Chapter 3 - No Way To Return

Amora swallowed hard. Her eyes widened as she saw the muscular back of a stranger lying beside her. Her gaze turned to horror as she noticed the terrifying dragon head tattoo on the person's back.

‘What happened to me? Wasn't I with Chelsea and the others last night? How did I end up here?’

Amora’s hazel eyes blinked repeatedly, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling. She was utterly shocked to find herself naked under a thin blanket.

She tried to get up quickly, but an intense pain between her legs stopped her in her tracks.

Her head throbbed painfully. She clutched the sides of her head, trying to piece together her memories. Laughter, congratulations, and the sound of her friends’ voices echoed in her mind, followed by images of her drinking continuously.

Amora realized she had gotten drunk. Her eyes widened as flashes of the passionate night she spent with the man beside her played rapidly in her head. Instantaneously, she turned to look at him.

“I ... with him….”

Amora quickly covered her mouth in shock. She didn’t dare speak, afraid of waking the man beside her.

‘What have I done? How could I have done that with him?’ She screamed internally.

The hazy face that occasionally appeared in her memory shocked Amora, and she realized she had hallucinated, thinking the murderer was her fiancé during their passionate encounter.

‘Idiot! How could I have thought he was Chris?’

Amora couldn’t understand why she acted the way she did. Even though she was drunk, she never should have done something so crazy.

Amora's heart shattered as she realized the gravity of her mistake. Tears streamed down her cheeks, forming small rivers as they fell.

‘What should I do now? What will I say to Chris?’

Questions swirled in Amora's mind. She felt deep regret, but what was done couldn't be undone. She couldn't rewind time to take back what she'd given away.

Amora cursed her foolishness, realizing she had destroyed her happiness. She was so close to becoming Chris's wife, yet she had given her virginity to a stranger!

‘Amora Lysander, you're not just stupid. You’re completely insane!’

She hit the sides of her head repeatedly. When she felt movement beside her, she stopped and covered her mouth with her hands, not wanting to wake the man next to her.

Even worse, Amora couldn't demand accountability from the man, remembering he was a murderer she encountered last night. She didn't want to lose her life because of her recklessness.

Slowly, Amora got up from the bed. The pain in her intimate area made it difficult to move, but she had to leave the room before the murderer regained consciousness. She quickly picked up her scattered clothes from the floor and put them on.

Before leaving, Amora took out several hundred-dollar bills from her jeans pocket. She hoped the money would make the man forget about her and serve as payment for his silence about what happened last night.

"Hopefully, we never meet again, Mr. Murderer," Amora whispered to herself.

She left the room and walked to the elevator, pressing the button to go to the hotel lobby.

As the elevator descended, Amora's mind was in turmoil. She still couldn't believe she had lost her virginity to a murderer!

Amora shook her head vehemently. Even though she found it hard to believe, there was no turning back. She didn't know how to face Chris later. He would surely reject her now that she was tainted and disgraceful.

Amora walked out with unsteady steps when the elevator reached the ground floor. She wiped the remaining tears from her face harshly.

‘I need to find a way to talk to Chris about this,’ Amora decided, though doubt crept into her mind.

‘But will he accept it?’ Amora's anxiety grew.

She was certain Chris would be furious and disappointed if he knew the truth. Amora shook her head again, deciding to keep this from her fiancé.

However, fate gave her no such opportunity. Chris suddenly appeared, catching her exiting the hotel. He had been about to enter but stopped when he saw her at the lobby entrance.

“Ch-Chris ….” Amora's voice was hoarse and shaky as she called his name.

“Amora? Have you been crying?" Chris inquired.

The first thing Chris noticed was the puffiness of Amora's eyes. His confusion seemed to resolve when he saw her disheveled appearance.

Amora was startled. She quickly turned her face away and asked nervously, “C-Chris … Why are you here?”

Chris's eyes narrowed, scrutinizing Amora's appearance closely.

“I should be asking you, Amora. What have you been doing all night? I was told to pick you up this morning at the hotel, and you come out looking like this.”

Hearing Chris's words, Amora was shocked. She turned back to Chris, who was now staring at her with a scrutinizing expression.

“Who asked you to pick me up? I didn't—”

“Does it matter?” Chris's voice was cold as he cut her off.

This was the first time Amora had received such a cold treatment from her fiancé.

“What have you been doing at this hotel, Amora?” Chris asked the question that had been haunting him.

Though he feared hearing the answer, he needed to know the truth from her lips.

Amora hung her head low, her eyes starting to burn again. Tears welled up in her eyes. Her tongue felt tied. She didn’t know how to explain her situation to her fiancé.

Amora's silence answered all of Chris's questions. He scrutinized her appearance once more.

Chris noticed many red marks on her collarbone. Without asking, he already knew what those marks meant. They were the marks of a passionate encounter his fiancée had with another man!

Chris's chest ached. He felt like a massive weight was crushing him. He wanted to yell and curse at her, but seeing her mental state and the situation around them, he held back.

“Chris, I—”

“We'll talk about this at your house,” Chris interrupted, turning away indifferently.

Anger, disappointment, and hatred mixed in Chris’s mind. He had no idea how to prepare himself to hear her story.

Amora looked sadly at Chris's back. His cold demeanor gave her the answer. There was no way Chris would accept her tainted state. She felt disgusted with herself. How could Chris not?

***

Regis Lorenzo had just woken up. He stared blankly at the empty side of the bed beside him, then sneered.

"That foolish woman didn’t even say goodbye, huh?" he muttered.

He had planned to interrogate the woman who had shared warmth with him last night, but unfortunately, she chose to leave without a word. Usually, women tried to win his heart and treated him like a king.

Regis' face darkened when he found a stack of money on the nightstand beside the bed. His large hand clenched the bills, feelings of anger and humiliation churning inside him.

The woman who had seduced him and taken his strength last night left him like a paid gigolo meant to satisfy her desires. Regis felt utterly insulted and worthless in her eyes.

"Damn it!" Regis cursed, full of rage.

He threw the money into the air, letting the bills scatter around him. He grabbed his pants from the floor and put them on quickly, then reached for his shirt lying on the bed. Unfortunately, the buttons were missing due to last night’s activities.

Regis admitted that he was thoroughly satisfied with the passion he shared with that woman. However, he couldn't accept the indirect insult she had thrown at him.

A harsh breath escaped Regis’ lips. He thought about finding the woman to get an explanation and hold her accountable, but he had no idea where to start.

He didn’t even know her name. He regretted not asking her name last night because he had chosen to rest, exhausted from their intense encounter. As a result, he lost her this morning.

“Damn it! I should have asked for her name last night,” Regis grumbled in frustration.

Slowly, Regis' anger shifted. His eyes narrowed sharply when he noticed a shiny object between the messy bed sheets. He reached for it, discovering one of the woman’s earrings left behind from the night before.

A perfect smile curled the corner of his lips as he examined the heart-shaped earring encrusted with diamonds.

"It seems this woman wants to play games with me," he murmured coldly.