Adira's eyes gently fluttered open, the soft rays of the morning sun embracing her. For a long time, she remained still in bed, trying to comprehend the heaviness that settled upon her mind. Why was she having some confusing visions? She shut her eyes tight, trying to piece together the fragments of her memories from the previous night. She knew she had been very drunk. Yes, her mother's news had weakened her and made her turn to drinking, but why did she feel something else had happened? Something... strange? 'What is wrong with you?' She gasped when she heard that voice in her head. That was Nikolai! She sat up immediately, trying to clearly see the images and how he had joined her at the bar counter. Yes, she could remember. Nikolai sat next to her! Her fingers went into her messy hair, itching it as she tried to remember more. Although the images were unclear, slowly she began to recall a few of the things that had happened. She couldn't remember much, but she remembered when Nikolai had scooped her into his arms, brought her to the room, and... An intense jolt of shock surged through her body. She gasped and instinctively clamped a hand over her mouth as that particular memory clashed over her like an unforgiving wave. "No," she muttered breathlessly. "It can't be." Her eyes widened even more, mirroring the rush of emotions that flooded her being. Nikolai kissed her. He kissed her? Her breath seized as her lips parted open. No, it couldn't be. That part was definitely a dream. It had to be a dream. She took in deep, heavy breaths to calm herself, but it only got worse. Then that sensation came - the way it had felt when he locked his lips on hers. It sent cold shivers down her legs. "Oh, God..." she shivered with a moan. It felt too good to be a dream - too real. How could Nikolai kiss her? How was that possible? She lifted her hands to her chest, feeling how heavy it felt. 'Nikolai...' she remembered calling out to him when he broke the kiss. No, it was a dream. Nikolai rarely even looked at her. Why would he kiss her so intimately? He had no reason to do that. 'That wasn't the first day we met,' she remembered his words. 'You don't remember...do you?' Her brows scrunched up. What was he talking about? Was he really serious when he said they had met before? "Oh, Adira..." she brushed her fingers into her hair, ruffling it. Her head was a mess, and she feared she might run mad at any moment. She laid back on the bed, fixing her frightened eyes on the ceiling. ...After a while, she decided to go downstairs, hoping to see him. She didn't even know what she was thinking, but she was hoping her memories would become clearer when she set eyes on him. Memories of Nikolai kissing her were the worst, and she couldn't wait to clarify them. Of course, Nikolai was a man she could kiss all day if he permitted her to, but the reason she was so confused was because it felt strange coming from him. First of all, he made the rules: no form of romance. Secondly, he has been too hard and emotionless with her; she never thought he had even a single feeling for her. She never thought he was affectionate enough to even give her a peck. So, why would he do all that when she was drunk? Was it really a dream? As she descended the stairs, more of the images came flashing into her head. 'You're so beautiful', she remembered saying that to him and touching his cheeks afterwards. "Oh, my goodness!" She shrieked, raising her hands to her lips.What the hell did she do? How could she touch him when he hated being touched? When she remembered how she hugged him, she stopped walking and fought to maintain her stamina. "God, no, no, no." Her hands went to her face. Why did she become so stupid? 'Stay with me, please. My mom already left me. Don't do same.' She sat on one of the steps, unable to keep standing. It was too much for her; she was losing her mind. Perhaps it was her fault that he kissed her. If she could remember carefully, it's possible she forced his lips on hers. Goodness, she was in deep trouble. She needed to apologise to him. "Ma'am? Are you okay?" Yvonne scuttled towards her from behind. It was strange finding her on the floor like that. Adira was stiff and couldn't even look at Yvonne."M... Ma'am? Um...good morning. Is something wrong? Do you need me to do something for you?" "It's too late," she muttered, her eyes staring pathetically into space. "There's nothing you can do for me now." She sniffed and shifted her gaze to Yvonne. "Why weren't you home, huh? If you were home and had been with me, I'm sure none of this would have happened." Yvonne gave a guilty look. "I'm...I'm so sorry, but what exactly happened, ma'am?" Come to think of it, Yvonne was rarely home these days. What was keeping her so busy out there? Adira had a lot more to worry about, so she decided to wave Yvonne's thoughts aside. "What do I do?" She mumbled to herself. "What if he terminates the contract?" Fear and shame gripped her. She will never get drunk again. Never. "Please, ma'am, it's not so right seeing you this way. Mr. Nikolai might get angry at me. Let's go to the room," Yvonne stated, grabbing her hands. Hearing his name now made her very nervous; she had to hold her chest. "Please don't mention his name for now. I might have a heart attack," she stated feebly. "O... Okay, ma'am. But let's get to the room, please." Absent-mindedly, Adira followed her. *** As she took her bath, more images kept flooding in, making her scream and hit her head at intervals. But when she remembered a particular incident, it made her freeze with soap in her eyes. 'Was there ever a time you almost drowned?' she remembered him asking. And after her reply that Lancelot had saved her, she recalled how angry his eyes had become. 'He didn't save you. You only found him beside you when you were awake.' Her face crumpled up in confusion. What was he talking about? Why was he so sure Lancelot didn't save her? And why did he look so angry? 'That wasn't the first day we met,' she recalled him saying. No, something was definitely wrong now. Nikolai knew something else that she didn't. Wouldn't that explain why he was interested in her in the first place? interested enough to get her married and make her powerful? Wouldn't that explain why he seemed to know everything about her, from her failed marriage to all the maltreatment she had gotten from the people around her? But how? Who was he? And why couldn't she remember? Her head ached at the thought of it. She needed answers. She needed to ask him. ... After bathing, she changed into something casual and lovely and went downstairs for breakfast. She had been instructed not to go to work for about three days in order to get enough rest. She had tried to protest when Mrs. Bellamy told her that. She was strong enough and had been resting in the hospital for almost a week. She missed her office and badly wanted to be there, but the woman insisted she rested more at home. Home was going to be very boring for her, considering she had no friends. Breakfast was already served by the time she got downstairs, and as she munched on her meal, she wished Nikolai would join her. She has so much to say to him but is scared of going to his room. She ate sadly, wishing she really had someone to eat it with. But that should be the least of her problems. At the moment, she should be more worried about the crazy things she had done with Nikolai the previous night. She prayed he wasn't upset enough to terminate their contract. But on a second thought, why did that kiss feel so good? Her legs shook slightly as she recalled the moment he had suckled on her tongue. Thinking about it alone jerked her abdomen. How could he be so good at it?She reached for her glass and gulped a lot of water, hoping it would do so much good for her. Just then, the doorbell rang. Oh! Who could it be so early? She waited to see if Yvonne or Logan would get to the door, but none of them seemed to be around. The bell rang again, and she decided to get it herself. She left her seat and, opening the door, her eyes met a young, unfamiliar lady. She was undeniably beautiful, her face framed by a cascade of hair adorned with neat fringes. Her eyes were small but pretty, and she was decently dressed in a pair of trousers and a T-shirt. Wealth smelt around her, and her distinctive features made it obvious she was a Korean. Judging from the look on her face, she should be in her late twenties. Adira became baffled when she noticed she had a luggage with her. What the heck?"Hello?" Adira gave her a curious head-to-toe stare. "Um...do you need some kind of help?" The lady threw a contemptuous glare at her, like she was not worthy of asking her such a question. "If you don't mind, could you move away, please?" She raised her brows, her English so perfect, like it was her first language. Adira didn't bulge. "I'm sorry, I can't. You're a stranger, and I need to know why you're here." "A stranger?" She let out a menacing chuckle. "If you ask me, I'd say you're the stranger here. You have no idea, do you?" Adira was perplexed. What was she talking about? "Get out of the way, will you? Where's Nikolai?" She requested, but Adira said nothing. Neither did she move away from the door. But not until she heard Nikolai's cold voice from behind: "Na-ri?"