Page 48

‘What an irony,’ she thought bitterly. ‘I didn’t sleep with him once in our two-year marriage. And now, when we’re finally getting divorced… we end up like this.’

She blinked, her eyes burning, and sat up with a quiet groan. Her back ached. Slipping out of the bed, she looked around the unfamiliar room—her gaze inevitably falling back on Lorenzo, still asleep.

“I should leave before he wakes up,” she muttered under her breath, nerves tightening in her chest.

A flicker of panic tightened her chest. ‘If he wakes up... would he think I drugged him?’ she thought, barely breathing. ‘Who can predict this Cactus' mood.’

Biting her lip, she moved fast. Her panic sharpened every movement. She grabbed her clothes and slipped them on in a hurry, her fingers fumbling through buttons and zippers. Then she tiptoed to the door, careful not to make a sound, and rushed down the stairs, out of the hotel without looking back.

Across the street, Darren was slouched in the driver’s seat, half-asleep despite the loud blare of horns and morning traffic. His head snapped up when she slammed the door and jumped inside the car.

“Ah—you came back,” he mumbled, wiping drool from the corner of his mouth. He blinked at her, startled. “You didn’t come back all night?”

Krystla turned to him, her glare sharp. “And you didn’t even come up to check if I was dead or alive?”

Darren gave an awkward chuckle, squirming in his seat. “C’mon, who’s gonna mess with you and walk away with their ass intact, honey?”

The way her glare deepened had him shutting up fast.

He cleared his throat and tried again. “I already changed our flights to this morning. If we leave now, we can catch it.”

“Cancel it,” she said flatly, yanking the seatbelt over her shoulder and clicking it in.

“You’re not looking for that guy from two years ago anymore?” Darren raised an eyebrow.

Krystle hesitated, biting her bottom lip. Her voice dropped. “I slept with Lorenzo last night.”

Darren let out a low whistle, his eyes teasing.

“Shut it,” she snapped, cutting him off. “He smelled, and felt exactly like that man from two years ago.”

“You’re serious?” Darren straightened up, fully alert now. “You’re telling me Lorenzo’s the guy you slept with back then? Holy shit. For real?”

She gave a small nod. “It’s him.” Her voice turned grim. “And now someone’s drugged him again. Only person I can think of is Esther. She’s trying to control him. Find out if she was around when it happened before—we’ll know for sure.”

Darren’s jaw clenched. “I’ll get it checked. I’ll see if Esther was around when that incident happened to you two years ago.”

“Good,” she said. “Also… erase the hotel footage from last night.”

Darren shot her a glance. “You think he’ll come after you?”

“I don’t want him accusing me of crawling into his bed to avoid divorcing him.”

“Yes, boss.” Darren chuckled dryly, reaching for his sunglasses and sliding them on. He started the engine. The Ferrari roared to life and sped off down the street, vanishing into the traffic.

***

“What the fuck…” Lorenzo groaned as he jolted awake.

His head pounded like a drum, pain slicing through his temples. He pushed himself upright and glanced around the suite. Empty.

The bed beside him was cold.

He stood up slowly, cracking his neck, his body stiff and sore. His gaze swept across the room—no sign of anyone. Everything was foggy, like pieces of a half-remembered dream he couldn’t fully grasp.

“Krystal?” he whispered.

He got up from the bed and roamed around the suite, but she was nowhere in sight. Could it be that he was mistaken? That it wasn’t Krystal he slept with?