🌸 THE NEXT MORNING

The next morning, sunlight spilled through the curtains.

Aria’s eyes fluttered open slowly.

For a moment, her mind was blank.

She remembered the party… the restroom… then nothing.

Her head throbbed slightly.

She reached for her phone and froze.

Notifications. Hundreds of them.

Katy.

Texts. Missed calls. Repeated messages.

*“Wooow, just wow! When were you planning to tell me you were dating the CEO?”*

Aria’s heart skipped.

*What? How… how did she know?*

Another message popped up almost instantly.

*“Am I really your friend?”*

*“You didn’t even tell me you were staying at his house!”*

Aria stared at the screen.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.

She couldn’t think straight.

Her mind was racing.

She wasn’t ready for this.

She wasn’t ready for anyone to know.

She sat up slowly, running a hand through her messy hair.

The memory of last night teased the edge of her mind… something she couldn’t quite grasp.

She shook her head.

No. Focus. Not now.

She opened the fridge, grabbed some water, and took a sip, trying to calm herself.

The phone buzzed again.

Katy. Non-stop.

*“Hello? Are you alive? I’m dying here! Spill everything!”*

Aria let out a shaky breath.

She needed time to think.

Time to figure out what she was going to say… and what she wasn’t.

The thought of Ryan’s piercing eyes flashed in her mind.

Her chest tightened.

Her heartbeat sped up.

He was calm. Too calm.

But she remembered… she was safe.

That thought made her exhale slowly.

She could do this. She could handle Katy.

But how?

Her phone buzzed again, insistent this time.

Aria glanced at it, her thumb hovering.

She knew one wrong reply could blow everything wide open.

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to steady herself.

She had to be careful.

Ryan. Katy. The messages. Her secret.

Everything.

It was a lot.

Too much for one morning.

Aria slowly sat up in the bed.

The moment she moved, she suddenly froze.

Something felt… strange.

A faint sensation lingered between her legs, like a memory her body had not forgotten.

Her eyes widened.

For a second she just sat there, staring ahead.

Then she gasped.

“Aah…”

Her heart began racing.

Suddenly, pieces of the night before flashed through her mind.

Ryan.

His face.

His hands.

The warmth of his touch.

Her eyes widened even more.

“That… wasn’t a dream…”

Her hands quickly covered her face.

“Oh my God…”

She remembered kissing him.

She remembered pulling him closer.

But everything after that was blurry… like fog in her mind.

She couldn’t remember every detail.

Only the feeling.

The closeness.

The warmth.

Aria buried her face into the pillow.

“OMG… how am I going to face him now… how??”

Her voice came out muffled.

“That man will be the end of me…”

She groaned dramatically and rolled onto her back.

Her heart was still beating fast.

After a few minutes of lying there in embarrassment, she finally forced herself to get up.

“I need a shower…”

She walked into the bathroom slowly, her mind still replaying those confusing memories.

As the warm water ran over her shoulders, another thought suddenly hit her.

“Wait…”

She paused.

“How did I even take a bath last night…?”

Her eyes widened again.

Ryan.

He must have been the one who put her in the bath.

Her face turned red immediately.

“Omg…”

She covered her face with both hands.

“I’m going to kill that man…”

But despite the embarrassment, she was also… grateful.

Very grateful.

He could have easily taken advantage of her when she was weak and not thinking clearly.

But he didn’t.

He took care of her.

The thought made her chest feel strangely warm.

After finishing her shower, she dressed quickly and walked back into the bedroom.

She picked up the little puppy from the bed and held it close to her chest.

“Wish me luck…” she whispered to it.

Because she really didn’t want to go downstairs.

If she saw Ryan right now…

She might faint.

Or die from embarrassment.

Or both.

But she couldn’t hide in the room forever.

Taking a deep breath, she walked out of the room and slowly made her way downstairs.

Step by step.

Her heart beating faster with each stair.

When she reached the last step…

She froze.

Ryan was already there.

Seated calmly at the dining table.

Drinking his coffee like nothing had happened.

She walked to the chair and sat down quietly.

A maid approached and gently took the little puppy from her arms.

“I’ll feed him, miss,” the maid said softly.

Aria nodded absentmindedly.

Her eyes slowly lifted toward Ryan.

The moment she looked at him, her heart skipped.

The memory flashed in her mind.

*Kissing him.*

Her face immediately warmed.

She quickly looked down at her plate.

For a few seconds she just played with the fork in front of her, trying to gather the courage to speak.

Finally she cleared her throat.

“Um… Ryan…”

He looked up from his coffee.

“Yes?”

Aria kept her eyes lowered.

“I… I wanted to apologize.”

Ryan said nothing.

He simply watched her.

Aria continued nervously.

“If I did something that angered you last night… I’m sorry.”

She paused before adding quietly,

“I think I drank too many shots during that game…”

Ryan slowly set his coffee cup down.

His expression changed slightly.

“You didn’t drink too many shots.”

Aria looked up in confusion.

“I didn’t?”

Ryan shook his head once.

“You were drugged.”

The words hit her like cold water.

Her eyes widened.

“What…?”

Ryan leaned back slightly in his chair.

His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it.

“Someone put something in your drink.”

Aria stared at him, stunned.

Her mind struggled to process it.

“I… I was drugged?”

Ryan nodded.

“Yes.”

Her fingers tightened slightly around the fork.

“That’s why you were feeling hot and dizzy.”

Aria suddenly remembered that feeling.

Her body overheating.

Her mind going blank.

She swallowed nervously.

Ryan continued calmly.

“I found you lying on the floor in an elevator.”

Her eyes widened even more.

“In… an elevator?”

“You were barely conscious.”

Aria’s heart started beating faster.

She tried to imagine how that must have looked.

How helpless she must have been.

Ryan’s gaze darkened slightly.

“Never go to a party like that again unless you’re with me.”

His voice wasn’t loud.

But it was firm.

A command more than a suggestion.

Aria blinked slowly.

She nodded without even thinking.

“Okay…”

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Aria looked at him again, hesitating.

“Ryan…”

“Yes?”

Her voice dropped to almost a whisper.

“Did I… do anything else?”

Ryan looked at her for a second.

Then he calmly picked up his coffee again.

“You kissed me.”

Aria froze.

Her fork dropped lightly onto the plate.

Her face turned completely red.

“I… I did?”

Ryan nodded once.

“Yes.”

Aria immediately covered her face with both hands.

“Oh my God…”

She slowly lowered her hands from her face and looked at him again.

“Ryan…”

He glanced at her briefly.

“Yes?”

Aria hesitated, biting her lower lip nervously.

“My friend… Katy… she knows.”

Ryan’s hand paused slightly over his coffee cup.

“She knows what?”

Aria sighed softly.

“That we’re… dating.”

Ryan leaned back slightly in his chair, his expression calm.

Aria continued quickly.

“And I don’t know what to tell her. I mean… it’s not a real relationship and I don’t know how to explain it to her.”

She looked genuinely worried now.

Ryan watched her for a moment before speaking.

“Don’t worry.”

Aria blinked.

“I’ll call her to my office today.”

Aria’s eyes widened instantly.

“So that you can fire her?!”

Ryan looked at her.

His eyebrows lifted slightly.

“Am I that harsh to you?”

Aria blinked, suddenly realizing how that sounded.

“Well… you are kind of scary.”

Ryan stared at her for a second.

Then the corner of his lips curved faintly.

“So that’s how you see me.”

Aria quickly shook her head.

“No! I didn’t mean it like that.”

Ryan picked up his coffee again.

“Relax. I’m not firing your friend.”

Aria let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

“Then why do you want to call her?”

Ryan took a calm sip before answering.

“Because if she already knows something, it’s better she hears the rest from me.”

Aria frowned slightly.

“The rest?”

Ryan looked at her.

“Our story.”

Aria stared at him.

“Our… story?”

Ryan nodded calmly.

“If we’re pretending to date, the story has to make sense.”

Aria slowly leaned back in her chair.

This man…

He was planning everything like it was a business deal.

Ryan noticed the look on her face.

“What?”

Aria shook her head slightly.

“Nothing.”

Ryan raised an eyebrow.

“Say it.”

She sighed.

“You’re really serious about this fake relationship thing.”

Ryan’s eyes softened just a little.

“Of course.”

Aria looked at him.

“Why?”

Ryan held her gaze for a moment.

Then he said quietly,

“Just because.”