Page 110 of Stronger Than Fate

Undress him? Had they gone crazy?

“Fine, I’ll do it, but I’m not taking off his underwear,” I stated firmly. “And I ask that you never mention this to him.”

“Not a chance,” Waylon said.

“Me neither,” Niky said. “Let me know when you’re done and give me the clothes so I can put them in the wash, though I’ll tell you I could throw them away or, better yet, set them on fire. With all the alcohol on those clothes, they’d surely burn right away,” she commented, and left the room, leaving me with Waylon.

His friend approached and lifted him by putting his arms under Henry’s armpits. I came closer, unbuttoned his shirt, and took it off. Then it was time for the shoes and socks, and we each took care of one foot. Taking off his pants was the most difficult part. Waylon lifted him again so I could pull them down from his waist, and then I just tugged at each leg. We left him in his underwear, and his friend arranged him on the bed. Henry didn’t move at all. When he finished positioning him, I noticed his head was twisted, so I approached to fix the pillow. As I was doing this, Henry mumbled my name again and raised his arms, hugged me, and pulled me down so that I fell on top of him. I let out a muffled scream, but he didn’t even stir and continued sleeping with me on top of him.

Waylon immediately approached and opened Henry's arms so I could escape from his tight embrace. Henry protested, turned onto his side, and continued sleeping.

“Thank you,” I said, now standing beside the bed.

“Nothing to thank me for.”

“Are you finished?” Niky shouted.

“Let’s cover him up,” Waylon said, and pulled the comforter over his body.

I picked up the clothes from the floor and told Niky she could come in.

“Now I’m leaving,” Waylon said. “Can I give you a ride, Dalina?”

Niky looked at him but didn’t make any further comment.

“It’s not necessary, I can take a taxi,” I stated.

“At this hour it’s better not to be out alone. Please allow me to take you home.”

“Dalina lives at the HAY hotel,” Niky said, and Waylon looked at me in surprise. “She’s the owner of the hotel and lives in the suite.”

“I know the hotel, it’s on my way. Let’s go, I’ll take you.”

“Thank you, then.”

“No problem.”

I approached Niky and said goodbye with a hug.

“Thanks for everything. Don’t worry, he won’t find out that you saw him in this state. Today he not only lost consciousness, he also lost his dignity.”

“We’ll talk tomorrow. Call me if you need anything.”

Waylon also said goodbye and left the room. Before leaving, I approached the bed and gave Henry a kiss on the cheek.

“Goodbye, Henry. Please take care of yourself.”

Henry mumbled my name again, and I turned to find Niky watching me with sadness.

“I’m leaving,” I said, and left before my eyes could fill with tears.

Waylon was waiting for me next to his car. He opened the door for me and, once I was seated, closed it and walked around to sit behind the wheel. For the first few minutes we remained silent, and I focused on looking out the window.

“Dalina, I hope someday you can forgive me. I truly never imagined that a woman was pretending to be you, much less that my friend had been drugged. When I think about it, I can’t forgive myself for helping her get him into the car so she could take him to her place and rob him. I swear that’s been eating at me,” he stated with anguish.

“There’s nothing to forgive. You didn’t know me.”

“Now I understand why Henry kept you hidden.”