Chapter 2 One Year Later

one year later.

In the dimly lit living room, Aunt Cynthia crossed her arms, her voice cold and sharp.

"Octavia, stop acting like you have a choice," she snapped. "Your mother's hospital bills are piling up. If you don't want me to withdraw the payments, you'll do exactly what I say."

Octavia's brows furrowed, her voice trembling. "You're threatening me with my mother's life?"

Aunt Cynthia scoffed. "Let's not pretend. You're not some priceless jewel. Mr. Johnson is powerful and interested in you. One night with him and our family business gets the investment it desperately needs. And your mother? She gets to live. Sounds fair to me."

Octavia stared at her, stunned. "You want to trade me like some item-for a business deal?"

Cynthia leaned closer, her voice a whisper laced with venom. "Don't test me, Octavia. You either go on that blind date at the Nightshade Club tonight, or I'll call the hospital and pull every dime we've given. I won't hesitate to remove that oxygen tube either."

Octavia's heart dropped. She clutched her mother's photo in her hand, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Fine," she whispered, voice cracking. "I'll go."

Aunt Cynthia smiled smugly.

"Good girl. Try not to ruin this. It's your only worth."

--

In a quiet, fancy room at the Nightshade Club, Skyler sat nervously on the couch. The lights were dim, and the strong smell of cigars filled the air.

Sitting across from her was Mr. Johnson- an older man with a fat belly, greasy hair, and a creepy smile. His shirt looked tight around his stomach, and his yellow teeth showed as he spoke.

"Marry me, and I'll give you three thousand yuan in living expenses every month. You're twenty-three years old, and while you're young, you can give birth to several big, chubby sons for our old Zhu family. But if you get pregnant and it turns out to be a daughter, I'll just have it aborted. I won't raise a daughter, which is a waste of money!"

Under the Mediterranean ceiling, Johnson, with his big belly, was passionately "speaking."

"Also," he turned his words around, looking at Octavia with disdain and charity.

"I know you've been with Jace before, and you're a broken shoe who's already been slept with by a man. But I don't mind. Rest assured, as long as you can keep your virtue after marriage, stay at home and teach your children, I can still tolerate you."

Octavia couldn't help but move back a little.

She frowned slightly, not understanding why her aunt had arranged for her to come to the Night shade Club and meet this man who was old enough to be her father.

If it weren't for Auntie pressuring her for Mom's medical expenses...

"How about it, little girl? Do you have any questions or requests for me?" Mr. Johnson across from her suddenly asked, his face stern.

Octavia hadn't really been listening to what Mr. Johnson had been saying earlier.

She hesitated and shook her head. "No."

Mr. Johnson's stern expression immediately softened, revealing a hint of condescension. "Well, of course not. It's your good fortune to be able to follow someone like me, a successful man. Who would be interested in a little girl like you whose reputation has long been ruined? Only I wouldn't mind."

"Come on, tell Uncle, besides jace, who else did you have sexual relations with a year ago? Tell me one by one," Mr. Johnson said, taking advantage of Octavia's distraction and moving closer in a lewd manner.

Hearing Mr. Johnson mention a year ago, Octavia's mind involuntarily conjured up a blurry figure that was tall and well-built, but whose features she couldn't see clearly.

A year ago, she had caught Jace and Skyler in the bridal suite of that apartment building. But later, while she was still heartbroken and confused, she had mistakenly gone to the wrong room and had sexual relations with the man on the top floor.

The next day, she couldn't even remember what he looked like, but when she returned home disheveled, her family caught her in the act.

That incident ruined her reputation.

Meanwhile, Jace became the victim and went abroad with Skyler, enjoying their carefree lives.

"I have nothing more to say. Mr. Johnson, I think it's time for me to go," Octavia said.

Feeling sick from Mr. Johnson's sudden proximity, Octavia instinctively grabbed her bag and tried to stand up.

"Wait a minute, little girl. Who said you could leave? Uncle spent a lot of money to rent this entire floor of the club. You can't leave without my permission," Mr. Johnson said pulling Octavia back onto the couch from behind.

His nauseating and greasy breath hit her face.

"Let go of me, you let go!" Octavia turned her face away in disgust, trying to use her bag to block his head. "If you don't let go, I'll call the police!"

She never thought that agreeing to live with her uncle and aunt would lead to encountering a creepy man like Mr. Johnson.

"Sure, call the police! When they come, they'll see how shameless you are, throwing yourself at me. Your reputation in Jincheng is already ruined, and no one will believe that I drugged you!" Mr. Johnson sneered.

"What did you say!?" Octavia's voice trembled.

Mr. Johnson smirked. "Hehe, how does it feel now? Do you want me to love you?"

With a malicious grin, Mr. Johnson made Octavia feel suddenly hot, and his face gradually became blurry in front of her.

Oh no, the coffee she had just drunk must have been drugged!

As Octavia's face turned redder and her eyes became more and more hazy, Mr. Johnson knew it was time.

Chuckling to himself, he rubbed his hands together and sloapproached the helpless woman.

But then, the lights in the club suddenly went out.

In the darkness, a tall and imposing figure leaped into the private room from the balcony outside.

"Who are you? How dare you--" Mr. Johnson began to say, but was quickly knocked out by the newcomer's swift and powerful blow, and thrown into restroom.

Octavia's mind was still reeling from what had just happened when the man suddenly covered her soft lips with his long and cold hand.

"If you don't want to end up like him, don't say a word," he said, his icy breath mixed with the smell of blood.

Hearing his voice, Octavia's body stiffened. This man...he had a strong and dangerous smell of blood on him.

Just then, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps could be heard outside the door.

The man's narrow and cold eyes suddenly narrowed, The man's narrow and cold eyes suddenly narrowed, and his arms tightly wrapped around her waist, bringing her to the door.

In the man's embrace, Octavia's heartbeat became faster and faster, almost forgetting to breathe.

Her head was dizzy, and her body was hot.

But in the darkness, she could only feel the man behind her, and a strange sense of familiarity permeated her whole boIt was just like a year ago, when a stranger forced her on the rooftop of an apartment.

Octavia wanted to escape, but the coffee she drank made her body weak and unable to move. Instead, she subconsciously wanted to get closer to the man's embrace.

"Mr. Johnson, are you there? What's inside? Did you see any suspicious people pass by?"

Just then, someone knocked on the door outside and asked.

The man suddenly pinched Octavia's waist from behind, and she let out a soft moan from her lips, "Mmm..."The person outside the door heard this ambiguous sound and thought that Mr. Johnson had succeeded.

"Damn it, it seems that the person hasn't gone upstairs! Quickly send more people down to search! If he escapes tonight, we'll all be dead!"

At this moment, there was a commotion outside the private room.

Then, the chaotic footsteps finally faded away.

As the sound of footsteps gradually faded away, Octavia's mind finally relaxed, and she subconsciously wanted to withdraw from the man's embrace.

With her legs barely exerting any force, she collapsed uncontrollably into the man's arms.

"Feels... so good..."

Her chin accidentally brushed against the man's firm and broad chest, and she instinctively let out a whimper.

Accompanying her was a special sweet fragrance emanating from her body.

"...Is it you?"

In the darkness, the man leaned down and lifted the small woman who was about to fall to the ground.

Between his breaths was the familiar and sweet scent of Octavia, with a mysterious fragrance of orchids.

A year ago, when the drug's effects had worn off, she had already left the apartment.

Due to the effects of the drug, all memories of that night were confused and he couldn't remember her face.

He only remembered the special scent of orchids sweetness that was faintly present on the small woman's body.

Unexpectedly, after searching for a year, he accidentally bumped into her at this club today.

And obviously, at this moment, the small woman's body temperature was scorching, and her condition was not normal.

"How did you end up here?" He held her up, picked her up, and patiently asked in a low voice.

"Me? I'm here... for a blind date..." Octavia's voice was soft, gentle, and obedient. She tilted her head to the side, and the man's face in front of her turned into countless ones in the darkness.

Hmm, she was so hot and uncomfortable.

But his presence... was so familiar and comforting.

Hearing the words "blind date," the man's thick eyebrows furrowed fiercely.

He had been looking for her for a year, and this heartless little thing was here for a blind date.

The man's narrow and deep eyes grew colder as he recalled the plump blind date he had knocked out earlier. He lowered his gaze and kissed her in the darkness, his icy and fierce voice gradually becomhoarse.

"What a coincidence."

"Little thing, you saved me again this time."

The man pinched her chin.

His kiss was dominant, surging, and irresistible, filled with dangerous possessiveness and desire.

Khalid remembered that he had promised to take responsibility for her that day.

But she left hastily before he woke up, and never appeared again.

She made him, for the first time, a man who didn't keep his word.

That time, she saved him.

And this time, unexpectedly, it was her again.

At this moment, she hung obediently and innocently in his arms, her soft body instinctively leaning towards It was endearing.

This made the man, who was always known for his indifference to women, feel an unprecedented emotion.

Octavia didn't know what the man in front of her was talking about.

What did he mean by her saving him again?

She didn't even know who he was or what he looked like. She only felt her heart beating fast and her body getting hot, instinctively wanting to escape, but her body couldn't help but want to snuggle and kiss him more.

The next second, she was still struggling between heaven and earth.

The man suddenly bent down and, with this kiss, effortlessly picked up her delicate and soft body.

Strong and slender hands lifted her up from behind, pressing her against the door.

A series of delicate and domineering kisses followed one after another.

Khalid held her chin, sealed her lips, and plundered her breath.

The kiss was fierce and brutal, making Octavia's bones feel like they were melting away.

She could only instinctively respond to the man's every dominant kiss, feeling both unfamiliar and inexperienced.

"Um, don't..."

"We can't..."

"You can, I promised to take responsibility for you."

Khalid's low and solemn voice echoed in her ear.

Octavia's hazy eyes gradually sank into a series of even more dominant kisses from the man.

When a violent unease struck, she bit into the man's shoulder, leaving a deep mark.

They entangled all night.