The harsh rays of sun that glimmered through the window made Payton squint her brows and then roll on her stomach.
Her head banged so terribly that she felt like it was going to come off from her neck.
Groaning and moaning gently, her phone rang, giving a loud sound and she hissed again.
She stretched her hand and dropped it on the bed beside her to search for the phone that was usually beside her on the bed.
However, it did not take long before she realized that she was not touching the bed… but a skin and that that was not her phone’s ringing tone.
Hold on… her hand was on a skin.
A person’s body…
…
…
“Dariel.”
When the sound finally stopped and the voice of the raspy man came up, Payton snapped her eyes open and then sat up.
Realizing that she was stark naked, she laid in the bed back and pulled the cover on her body before she let out a scream.
King let out a grunt as he did not get what Dariel had just said.
The woman’s sudden scream would not let him.
Waking up, naked with a woman by his side was definitely not what he was expecting.
The last thing he remembered was sipping his drink in this room while he waited for Dariel.
Dariel was his best friend and they had planned to meet at the hotel that he owned.
Before he made his way to the hotel, he had stopped by the club to make a quick inspection before he came to his room.
He was still waiting when Dariel called to tell him that he would not be coming in again as he got stuck with something else, and then, he ordered his drink in.
Why this woman was in the room with him and how he did not remember anything past the details of him drinking… he did not know.
“What did you say?”
He ignored the woman and asked.
“The internet. Hold on, where are you?”
The panic in Dariel’s voice could not go unnoticed.
“Talk slowly. What is going on.”
“Shit, you are all over the internet!” He hollered.
“W… what did you do to me?”
King heard the soft voice of the woman as he dropped the call. He ignored her and then browsed through his phone gently.
Seeing the hashtag of his name and that he was trending as the number one, he let out a sigh before he clicked on the video that appeared under his name.
King's eyes broadened as he watched the obscene video of himself and the woman in the video and he had no doubt that she was the one beside him.
She sat on him while he wrapped his arms around her bare back and kissed her hungrily.
She was wearing just pants, and her breasts were pressed tightly against his bare chest.
The video ended there and he clicked on another one where he sucked on her nipples like his life depended on it.
Although her breasts and his cock were slightly blurred, their faces were shown clearly and there was no way anyone would mistake them for another person.
King finally dropped his phone, got out of bed while he still ignored the woman, and then strolled to the bathroom.
First, he gotta clean away the semen that had dried up on his dick.
Payton released the breath she didn’t know that she was holding till she heard the closing sound of the door of whichever room the man had just entered.
As if being found naked with him was not enough, this man was not even saying anything or sparing her a glance.
He even walked to the bathroom naked like she was not there!
Payton was no kid. She knew that something had happened.
The sticky feeling she was getting underneath her was proof on its own.
DID SHE HAVE SEX WITH THAT MAN?!
Hurriedly, she got out of the bed, grabbed the cover, and wrapped it around her body.
She looked around the room, grabbed her phone that was lying on the drawer, and then clicked on the home button.
Realizing that it was turned off, she hissed as pressed down the power button and then waited for it to turn on.
As she waited, Payton looked around the room that was messy, confirming her thoughts that something had indeed happened in this room.
Her bra was lying by the doorstep and her pants… clothes… Oh, Jesus.
What has that man done to her?
The beeping sound of notifications that bombarded her phone the moment it turned on jerked her back into reality and she breathed out.
She was about to unlock her phone when the door opened, and then the man stepped out of the bathroom.
Why was he back so soon?!
She glanced at the towel that was tied loosely around his waist and then gulped when her eyes landed on his abdominal muscle.
‘Okay… snap out of it, Payton. Not now!’
She shook her head and sighed again.
“I could not take a bath because of how disturbed I am. What happened here?”
When she heard the question that he asked her, she drew her brows together and then raised her head to look at him.
“What?”
“You heard me. Don’t play deaf, woman.”
Payton patted her lips and then scoffed.
What happened here?
She was just going to ask him that?!
But hold on… he looked familiar and she could swear that she had seen him before.
He did not have a very common look.
His thick brows, thin lips, frowny face, and husky yet raspy voice were not something she had encountered every day.
“I should be asking…” she was cut short by her phone that rang.
“You are not going to say a word,” she raised her hand at the man in front of her as she stared at the caller ID.
“Good morning, ba…”
“Shit, Payton. Where are you?”
“Max?” She raised her brows as she felt the anger in his voice.
“Where the fuck are you?!”
“I… I’m home.”
“You are such a disgraceful woman and I swear…”
He was still saying when the man in front of her covered the space between them and snatched the phone from her.
He ended the call and then threw her phone onto the couch beside her.
“You don’t understand the situation we are in, do you?”
“How dare you…?!”
“Who sent you?” King asked.
Payton exhaled as she patted her lips and then pressed her lips together.
She palmed her forehead as she looked around the room again and when her eyes fell on her stained shirt, she furrowed her brows in anger, and then… she remembered.
She turned to look at the man in front of her, pointed her index finger at the white shirt, and then at him.
“It was you!”
“What?!”
“What did you do to me?”
The last thing she remembered was taking a drink with her sister at the club.
How she entered this room and ended up in bed with this man was not something she remembered… not even the faintest!
“What did I do to you?” Kings raised his brows.
“What happened last night? I am certain that I did not…” Payton was saying when King's phone rang and he brushed past her to pick up the phone that was lying on the bed.
“Dariel.”
“Are you still at the hotel? The paparazzi are on their way there!” He exclaimed.
“How… how did they find me here?”
“I don’t know. Again, I am trying to take down the videos. It’s down from the source but there are multiple copies of it flying around already. It’s hard to control it. What is your room number? I’ll send a driver and securities,” he said.
“Room…” he palmed his forehead and shook his head.
“Room 1102,” he exhaled and then dropped the call.
“What is going on? I’m having a feeling that something terrible…”
King turned around, moved over to the woman, and then grabbed her arm rather tightly and pulled her closer to himself.
“Are you still trying to play innocent?” He frowned, his voice bellowed and cold.
“P…play innocent?”
“Our sex tape is flying over the internet!” He snapped at her face and pushed her away.
“W… what?”
Payton felt the blood in her face drain instantly.
“W… what did you say?”
“How did you enter this room? Who sent you? I know for a fact that is my room and I did not bring you here. How did we have sex and why is our tape flying around the internet?!” He bellowed at the woman who flinched instantly.
Payton felt her lips tremble as the man yelled and she moved over to the chair to pick up her phone immediately.
As she unlocked it, her hands trembled but still, she went on the internet to search for the latest update.
What was happening to her this morning?
First, she had woken up beside this unknown man.
Then, she found out that they had sex.
Then… that sex tape was on the internet?
HOW?!
Payton felt her legs weaken as she watched the video and she fell to the ground instantly.Her eyes dilated and she dropped her phone.She was trending with this unknown man on the internet. Their obscene videos were on the internet.“You are a disgraceful woman…”Max’s voice rang in her ear and tears dropped from her eyes.She had no idea what was going on and she could swear that she had not gotten into this man's bed on her own.The bell rang and she watched the man move over to the door.She didn’t know who he was talking to, but when he returned to the room, he walked past her and headed to the bathroom again.“There is another bathroom over there. Use it, and get your clothes on. We’re leaving here. The paparazzi is here.”That was all she heard before she heard the loud bang of the door.She did not see his face, but she could feel the anger that was oozing from his voice.It was definitely not a coincidence that this man and she had a bit of a clash the previous night and had
CHAPTER 4. KING THORN.“Why did you do that?!” Payton shouted the moment she settled in the back seat with the man whose name she still did not know yet.King.King?Those reporters called him that!His name was King!King, my ass.She hissed.“It’s you,” she turned around as she heard King say to the driver.“Man, I had to come out here myself,” the other man said.“How did it…” he stopped talking as his eyes landed on the woman beside her King.Instead, he ignited the engine and then drove away.“Where do we go?” He asked.“Where do you stay?” King turned to ask Payton.“Why?“Where?”Payton turned her head to look out of the mirror and then closed her eyes as she heard her phone ring from her bag.“If you think it would be okay to go home alone, then, talk so that he would stop the car. You probably don’t know the amount of people that have your face imprinted in their memory already,” he said, not sparing her a glance.Payton spaced out for a while, wondering
===In the car, before King showed up at Payton’s house.===“Stop the car, Dariel,” King gave off a loud hiss and slapped his forehead.“What’s going on?” Dariel asked as he looked around for a perfect spot to park the car.After a while, he pulled the car, and King came out from the back where he sat.Moving over to the front beside Dariel, he hissed again and turned the iPad in his hand to him.“What is this?” Dariel asked as he stared at the screen.“These idiots are coming up with things that I’ve not even done before. Why am I being termed as a womanizer?” King frowned.Dariel parted his lips as he browsed through the tons of podcasts that were being aired and he shook his head.“What the fuck?” Dariel burst out in laughter as he saw the clearly edited picture of King coming out of the hotel with another woman.“Is this a comedy show?” King snapped his brows together as he stared at Dariel.“Your head is edited on another person’s body. Damn, lies are spreading already,” Dariel
“Yes, Payton Vass. You will marry me.”Payton did not know what was more surprising. This man showing up at her house… or knowing her name.She was sure she did not tell him that.Seeing the expression on her father’s face, she shifted uncomfortably and moved over to Max who had a betrayed look on his face.“Max…” she called him in a whisper as tears dropped from her eyes.“Mr. Thorn,” came her father’s voice.“Hi, Mr. Vass.”“You all must have seen the video and must have been disturbed by it…” he said as his face dropped on Payton who was torn between pleading with her boyfriend or rushing over to him.“I… we were not expecting you.”Payton frowned as her father fidgeted in front of the man and she moved over to him instantly.“Dad, you can’t welcome him in. He did this to me!” She hollered.No one answered her, instead, King kept his eyes pinned on Will, Payton's father.“How may I help you?”“I am sure you heard me. You saw the news. You know what is going on, and I am going to ma
“Our mess?” Payton scoffed and moved over to the man who didn’t move one bit.“Our mess! And… pay for it? You are so crazy. Trust me. Damn you if you think I plan on getting married to a person like you. You disgust me!” She snapped.King’s face clouded in anger. He had been trying to keep it in. He wanted to, really.He believed that there was still a lot of time to find out who had sent the woman to do what she had done to him.No way he would believe her facade and trust that she had no idea how they had gotten into this situation also.He covered the space between them, “It was you who put us in this mess, Payton, and you will do as I've told you!” his eyes blazed in anger as he grabbed her arm.“It was you who did this to me! You better get us out of this mess!” she snapped back as she yanked her arm away.“Then we are going to get married. You think I want to marry you too?” He let out a mocking smile and shook his head.King dipped his hand in his pocket, removed his card, and
“Did you check the hotel?” King asked Dariel over the phone as he pulled the car to a stop.“Yes, there is no camera.”“Are you sure? I am certain something is there.”“Maybe someone got there first? I checked the angle you described. And… your drink…”“Yeah. Did you take it for a test also?”“The room has been cleaned so there is nothing there. I checked with the staff and they had already poured it away.”King twitched his lips upward and nodded his head. “Okay.”“Where are you?” Dariel asked.“I’m at Sasha’s.”“You are going to see her? At a time like this?!” King imagined the frown that must have gathered on Dariel’s face and shook his head.“Still, I gotta see her. I will talk to you later.”“Sure. Be careful to evade the reporters.”===“How dare you show your face here?!” King stopped abruptly as the pillow flew in his direction.He exhaled and stared at the woman who sat on her bed, crying profusely, and then looked around the room that was scattered.As he slowly walked to
“A bigger smile, please!” Payton exhaled gently as the photographer said and she breathed in again.She raised her head, clenched her teeth together, and widened her fake smile.It must have been evident.She thought.That this marriage was just of convenience and nothing more, because right now, without being told, she knew that she had the fakest smile ever.“Can the bride's father and mother move closer to the bride?”He demanded again.“Jesus, can we just get this done with?!” She burst out unconsciously and then swallowed hard.She dared to not let it show.Why was she letting her emotions get the best out of her?“Ohhhh, I see that the bride can’t wait to walk down the aisle,” he joked and Payton forced a smile again.After a while of taking pictures in different styles with her family, they moved away from her while she sat ‘pretty’ on the chair, a bouquet held tightly in her hands“Sister!” Came the loud pitched voice from Ava who rushed to her and then pulled her in a quick
“Do you, Payton Inez Vass, take King Thorn for your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”King pinned his eyes on Payton as the officiant asked her. She stared at him back and he chuckled inwardly.She really looked like she was going to yell NO to his face but instead, she exhaled.“I do,” she said.“King Thorn, do you take Payton Vass to be your wife, to live together in harmony, to love her, to honor her, to comfort her, and to keep her in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?"“I do,” a mocking smirk tugged on his lips as he said immediately.‘Forsaking all others… for as long as you both shall live?’As if they would even manage to spend six months together!King knew that he was going to have real issues with Payton. He does not even need to be told.‘Dream on. If that makes you sleep at night?’She dared to tell hi