Alyssa Marie Carter woke up with a start.
Everything felt wrong. The sheets were too smooth, too clean. The pillows too soft. The room too big.
And then it hit her: she wasn't home.
Panic surged. Her heart thumped so hard she thought it might burst. She tried to remember how she got here, but her mind was a blank. Nothing. Just darkness where last night should have been.
Her eyes flicked around the room. Floor-to-ceiling windows, curtains half-drawn, a glass table with a chair neatly tucked under it. The carpet was soft under her feet. Nothing looked familiar. Nothing smelled familiar.
And then she saw him.
A man, lying in the bed next to her.
Her stomach dropped. She froze. He was asleep, completely unaware of her staring at him, and yet… she knew. She knew she shouldn't be here.
Panic screamed louder. Alyssa scrambled to pull the duvet over herself, hands trembling. She couldn't think. Her parents' faces, gone too soon, flashed in her mind, and then Ethan's betrayal. She had promised herself she wouldn't fall, wouldn't trust, wouldn't let anyone close again. And now here she was, naked in a stranger's bed, her body against his sheets.
She needed to get out. Now.
Slowly, carefully, Alyssa swung her legs off the bed, letting her bare feet touch the carpet. The chill made her shiver. She moved toward the scattered clothes at the foot of the bed—her dress, her heels, her bag. Everything she owned was there.
Relief mixed with dread. She could still leave. She could still run.
Her hands shook as she got dressed. Every movement was loud in her own ears. The zipper of her dress caught halfway up, and she cursed under her breath, tugging it into place. She slipped on her heels, snatched her bag, and paused for a moment, hand on the doorknob.
Her reflection in the mirror made her stop.
Pale. Wide-eyed. Hair messy. Eyes haunted. This wasn't the new life she had imagined when she moved to this city. The life she had dreamed about when she applied for a job at Hale International Group. Quiet, independent, safe.
She took a deep breath. No time to think. No time to hesitate. She had to go before she changed her mind, before she let fear and whatever complicated feelings were stirring in her chest freeze her in place.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, not to him, not to anyone. To herself.
And then she opened the door.
The hallway was quiet. Empty. She could hear her own breathing, fast and shallow, echoing off the pristine walls. She clutched her bag tightly, walking quickly, her heels clicking on the polished floor. Every instinct screamed at her to keep moving, to put as much distance between herself and this hotel—and him—as possible.
She didn't look back. She didn't want to see him. Didn't want to wonder. Didn't want to feel anything.
The elevator was a welcome relief. Small, enclosed, quiet. She pressed the button for the lobby, watching the numbers tick down. Her pulse slowed slightly, though only enough to make her fingers fidget with her bag strap.
A single thought consumed her: I can't let anyone know.
Not her family though she had none left. Not her friends though Maya would worry too much if she knew. Not this man whoever he was. She had learned the hard way that people couldn't be trusted. That love, or even simple closeness, could disappear in an instant. She had lost too much already. She couldn't afford to lose herself.
The elevator dinged, doors sliding open. She stepped out, pushing her bag in front of her like a shield. The lobby was empty, as quiet and intimidating as the rest of the hotel. Her heels clicked across the marble floor as she made for the exit.
Outside, the city was waking up. Cars honked in the distance. People rushed by. She felt invisible and exposed at the same time. Her heart still raced, but with every step she felt a little more… herself. She had escaped. She had survived.
But a small, insistent thought nagged at the back of her mind.
Who was he?
She pushed it away. She couldn't think about that now. She had a job interview to get to. A life to start. A new city, a new beginning. She had promised herself she would not let anyone or anything pull her off track again.
And yet, deep down, she couldn't shake the image of him in the bed. Strong. Calm. Dangerous, maybe. And yet… familiar, in a way that made her stomach tighten.
No. She couldn't think about that.
Alyssa hailed a taxi, climbing in before she could change her mind. She gave the driver the address of her apartment, where she was staying temporarily, to make sure she could finally get some space and think. Each turn of the wheels felt like another step away from that room, that night, that man.
She leaned back, closing her eyes for a moment. Trying to breathe. Trying to imagine herself in control again.
I can handle this, she told herself. I always do.
And yet, as the taxi merged into the flow of traffic, Alyssa couldn't help but feel that the world she had tried to control so carefully had just thrown her into chaos. And for the first time in months, maybe even years, she wondered…
Was she ready for it?
Her phone buzzed in her bag. She ignored it. Work, emails. Friend messages. Everything else could wait. She needed to get to the interview. She needed to focus. She needed… a new beginning.
And she would. She had survived worse. She could survive this.
But one thing was certain, and it made her chest tighten with both fear and something she didn't want to name:
She hadn't seen the last of him.
The man in the hotel bed.
The one she ran from.
And somehow, she knew that when their paths crossed again and they would it would change everything.