Evelyn Walters' bright future was destroyed over just one shot of whiskey, or at least that's how much whiskey she remembered drinking.
She never imagined her world would fall apart after a single night with her father's greatest enemy, Axel Knight, the notorious business tycoon and infamous playboy.
Almost every weekend, his name trended in the gossip columns, always photographed with some stunning, barely-dressed woman clinging to his arm.
And now...
That dangerously handsome man lay beside her, sleeping soundly, only half of his sculpted body hidden beneath the sheets.
'Oh, bloody hell, Eve… How could you sleep with him?'
Slowly, she tried to slip out of bed, but the moment she moved, her body trembled violently.
The deep, unfamiliar ache between her thighs was unbearable.
It was a nameless pain she'd never known before.
When she saw her naked body, still marked with the trace of their wild night, a cold shiver ran through her.
After slipping out of bed without waking him, Evelyn immediately gathered her clothes from the floor and quickly put them on.
But just as she reached for her bag, her phone rang, the sudden buzzing sound nearly making her heart leap out of her chest.
She snatched the phone and was startled to see her sister, Stella, calling.
"Sister Eve, where are you? Why aren't you in your room?"
"I'm still here!"
Evelyn whispered sharply, casting one last glance at the man still asleep on the bed before slipping out of the master bedroom.
"Here? You mean the Imperial Hotel?"
"Yes. I'll explain later..."
"What the—"
She hung up before her sister could ask another question.
With one stiletto in hand, Evelyn opened the door, but froze the moment she saw a man in a gray suit standing in front of her.
She blinked a few times, unsure if he had come into the room, but of course, he had.
Before she could speak, the man asked calmly, "Is he still inside?"
"Y-Yes..."
Evelyn's voice was slightly shaking as she gently opened the door, signaling him to come in.
But he didn't move.
Instead, he asked, "Do you want me to drive you home?"
"No, thank you."
"Are you sure?"
Evelyn simply nodded before turning away, as she walked the hallway and disappeared into the elevator.
Barefoot!
...
Walters Resident.
When Evelyn parked her car in the basement, she nearly jumped when she saw her sister, Stella, already standing there in her favorite home clothes, arms crossed, and looking like a mom who caught her kid returning home late.
Stella didn't even wait; she yanked the door open before Evelyn had fully parked.
"Oh my godness, sister Eve... where the hell have you been? Do you even know what time it is? Ah, I mean, what day is it now?"
Turning off the engine with an eye roll, Evelyn stepped out, breezing past her sister like a hungover queen.
"Nice to see you too, Stella," she muttered, heading straight for the elevator. Her mind was still in chaos.
After that ridiculous New Year's Eve party with every rich and powerful snob in the country, she got way too drunk. She somehow ended up in bed with Axel Knight, her father's arch-nemesis.
Just thinking about him made her face flush all over again. That half-naked devil was now burned into her brain like a curse.
But no way in hell was she telling Stella that.
"I got too drunk to drive, alright? So I booked a room and I slept there…" As the elevator dinged on the third floor, she cast a sideways glance. "Where's Dad?"
"You're in deep shit, sis…" Stella trailed behind with dramatic flair, her eyes wide with mock horror.
"What deep shit?" Evelyn stopped and shot her a look, arching one perfectly arched brow. "What? Do you think this is a soap opera? This early morning?"
Stella groaned, hands flying in the air.
"You seriously forgot that you were supposed to go golfing with him this morning? He was already losing it when you didn't show up at breakfast. I had to survive his nonstop ranting while buttering the toast!"
"Oh, fabulous. Just what I needed."
Evelyn sighed and fished her phone from her purse, about to call him, until Stella stopped her.
"Relax. I told him you were on your monthly period and couldn't get up. You're welcome." She smirked, clearly waiting for applause.
Evelyn blinked, then gave her cheek a teasing pinch.
"You little liar. I love you. I owe you a designer bag... preferably one that shuts you up."
"Deal," Stella said, tossing her hair like a diva.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to scrape the night off my soul and sleep before my brain explodes."
Evelyn waved her off and disappeared into her bedroom.
After closing the door behind her, Evelyn suddenly felt her knees weaken at the thought of her father finding out what had happened last night.
"No! He won't find out unless someone tells him... You'll be fine, Eve!"
She shook off the terrifying thought and headed straight to the bathroom, stripping off her black dress and the remaining linen clinging to her skin.
When she saw her reflection in the mirror, her face immediately flushed, revealing the love bite across nearly her entire body.
"You are so fucking screwed, Eve! How dare you sleep with him? Axel Knight?"
She let out a deep sigh, trying to release the pressure building in her chest.
But the tension only tightened when another thought hit her.
"Does he even know he slept with me? No! He was definitely drunk too, right? He won't remember me... yes... he won't!" Evelyn tried desperately to convince herself.
She shoved the entire night with Axel to the back of her mind. She decided to bury it.
Everything would be fine, as long as no one ever found out.
But Evelyn's wish didn't come true the way she hoped.
For the past five weeks, she had gone on with her usual routine.
She stayed busy working closely with the management team at Walters Group.
However, her life was thrown into a nightmare the moment another marriage arrangement was made with the Lincoln family.
...
The night before the family dinner with the Lincolns, she stared in disbelief at the pregnancy test in her hand.
Two pink lines.
'I'm pregnant...'