The next day.
"Oh…my head hurts," Selina groaned, pressing her hand on her forehead, which throbbed sharply from the lingering tipsiness.
Her eyes flutter open only for the ray of sunlight to harshly hit her face through the window, barely open by the silk curtain. She winced and turned quickly to the other side, lying tired on the king-sized bed, clutching the changed sheet loosely against her body.
"Why does my body ache so much?" She murmured, squeezing herself as she struggled to recall what had happened the previous night. Her eyes were darting across the spacious luxury room. "I only took two shots, yet it makes it difficult to remember?"
Her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes flew wide open in panic as they swiftly landed on her body, drowning in the full incident, which started to flood raw, consuming, and vivid in her head.
They had their first sex in her room.
"What did I do? What did I say? I need to stop drinking!" She murmured, ruffling her hair in conflicted emotions searing through her.
For a fleeting moment, she lay still, cocooned in the silken sheet, realizing what had happened. Finally, he had claimed her, even if it wasn't love. And she had let him.
She never thought Zane would cross that line—not when they'd always avoided intimacy like it was sacred ground. Something that was part of their rules.
Sitting upright, Selina nibbled at her lip, indulging in the warmth still blooming inside her as she inhaled the lingering trace of his sandalwood scent on her skin. His touch had left a permanent, burning imprint, one that would linger in every shiver and ache more.
Although she couldn't tell how things would unfold between them now, she didn't regret her impulsive behaviour since he was the only one who could make her fragile heart flutter, yet now made her nervous.
She pulled the sheet from her body.
Getting on her feet, Selina's weak legs buckled, and she flopped to the floor.
She rolled her eyes, sweeping her hair over her shoulder, which flipped across her face. "He was a little gentle last night but still left me numb. What an insatiable beast," she muttered, sounding timid and at the same time upset as she felt the bubbling curiosity about how she'd become once she got caught in his real nature in bed.
Her brows narrowed sharply. She patted her cheeks harshly to wake from the dirty imagination his seductive touch had evoked in her.
"Don't be silly, Selina. You lost it because you got too sensitive after one shot. Don't let him seduce you ever again," she reprimanded herself.
Right now, she was more concerned about navigating his revenge and her current situation in public. She had to do something before Zane would harm her and her father again.
Staying locked in this game of enemies would only drain her—she needed leverage, not chaos. Running from city to city, dodging him at every corner, constantly looking over her shoulder… disrupting the comfy, peaceful vacation life she had craved. The rare calm she hadn't yet tasted.
It would be exhausting. Dangerous. Foolish.
She shook her head slightly.
No.
She wouldn't let herself be trapped in that loop. She needed control—a way to stay one step ahead.
After lingering in silence for a long while, trying to ground herself, Selina walked up to the spacious compartment occupied by a small bookshelf, study table, and chest of drawers; she noticed the study space near the window.
She slumped into the chair and put on her nerdy glasses.
"I can't be at ease with him sparring, Dad. He's unpredictable," she whispered as she opened her mini laptop on the polished desk before her. She was still concerned and anxious about her father's reasons for harming Zane since the Everett family had everything and lived in full.
He was the kind who avoided conflict no matter if he was at fault or not.
She clicked across the keyboard, typing Zane's name as she needed clarity for this unsettling conflict. Maybe a clue to what truly happened, leading to the incident.
She was confident her father wouldn't harm anyone for any selfish reason.
Selina locked on the glowing screen while logging into the internet as she began browsing. The results flooded her screen—countless reports of heartbreaking accidents, crimes, and scandals, which still didn't link to him.
"Am I becoming a detective or what? The worst, I don't even know when it happened or where." She mumbled, reading with intense attention while scrolling through the articles and sites.
But still found nothing.
But the deeper she dug, the less she found, as usual. She never failed to check through his interviews, which barely lasted twenty-four hours.
No photos. No records.
Selina's brows narrowed in frustration. "What kind of man is this invisible even though he's now a tycoon? It's been years now; he should at least mention something about himself." She murmured, logging out from the internet.
"Then I can only wait for Dad's recovery since there's no other way to know about it. I know he must've kept this a secret from Everett too." She mumbled, logging out of the internet until she stumbled into her emails.
She froze, staring at her worst nightmare. Her CV applications to renowned fashion houses had been rejected at once, all because of the rumours tainting her. This had been her twentieth rejection so far.
This was a path of pursuing her passion that she had been craving. To change her unpleasant life and status.
She clenched her jaw tight, scrolling into another company's website that caught her attention—IRIS LUXE. She copied her CV and resume and pasted them into the company's recruitment platform, which was still open for professional, unique designers.
Setting everything up to post, she hovered the cursor over the apply icon, feeling a wave of hesitation wash over her, knowing the scandal was still fresh. They hadn't even sent a reply to her previous application, and the thought of being rejected coldly for reapplying because of the scandal cut deep.
Frustrated, Selina clicked out of the mailbox and leaned back against the chair cushion.
"How would I survive now, with no one willing to offer me even a chance or even care to know the whole truth? I have to do something about it," she said with determination, not ready to let it ruin her life like before.
Her life had become so dull without work, without that monthly buzz on her phone that brought her excitement.
One of the biggest flexes.
Suddenly, Selina's face turned sour when something important weighed in her chest. Since she left the hospital yesterday, she wasn't certain if the surgery went successfully or not because she couldn't set foot in the hospital again to avoid drama from Leah and Clarissa.
"How will I know about this?" She mumbled, thinking of a way to find out without being caught in trouble.
Pondering that, Selina reached for her phone nearby as she clicked into the call log. She just hoped Clarissa would say a word to her without sounding bitter.
She tapped her sister's number, which went through several times before it eventually picked up on the other end.
There was no word immediately from her.
"Good morning, Clarissa," Selina spoke first, trying to sound polite.
"Good morning, sis," Clarissa answered softly before her tone shifted. "I thought you had run away since you managed to escape the authorities. Funny enough, you still dare to call me."
A frown settled on Selina's face at the tantrum Clarissa was about to display.
"We can address that once Father wakes up. What matters most to me right now is his condition. How is he doing? Was the surgery successful?"