Page 22 of Sin in My Inbox (Sexting Spark #1)

Avery

Morning sunlight filtered through the hospital corridor's blinds, painting scattered shadows across the floor. I stood outside Mom's ward, clutching a bouquet of pink carnations, trying to psyche myself up.

How many nights had I lingered outside this door? Every visit felt like facing judgment. Terrified she'd see through my exhaustion and add worrying about my future to her list of problems.

But today was different. For once, I was bringing good news.

"Mom, I'm here." I pushed the door open softly.

She was lying in the hospital bed, looking better than last week. The moment I opened the door, her eyes lit up immediately.

"Oh, Avery, darling." Her voice was weak but still full of that loving concern only mothers could manage.

I carefully placed the flowers on the bedside table. The petals still held morning dew, giving off a faint sweet fragrance. The plastic chair squeaked as I sat down beside her—the sound jarring in the quiet room. I took her hand, feeling that familiar warmth .

"Mom, you look so much better." I tried to keep my voice light and cheerful.

"Stop worrying about me," she patted my hand gently. "Tell me, how are you doing? Is work going okay?"

The question opened the floodgates. I practically burst with excitement.

"Mom, I have amazing news! I got made permanent early!

Not just that—they moved me to the front desk.

You know what that means? The work's so much easier, no more endless dishes and floors to scrub, and.

.." I paused dramatically, savoring this moment of revelation, "my salary went up by half. "

Mom's eyes instantly welled up. She covered our joined hands with her other one, voice catching. "Avery, I knew you could do it. You've always been such a strong girl."

She basked in this unexpected good news, pure joy radiating from her face. But soon, Mom's sharp gaze returned to my face, studying me carefully with a hint of curiosity. "Avery, I keep feeling like something's different about you lately."

My heart instantly clenched. "What do you mean?"

"You're dressing up more, your smile's softer." Mom smiled gently, that knowing look in her eyes. "Have you met someone special?"

Damn. Mom's intuition was always razor-sharp. I could feel my cheeks heating up. Under her gentle but persistent gaze, I finally nodded.

"Yeah, Mom. I did meet someone special." I admitted quietly.

Mom's eyes immediately brightened. "Is he a good person?"

The question made my heart squeeze painfully. A good person? Was Dmitri a good person? How the hell was I supposed to answer that?

I couldn't exactly tell her that her daughter's love interest was a cold-blooded mob boss who'd emotionlessly ended two lives right in front of me just days ago. Or that her daughter had already half-stepped into his world, practically living in his gorgeous but dangerous mansion.

When he held my hand and said in that deep voice, "Ella, I want to wake up every morning and see you there, want you beside me every night," my rational mind completely collapsed. I found myself utterly incapable of saying no.

"Mom, can we not talk about this?" I deflected frantically, almost desperately changing subjects. "You mentioned the old lady in the next room? What funny stories does she have now?"

Mom saw right through my dodge but wisely didn't push.

She enthusiastically told me about the neighbor—how she loved to gossip but had a surprisingly kind heart.

She mentioned watching two little birds outside her window that morning, busily gathering twigs for their nest, how that tiny sign of life had captivated her.

Watching her share these mundane daily fragments for the first time in so long made my heart go strangely soft.

But time was always cruel. When I glanced at the wall clock, I had to get up to leave.

"It's getting late, I need to get to work." I kissed her forehead, feeling that cool but reassuring temperature. "Rest well, beautiful Helena."

"Be careful on your way. Eat properly." She reminded me, just like she had every day for the past twenty-something years.

I smiled and nodded, tucked her blanket in properly, then turned to leave. Pushing through the hospital's glass doors, the afternoon sun hit me full force, almost dizzying.

Not far from the hospital entrance, a black sedan was parked. Even someone as car-illiterate as me could tell this was expensive as hell. Dark tinted windows obscured whoever was inside.

Looking at that car, I thought of Dmitri for no reason.

It fit his style perfectly—understated luxury, mysterious elegance.

Just thinking about him made my heart, which had been calm with Mom, start racing again.

A flutter of warmth surged up, like this sudden afternoon sunshine embracing me—so bright it left me a bit lost.

I squinted, an unconscious smile tugging at my lips as I walked quickly toward the bus stop.

I arrived at the hotel on time. The employee locker room smelled familiarly of perfume and coffee.

I quickly changed into the front desk uniform—navy blue skirt suit, white blouse, matching silk scarf.

My reflection looked professional and put-together.

I smoothed my hair, making sure every strand was where it should be, then lightly pressed out any wrinkles in the skirt.

"Avery!" Lisa's voice came from the locker room door. "Perfect timing, I need to tell you something."

Lisa looked tired today, faint dark circles under her eyes—probably stayed up binge-watching shows again. She came closer, lowering her voice. "Remember that phone you gave me? Still no one's claimed it."

I tried to look calm while waves crashed inside me. "That's weird, such an expensive phone."

So the real Ella still hadn't come back for her phone. Actually, even now I had no idea why the real Ella suddenly stood up Dmitri, or why she'd leave behind her phone and dress, departing so hastily.

Maybe she had her own reasons for having to leave.

"Yeah," Lisa shrugged. "It's been in lost and found for a week. By regulation, if no one claims it in a few more days, it gets turned over to..."

A sharp voice cut her off. "Chatting during work hours? Seems like you're both very idle!"

Jimmy stood in the locker room doorway, hands on hips, wearing his signature nasty expression. His too-tight suit made his already less-than-slim figure look even more bloated.

"We were just discussing work handover." Lisa defended weakly.

"Work handover? Who are you trying to fool?" Jimmy sneered. His gaze turned to me, eyes full of obvious malice. "Avery, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're permanent now. Know why you got made permanent? Just because the hotel's short-staffed lately."

Since I'd successfully become permanent, Jimmy's attitude seemed even worse. Fortunately, the warm morning with Mom had left me in a rare good mood. Even facing Jimmy's harsh criticism, I could maintain surface calm. I counted to ten in my head, then answered in my most obedient tone.

"Yes, Jimmy, I'll work even harder."

"You'd better. Front desk work may seem easy, but one small mistake could affect the hotel's reputation. People like you, who transferred from housekeeping, better drop your lazy habits."

I couldn't help rolling my eyes internally. Oh please! Thanks to you, I never had a moment to be lazy in housekeeping.

For the next five minutes, Jimmy droned on about the importance of front desk work and our inadequacies. Lisa and I stood there like scolded schoolchildren, silently enduring this verbal assault.

Finally, maybe feeling he'd lectured enough or having more important things to do, Jimmy swept out. He deliberately slammed the door hard as he left, making a huge bang that shook the entire locker room.

Lisa and I exchanged glances, then I quickly turned toward the door and made a face. Stuck out my tongue, rolled my eyes, wrinkled my nose—I condensed all my frustration into that expression.

Lisa couldn't help laughing. "Avery, you're so cute."

"He's such an ass," I bit my lip, swallowing the curse words about to escape. "I bet his life must really suck."

After venting that little frustration, the tightness in my chest finally eased somewhat. We collected ourselves and headed to the lobby one after another.

Front desk work was definitely easier than housekeeping.

I stood behind the marble counter, smiling as I helped guests coming and going.

Sunlight streamed through huge floor-to-ceiling windows, creating golden patches on the floor.

Answering questions, handling complaints—this work required patience and focus, but at least I wasn't running up and down stairs carrying heavy loads anymore.

Around four in the afternoon, during a shift change break, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I instinctively looked around, making sure Jimmy wasn't nearby, then sneakily pulled out my phone.

The name on the screen made my heart instantly race—D.

This was Dmitri's first contact since we'd exchanged new numbers. My fingers trembled slightly as I unlocked the screen. For some reason, I felt like I'd been caught doing something bad.

The message content made my face instantly burn:

D: everyone in the meeting room is discussing data but all I can think about is u. every time I close my eyes I remember how u gasped beneath me

I quickly shut off the screen, blood rushing to my cheeks, heartbeat so loud I was sure everyone around could hear it.

This was insane! These past nights I'd been soaking in his suffocatingly luxurious bedroom, being taken and explored until I was completely spent.

What more could he possibly ask for?