Chapter 4

Via opened up her eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Her eyes widened, and she immediately sat up when she realized she was in a hotel.

"Ah!" Via held her throbbing head, and she could even feel her brain pulsating from the inside. She slowly dropped her head on the pillow and covered her face with the blanket. Was she experiencing a hangover?

She could not believe it. She never thought that she would be experiencing a hangover, but there she was, covered in a blanket while regretting that she drank herself until she was wasted!

After the pain subsided a little, she slapped her face and groaned. Blurred memories popped into her mind, reminding her of what she had done the previous night.

Was it real? She checked herself and she sighed in frustration when she realized that she was naked under the blanket and her body was sore. Just what did she do last night?

She searched for her phone around the bed and found it on the bedside table. Her eyes widened, and she bit her lips when she saw her phone was off. She immediately searched for her charger and waited for it to turn on.

Her heart was racing as her phone lit up. Her mind was filled with conflicting thoughts. What if her father looked for her last night? What if her brother found out what happened? What if her father becomes even more disappointed in her?

Then, the blurry face of the man last night flashed in her mind again. What if the man suddenly makes a big deal about what happened between them?

Via bit her nails. Her phone seemed to be taking forever to open. She took a deep breath once her home screen appeared and immediately connected to the hotel's Wi-Fi. Her phone started to beep continuously, indicating she had too many notifications while her phone was off last night.

Via was having second thoughts about checking her phone or not. She almost dropped her phone, slowly losing strength in her hands, when she saw the number of missed calls from her brother and Cassie.

Should she feel relieved that her father did not bother to look for her? But what if he already knew where she was? Her father was one of the most influential people in the country. It would be easy for him to look for her if he really wanted to.

Via groaned in frustration. All her worries would have never exited if she had not been too impulsive. She shouldn't have drunk any alcohol at all!

She checked all her messages and realized they were mainly from Collin and Cassie. Her brother must have bothered her best friend since she had been unreachable.

She should have felt touched when she realized how worried the two were. But instead of feeling warm, all she could feel was the burden that came along with their worry. How would she explain to them? Should she keep it a secret? Could she even keep what happened to her a secret?

She lost hold of her phone when it suddenly rang. Her heart continued to race until she saw the caller ID. She felt a sense of relief when she saw Cassie's name.

Should she answer her call? What would she tell her? She was not sure if she could be honest with her. She was so ashamed of herself that she was willing to erase all her memories from last night.

In the end, she answered the call. She did not want Cassie to worry about her even more. Besides, there was no one that she could trust aside from her. No one could hear it from her if she could not tell her what happened.

"What happened to you, Vi!" Cassie exclaimed with a worried tone. "I've been trying to call you when your brother told me he can't reach your phone!"

"I'm sorry. My phone died."

She heard Cassie sigh from the other line. "You should have told me that earlier."

"I'm sorry. You know I was so out of it last night."

Cassie giggled. "I never expected you to be that wasted. You lost yourself last night, Vi."

"And I'm not gonna do that again." Via bit her lips when her voice trembled. Did Cassie notice?

She questioned when Cassie asked her with a severe tone. "Did something happen last night?"

It took a few seconds to make a decision. Should she tell Cassie?

She took a deep breath. She would notice anyway. She could tell her on her own. "Can you meet me at the usual coffee shop later?"

"Okay. I'll see you there. Are you going to meet me first before going home?"

"Yes," Via sighed. "Please don't tell my brother."

"Okay, but you should also update him now that you have charged your phone. He was worried sick about you."

"I'll do that, thanks." Via ended the call and immediately sent Collin a message that she was okay.

As expected, her brother immediately called when he read the message.

"Where are you?" He exclaimed as soon as she answered his call. "Did you know that I've been calling you all night?"

"I'm sorry, I just fell asleep early. I did not notice my phone ringing until it died."

Collin let out a sigh. "Please don't do that again, okay? I'm so worried; I almost told Dad you're not home."

"You didn't tell him?"

"Why would I? You want to be scolded even more?" Collin chuckled. "Since Cassie told me you already checked in, I decided not to make the issue bigger. After all, you might be so upset yesterday that you didn't want to spend the night at home."

"Thanks, Collin."

"Don't thank me. The next time you do this, I'll tell Dad," Collin chuckled.

"I'll take note of that."

"Are you going home now? Shall I send a car for you?"

"There's no need. I'll meet Cassie at our usual coffee shop before I go home. Thanks for looking out for me," Via explained.

"That's the least I can do for you as a brother. Let's talk later once you are home. Tell me your thoughts about the engagement, and I'll try my best my best ."

"I'll do that," Via smiled before she ended the call.

Somehow, her heart finally calmed down. Her worries were still there, but at least the worst-case scenario did not happen.

She started cleaning up her things before leaving the room. She mustered her courage to meet with Cassie and tell her what happened.