for now, just trust me." Holding her hand lovingly, he said, "With our five-year relationship, have faith in me, sweetheart."

 

  She was unable to refuse after hearing about their five-year relationship and seeing his dejected expression. She concluded by saying, "Alright! I'll go."

 

After hearing her response, Rick was so ecstatic that he pulled her closer and acted all romantic as if it were their first meeting after being apart for many years.

 

  Kristi dressed modestly and accompanied Rick to the club at night. She turned to look around and noticed several young women dancing with men while wearing seductive dresses.

 

    Seeing them all touchy and seductively moody made her gaze avert from them and caused her to remember the previous time she visited the club and how the guys tried to touch her and other stuff. She hurriedly snatched Rick's hand nervously and said, "Rick! I still don't feel at ease in this place. Can't we just go back?" 

 

   He flashed a smile and patted her shoulder gently, saying, "Baby, don't worry. I'm with you, standing right next to you. So, why are you even worrying?" He held her hand gently, saying, "Let's go! Trust me." After a little hesitation, she followed him by nodding.

 

On the couch, where Rick's buddies were seated, he introduced Kriti as his girlfriend with a huge smile. She sat on the couch with him, feeling too uncomfortable by the looks of his friends at her as if they were going to devour her at any moment.  

 

  Nearly all of his friends were taking quite different angles of her entire body. She was in too much discomfort. When she tried to tell Rick she didn't want to remain there any longer, he got up and exclaimed, "Baby! I'll head out and get some drinks for us both. You stay right here, okay? I'll be right back." 

 

  He proceeded directly to bring the drinks without waiting for her response, leaving her alone as usual. She grew anxious. "No, wai—" Before she could continue, the man seated next to her asked, "What gives you such anxiety? You're not going to be eaten by us, are you? Hmm?" He asked playfully trying to act politely.

 

It was all weird how he was staring at her. At that very moment, all she had on her mind was that she wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.

 

  "I... I think it's too late. I shall go home now." She stood up and was just about to walk away, but just in time, Rick came with a drink in his hand.

 

  "Baby! I bought the drinks. Where are you going?" He put the drinks on the table and pulled her hand; they both sat on the couch and said, "Come on! Have a drink. Don't worry, it's non-alcoholic." Pouring a glass of drink, he gave it to her and uttered with a wide smile, "You trust our five-year relationship, right? Come on!" 

 

  She hesitated to take the glass in her hand, but after taking a minute to consider their five-year relationship with him, she took the glass. This is how it has always been. Rick would frequently coerce her into doing things by using their five-year relationship name, which she was powerless to reject. After all, a five-year relationship is not a joke.

 

 "Okay then, let's drink," he said, clearly happy. He drank all of it in one go while witnessing Kristi hesitate. "Be at ease. On my word! It isn't alcoholic."  

 

   She hesitated for a moment but still drank it all, believing in him like always.

 

  She eventually began to experience head dizziness. Even sitting straight was impossible for her. On the spot, she promptly dozed out on the couch.

 

 ~At morning~ 

 

  Kristi awakens with an ache throughout her body. She turned to glance around and realized she was in an unfamiliar place.

 

  "Where am I? Ahhhh!!" She gripped her head, feeling intense pain from the hangover. "What's happening?" She lightly touched her lower part and asked herself, "Why am I experiencing discomfort in my lower body? Why do I feel pain in my head, back, and shoulders? What the heck is going on?" She moans in pain. "Ahh, my entire body is aching."

 

  She tried to recollect what had happened the previous night but had no memory of it. "Is this a hotel?" She looked around carefully, "This... this is a hotel, right?" She grew frightened because she had never visited a hotel before. It was her first time ever staying in one. "Ye...ah... This... is a hotel actually... But I can't remember anything about what happened." She had no idea why she was even at the hotel, and she was feeling scared. "First of all, I need to leave this place as soon as possible. Yeah, I can't stay here." 

 

As she tried to stand up from the bed, she noticed a pack of pills on the bedside table and wondered if they were pain relief pills. 'Who left these pills here?' she thought to herself. Suddenly, she heard the door open and became frightened. She quickly ran into the restroom and locked the door, still in pain and unsure of what to do next.

 

She tried to stand up, but her body was in pain, making it difficult. When she finally stood up, she hurried into the restroom and hid there for a while. She was genuinely terrified of who it could be.