Anna's POV

My eyes opened slowly.

In a half-asleep state, I rolled over to my back. I was lying on my stomach earlier. Sunlight hit my face, making my eyes blink open. I let out a sigh. My vision was not clear. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my fist and looked around me. For once, I thought everything was normal. And I was in my bedroom, in my house with my family.

My head ached badly, so I squeezed my eyes shut and grumbled out the words, "Mom? Can you please bring me some water? I feel so sick." I said in a hoarse voice. However, no reply came. I opened my eyes to look around.

It was then when I got my senses back.

My head snapped up when I realized that it was not my bedroom. But someone else's. Frantically, I moved my eyes around and took in the place that I was in. It was some luxurious suite type bedroom. It had a huge and I mean huge TV. It had a fireplace.

On the right side of my hand, on the entrance, was a table with a flowerpot on it. Also, I just realized that I was lying on a double bed and the blanket that covered me was made of silk.

In conclusion, I was at someone else's place. Not mine. Shit!

I tried to remember last night. Trying to remember what had happened. But could not seem to remember anything. My headache like it had been hit by a metal rod. My whole body felt heavy and I felt really exhausted. I did not need any expert to tell me that I looked like a mess.

I needed to get out of here.

I had to.

I threw the blankets that were covering me to a side and stood up in a hurry.

But all of a sudden the door swung open. Instantly, my head snapped towards the direction and I saw a tall man entering inside, with a glass of water in his hand.

Seeing him, I stopped in my tracks for a second. It was more because of the beauty I saw standing in front of me than for the fact I saw a stranger in a stranger's house.

He was devastatingly beautiful. Well, if not beautiful then certainly, the most handsome guy I had ever seen in my life. He was tall. And I mean TALL. Or maybe I was too short. He was approximately more than six feet and four inches tall. He had long legs that were covered by his blue faded jeans. And he was fit. His muscles were more defined than a normal man's. Even though he was wearing a shirt, it did nothing to hide his hard muscles beneath it.

"You asked for water?" He asked in a magnetic deep voice as he approached me and extended the glass of water towards me. Who the hell was he?

"Umm... I need to leave." I said in a bit of frantic tone and started to leave. However, he grasped my hand and just as quickly removed it. He nodded his head.

"You can leave. But at least drink this water first. You asked for it. You must be thirsty." He said.

If he wanted to harm me then he would have done that a long time ago. I stared at the glass in horror. Then my eyes moved towards his. He was looking at me expectantly. Without saying anything, I took the glass from him and drowned the water in a few gulps. On the last sip, I choked and started coughing a little. He took the glass from me. I straightened up.

"Last night..." I began but did not continue. He placed the glass on the bedside table and turned to me.

"Last night, you drank a little too much. You fainted because of it. And you may have wanted to jump from the bridge..." He said and left the last sentence hanging around us. I gasped at his words, for a second I completely forgot that I was in a drunken state last night while trying to end my life. Alongside that , then it all came crashing down to me. My parents threw me out of the house and disowned me. My friends decided to abandon me as well. And I'm stupid enough to never start a job to earn a living. Now, I'm not just homeless and abandoned but also I had no reason to live. I was hopeless.

My shoulders shook as I let out a sob.

"Why don't you just sit down first? You should rest. It's not good for your baby."

He said.

And then, it was then, I realized the reason for all my trouble.

This baby.

My knees turned jelly and gave out from under me. I slid down and landed on the bed. I bowed my head. My hands shook when I grabbed a handful of my hairs and tucked them. Tightly, I closed my eyes.

"Oh my god." I said in a shaky tone when I realized what my life had turned out to be. I could not help but start crying in a muffled voice. This pain that I was feeling, was too much and too loud. All the blood in me rushed into my head as I tucked on the strings. Hoping it would dull the pain that I was feeling inside. My inside clenched and twisted into knots. I felt like gagging.

I was too engrossed in my pain that I even ignored the fact that I was breaking down in front of a stranger. I felt his presence only when the side of the bed dipped, and he sat down beside me. He did not say anything. While I kept crying and crying. I did not stop until I felt that I had no more tears left to cry.

I stopped crying and pushed my hairs back that had fallen on my face, and we're sticking to my face. Suddenly, a hand placed a handkerchief on my leg.

Without ever uttering a word, he stood up and left the room.

I looked at the handkerchief and reluctantly, wiped my face. I also cleaned my nose with it. My head was still aching badly.

The door opened and the stranger entered the room once again. He had another glass of water with him. He handed me the glass but this time he also gave me two pills.

"For your headache." He said. I took the pills.

"Okay, now, tell me why you are crying and why did you want to jump from the bridge and suicide, yesterday?" He asked me directly, without beating around the bush. I looked at him. He looked back at me.

I sniffed before I told him.

"It's none of your business." I murmured slowly.

"It is my business when I saved you from almost drowning yourself in alcohol and jumping from the bridge. So tell me."

He said. His voice did not hold any hint of anger or irritation.

Just a mere fact. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared at me. I glanced at him. He looked serious enough.

Somehow I felt that he wouldn't make fun of me or throw me out of the house if I told him my secret. At least not as quick as my parents were. Plus, I wanted to tell someone and ease the burden on my shoulders. Thus, I decided to trust a stranger and told him everything. I made myself comfortable on the bed and started speaking.

"I went to a party. Obviously, I got drunk. A bit too much..." I said and then let out a sigh at my stupidness. How could I be that stupid?

"I had sex with a guy. Without a condom." I told him. Feeling ashamed of my actions. I put my hands around my arms and rubbed it up and down to comfort myself.

"Well. At the heat of the moment and in my drunken state I did not realize, what stupid mistake I was making. Hence, after two weeks, I found out that I was pregnant. To no surprise." I said in a heavy voice. It was like I was living the scenes again.

"I tried to look for that guy. Asked my friends, the people at the party or anyone who had a clue who that guy was, but no one knew." I explained.

"I told my parents and they disowned me. My friends had already left my side because I was pathetic in their eyes and would have dented their coolness if I hung around them. I was too uncool to hang out with." I told him. I swallowed hard to wet my dry throat.

"Now, I don't have a job. I don't have my family. I don't have my friends or anyone with me. I don't know what I should do." I said in a hoarse voice and clenched my eyes shut. For a long time, I didn't open my eyes but when I did I saw his face which was deprived of any sort of expressions.

He thought that I was pathetic. I knew it

But I asked that I should have asked way before explaining my whole life.

"Who are you?" I asked him. His eyes gleamed at my question.

"My name is Alex, Alex Tide" He said. And my eyes widened at his name.

Wait

"The owner of White Jem's Company?"

Anna's POV

"The owner of White Jem's Company?" I asked him.

Unable to believe what I heard. He gave me a half smile and moved his eyes to look at the floor for a second.

"Yeah. I was not hoping for you to know about my company." He replied.

I half laughed and half snorted in disbelief.

Anyone, in their right mind, would know what White Jem's Company was.

It was one of the most popular clothing manufacturing companies in the USA. It had branches all over the world. It had a net - worth of over a billion.

"You are kidding me, right? How will no one know about White Jem's Company? Especially someone who worked in my field of work." I said in disbelief.

"In your field of work? Specifically, in which field are you from?" He asked me.

"Fashion designing." I answered him. It seemed to amuse him.

"But I hadn't even completed my course and nobody would take in a student without a strong reference." I told him but it sounded like I was talking to myself. I let out a sob of helplessness. What am I supposed to do now?

"The hell is wrong with me?" I asked myself.

My tears made their way down my cheeks and my nose started running. Alex handed me a tissue and stood up.

"Will you work for me?" He asked me. I looked at him in daze. My mind was fuzzy and was not working properly.

"Work for you?" I asked him, wiping my eyes, cheeks and nose.

"Yeah, work for me. You need a job. I'll give you a job. You will learn under one of my employees and you will earn from it. Consider it as a paid internship.

And I will give you a house. One you can live in until you become capable of buying yourself one. How does that sound?" He asked me.

My mouth slightly fell open and I became uncomfortable with his offer.

Slowly, I stood up and stared at the ground.

"No. I can't accept your offer. I may look like a damsel - in - distress but I don't need anyone's help." I replied to his question.

I heard him heaving out a sigh and darted my eyes to meet him. "I am not doing you any favor nor am I giving you any help. You will Work for all of these you are getting. You can pay rent for your house if it matters that much to you." He told me.

"Plus, you do not have any other options, except for working for me. Except if you are considering suicide again, which is out of the questions.

I won't let you do it. You need to feed yourself and your baby. And you need to earn. It's a great opportunity if you want to take it." He told me. I looked at him. I took in his features.

He was beautiful. His grey eyes were bright. His figure was broad. Tall, fit and handsome. Like a magnificent angel. He came to help me like an angel.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked him in a whisper. My voice was heavy filled with tears.

"Why are you helping me when no one else did?" I asked him, again. This time, my pain was evident in my voice.

My family, the one that should have loved and supported me when I needed them the most, left me hanging alone. My friends, it makes me laugh out loud at the word friends, abandoned me when they should have stood by my side. Especially, when the whole sky was falling on my shoulders.

"Because you are a human and you deserve to live. And so does your baby." He replied.

His bright grey eyes crinkled with kindness.

Even for a man who was so rich, his kindness remained earthly.

I closed my eyes and swallowed before giving him a small smile. Pressing a hand on my stomach, I rubbed it. "Thank you. Me and my baby will remember your kindness, forever." I told him. He smiled in return.

"You should sleep now. You can start working from tomorrow or a day after, your choice. One of my employees will tell you about your work and later you can visit your new house." He told me.

"No. I want to start working as soon as possible. I will start tomorrow." I replied. He nodded encouragingly.

"Sure. For now, I think you should go to bed." He told me.

"Okay." I answered him.

"Good night." I said and moved to lie down."Good night." He said. He shut off the lights and closed the door. Finally, I slept with a stress-free head and fell into a deep sleep.

Next day I woke up with a jerk and I realized someone was calling me.

"Miss? Miss?" I heard a feminine voice call me. I blinked my eyes a few times and saw a middle-aged woman standing on the side of my bed. By her uniform, I was pretty sure that she was the maid of this house.

"What?" I asked. My voice was groggy from just waking up. "Mr. Tide wants you to be ready and come downstairs. He wants to have breakfast with you." She told me. Pulling up the blanket that was thrown on the side of the bed, she began folding it.

"What?" I asked her again. Unable to get the meaning of her words for a few seconds."He is waiting for you, downstairs.

So please hurry." She told me. I ran my hands through my hair and stood up.

The maid, whose name was Marina, guided me to the bathroom and started cleaning up the room herself. I offered her my help but she denied it by telling me that it was her work and that was what she was getting paid for.

I bathed, brushed my teeth and freshened up. I wrapped myself in a towel and realized that I did not have any other fresh clothes to wear. Cursing, I poked my head outside and called out to Maria.

"Marina. Marina?" I called out loud.

Nobody replied. I called again but again there was no response.

No one was inside the room. Therefore I decided that it was safe to step outside.

"Marina?" I called out once again. The silence greeted me in answer. I looked around the room, but Marina was not there. I was alone. I bit my lip and started to think what should I do? My hair was still wet and water was dripping down from them.

"Hello? What is taking you so long?" A deep voice came and the door creaked open. I turned around and clutched to my towel when I saw Alex standing outside. A startled gasp left my mouth as I looked at him horrified.

Alex looked shocked, seeing me standing there in a towel. His eyes inadvertently trailed down on my body. When they travelled back to my face and reached my eyes, he looked away quickly.

"I'm sorry. I should not have entered without knocking. I am not used to knocking in my house." He told me.

I stood there like a statue, still clutching to my towel. I was unable to move or fathom what I should do next.

"Why aren't you dressed yet?" He questioned me, still staring away from my figure. I squirmed at the same spot that I was standing.

"I was looking for Maria." I told him. My face was on fire from embarrassment and I was pretty sure that it had turned a little red.

"Why? Do you need something?" He glanced my way at the corners of his eyes, assessing me. Was there concern in his eyes I asked myself?

"Are you hurt somewhere from your jump, earlier?" He asked me.

I shook my head slightly. This time it was me who looked away and stared at the wall. Not wanting to see his face when I answered the question.

"I don't have any fresh clothes." I whispered in a low voice. Feeling ashamed and vulnerable from standing only in a towel.

"Oh, right. I'll send Marina with a new set of fresh clothes. Dress up and come downstairs. I have to leave for my office, I will drop you off, too." He said.

With that, I heard him turn around and shoot out of the room in a hurry.

Shutting the door behind him in a rush.

I quickly rushed inside the bathroom and sat down on the aisle.

If the starting of a day was like this then what was going to happen throughout the day?

Anna's POV

Marina brought me fresh clothes. I changed in a hurry and darted downstairs to eat breakfast. I did not want to make Alex wait any more than I had.

I rushed downstairs and saw the most beautiful hallway ever, decorated with expensive paintings, flowerpots and dark colours.

Alex was dressed up in black suit and black pants. He looked handsome. Long legs, muscled chest and shoulders. His hair slick from gel.

Right in the middle, were a big dining table with around six chairs on each side while the other two on each head of the table.

Alex was on his face but cut the call when he noticed me. He pulled out a chair for me and nodded for me to sit down.

"Sit down and have some breakfast. You are going to need it. Hurry up though, we need to leave soon." He told me as I took the seat that he offered me.

I looked at the food on the table. Fruits, bread, butter, jam, tea and coffee. My mouth watered and almost fell half open watching so much for just breakfast.

I closed my mouth and darted a look at him to see if I noticed my half-shocked face.

He was looking at me with a guarded face with his hands inside his pockets.

I think I saw a hint of amusement in his eyes. He jerked his head towards the food.

"Do you need something else? Is there anything else that you would be eating for Breakfast? You could ask Marina to make it. But I suggest you adjust for today because I'm running late." He told me, checking his wristwatch.I shook my head and gave him a small smile.

"No. It's more than enough. Umm ... Aren't you going to eat with me?" I asked him in a hesitant voice.

He shook his head.

"No. I already did. Please, eat. I have to make a phone call." He said and pulled out his phone.

I nodded my head.

He walked out of the door, leaving me to eat in peace alone. I thought he would stand there and watch me eat. And that would have made me certainly self-conscious.

I ate my breakfast as fast as possible so that I wouldn't prolong his lateness. I was pretty sure that he would not complain even if I did make him late to his work, but I did not want to take advantage of a person who was being so nice and helpful towards me.

When I was done, I stood up.

Right at the moment,Alex entered the house back. He jerked his head.

"You're finished? Are you ready to leave?" He asked me. I gave him a nod which he returned with one of his own.

"Good. Then, let's go." He said and we both left his house.

Both of us walked towards his car.

A man was waiting by the car when he saw us approach, he opened the doors for us. Once we were settled inside, I realized that he was Alex's driver.

He pulled out of the driveway and started driving us on an empty road.

Somebody cleared their throat. I looked at my side and Alex looked outside the window out of my window.

"I never got to know your name." He said to me, It made me realize that I actually never really introduced myself properly.

I just blurted my guts out to him like a crazy person but never really gave him my name.

My face heated up in shame as I realized how he had seen me. Vulnerable, crying, an ugly mess.

"My name is Anna. Anna Ried." I told him.

"Anna ..." He whispered. My name sounded like butter from his mouth.

"So Anna, my secretary will show you around. She will tell you what you have to do and how to do it. If you have any problem then you can contact her. She will help you through it. Don't be nervous just because it is your first day.

Okay?" He told me like he was my senior.

Which he was. Even though I was not really nervous, his words did calm me down. His voice held a sense of security.

"Okay." I replied.

He nodded and pulled out his phone to check, whatever he was checking.

I turned my face and looked outside the window. Falling into a mutual silence. It was light and tension free quiet. None spoke throughout the ride to his office.

The car stopped at a big building. It went on and on and on, high in the air, making every other building small in comparison to this building. I felt like I was standing in front of the Eiffel Tower. The door of my side of the car opened. The driver held it back and let me slide out of it.

"Thank you." I told him. He nodded his head once but without a smile.

Alex came to me and led me inside the building.

Everyone greeted him as he looked at me curiously. He greeted every single of them politely. It was kind of attractive to see a guy being so polite even though he was the owner of the company.

We walked into an elevator but I hesitated when I saw the plate outside said 'VIP ONLY'. Alex backend me and I walked inside.

He pressed the button of the door closing and pressed the button for topmost floor 70.

We waited on the opposite side of the lift to go up. I gathered my courage and asked him the question that was eating me away for a long time.

"Umm ... How am I supposed to address you? Will Sir be alright?" I asked him.

He looked at me and then snapped his eyes to the ceiling. He nodded his head once.

"Okay." I said and turned to face the door of the elevator.

"Sir." I whispered to myself.

I saw him glancing my way when I whispered and looked away. He had his hands on his pockets and was standing straight like analysing some sort of project.

Damm He was so tall, he towered over my Five point five-inch-long self.The door of the elevator opened and I took a step forward but stumbled and almost fell forward. Almost.

However, I did not because two sets of hands stopped, grabbed me around my waist and caught me.

"Watch it." He said before straightening me up. Both of us stepped out of the door.

"Are you okay?" He asked me. I nodded and felt ashamed that I tripped over.

"Okay, let me introduce you to my secretary and she will help you with everything else." He told me.

I just agreed with him because my mind could not register anything except for a single thing that I tripped over.

"Her name is Janet, anyway." He told me.

While at the same time the door opened and entered a very beautiful, blonde haired woman with curvy figure and long, slim legs.One look at her face and I knew one thing very clearly.

We would Not get along.