I thought I was waking up on my bed, so I decided to roll my body to the other side of the bed. Then I found out I was at the edge of the bed, about to fall; the space was too small.

Panic began to rise within me as I struggled to recall how I ended up here.

Then, like a flickering light, fragmented memories started to piece together. My husband was in bed with a strange lady.

The strange lady under my husband is none other than Elle, the heiress of the Kone family. She is an actress. I have met her countless times in my husband's office during lunchtime.

I always thought she visited my husband's secretary. It never occurred to me that she was my husband's mistress.

Did they attack me? Why did I end up here?" I asked. There is no one to answer my question.

The door swung open. I could not believe what my eyes saw. My husband walked in with his hand around Elle Waste. Tears welled up in my eyes. I didn't want it to fall. Alaric didn't deserve it.

I gazed away as I saw them and said, "Get out!"

"Congratulations!" Jane, finally! You are carrying an illegitimate child like you," Alaric sneered as he came in.

"What a shame!" Elle chipped in.

I touched my stomach to confirm what he was saying, no wonder everything pissed me off, 'Could it be that I'm pregnant?'

"Can we get a divorce?" I asked.

"Jane, don't divorce me; I will take care of the bastard you are carrying," he snickered.

Is that not what you wanted? I hate you, Alaric; you are so disgusting," I spat.

"Actually, I don't have anything to do with you, and no one would ever accept you; this marriage was a bet between my grandparents and yours. As soon as you get divorced, the $100 million fine will go into my account. If you don't want the money to go into my account, you have every power to stop it now."

"You are a joke, Alaric, I wish I never married you; I wish I never loved you I don't care about how much money you will get; I just don't want to see you again," I yelled

"Alaric, why are you stopping her?? Do you love her?"

"Elle, love, not in this life I will ever love a woman like her, i love you, and I can never trade you for anything. I want her family to see that she requested a divorce and the mistake she made,"

"If I had loved her, she wouldn't have ended up with a stranger that night," he smirked.

"You set me up, Alaric?"

"You want someone to devour you, and I helped you to do that. By lacing your drink and slipping away, you met your boyfriend instead of the helper I sent, so how did I set you up??"

"What have I done to deserve this?"

"Is it a crime to love you?"

"Not a crime, Jane, but I will not stain my family name by starting my life with an illegitimate daughter. I hate you for that. Who knows how your mother ended up with your father?"

"You should have told him you weren't interested then."

"Why would I say that? I am a businessman, and I know your family will lose that kind of money, I always want your loser family to remain a loser,"

"So you ditched me because of money."

"No, because you are illegitimate and I don't love you; money is just a bonus for wasting my precious time for three years,"

"Can I get the divorce document?" I asked in a husky tone.

"Don't ever try to come back to my house,"

"I still have my clothes and some other things to pack,"

"Not yours anymore, you came in with just your wedding gown, so your clothes will be worn by my dogs,"

"Do whatever you like, I'm sure you will regret this, I hate you," I yelled

They walked out.

The tears I had fought for began to fall.

"I need to get out of here," I muttered.

I changed into my clothes and went downstairs. I was glad I wasn't noticed by any workers at the hospital.

I boarded a taxi and stopped at the front door of my father's house.

It's been three years since I left this house.

There was noise in the house; my heart skipped as I realised I was returning to this house. I left eagerly; peace wasn't here for me. I didn't know why I returned to this place again.

She is a bastard; how can I pay a $100 million fine to Alaric for being a bastard?

"I told you not to allow her to marry Alaric, but you didn't listen to me."

"You told me not to, then would you allow Stellar to marry that jerk instead of her, or have you forgotten that the purpose of their marriage was for business transactions?"

"Let's assume we lost."

"I won't assume that; I will kill her together with the baby she is carrying. I know she had no place to return than this place; she would be locked in one of the empty rooms in the basement, I'm tired of having illegitimate blood in my family."

"How about the $100 million?"

That is not going to happen; I will sue Alaric for kidnapping after I finish Jane, so it is going to be an unsolvable case. Since Jane would be out of the picture,"

"Just be careful; you should have ended her when her mother died; a situation like this wouldn't have come up."

"Grandpa protected her; if not for his demise, no one would have known I have an illegitimate child."

I sat down weakly on the floor; my heart was clenching in pain, and many thoughts were running through my mind. How could my family try to kill me?

What have I done to deserve this?

I was glad I knew about this earlier; I couldn't believe they would poison me with a child in my stomach. How wicked they are.

I rubbed my still-flat stomach this time around, trying to communicate with my baby.

'You are the only one Mummy has now; please bear with me and hang in there; I will protect you with my last breath.' At least I have a reason to stay strong now.

I walked dejectedly out of my father's house and booked another ride to a nearby hotel as the night was drawing near.

The room allocated to me was not looking bad for the amount I paid; it had everything to make my stay there comfortable. I made quick plans for the next few days that I will be spending here, but most importantly, I have to pull a call across to my best friend.

"Hello, how have you been?'' the voice of Celine came from the other end of the phone.

I paused, sometimes pondering whether to tell her or not.

"Not too bad; how is work?" I answered, trying to sound cheerful.

"What is wrong with you? Your voice is not energetic. And to answer your question, the hospital has been good but stressful," Celine said cheerfully.

I didn't want to hide anything from her, so I recounted everything that happened from the last two months until now.

"So you got pregnant by an unknown man? What do you plan to do with it?" she inquired.

"What else? Give birth to it. I can't cut it short."

"Have you tried searching for the man that got you pregnant?".

"Truth be told, I never wanted to do anything with an escort that got me pregnant. How could a man sleep with a random lady and take advantage of her vulnerable state?"

"I don't want my child to have anything to do with that kind of person, an escort," I said with a heavy heart.

"It's okay, but we have to look for him."

"I will look for him and teach him a great lesson," I muttered in defiance.

"You know what? Let's meet up for a coffee tomorrow; we have to discuss," she said from the other end of the phone. After that, we discussed other things and ended the call.

I woke up energetically the next morning, did a little workout, and then prepared for my appointment with my best friend.

The first thing on my agenda was to branch over to the hotel where I was taken advantage of to retrieve the CCTV footage. Maybe I will be able to find a hint as to who the escort made out with me.

Allen's pov

A knock came on the door and my assistant made his way into the office.

" What is the result of your investigations, have you checked with the hotel again?" I questioned with a stern voice at the same time attending to the pile of documents on my table.

" I have checked with the hotel today and it was confirmed that the woman returned the request for the CCTV footage," William answered with a slight bow.

I glanced up from what I was doing, interested in where the conversation was heading.

" Is she the same woman that was captured in the footage? Is that the only thing that you found out?" I asked.

" Yes sir, she is the one that was captured by the camera though she wasn't provided the footage in regards to your Instructions," he answered with certainty.

" Finally, there is great news, did you do the background check I requested?" my heart felt contemplated by the information he just revealed. I have been searching for the girl since the night of the incident but there was no single good result.

" Yes sir, I did the background check on her and I discovered that she was married but got divorced some days ago. I think it has to do with the incidence,'' William concluded.

" Married? How come?" I was shocked by the new revelation, if I could recall correctly she was a virgin, I sighted the blood on the duvet that night.

" Are you sure your investigation is correct?" I was still uncertain about the accuracy of the new information.

'How can a married woman be a virgin?' I didn't ask anyone but confusion was written all over my face

" Yes sir, it is very accurate. She was married for three years,"

" Really? Compile a complete result of your investigations and get back to me before afternoon, I have to know her family background as well," I instructed and waved my hand at him to disperse him.

I can feel it something isn't right somewhere, some things are not just adding up at all

He left the office and I immediately zoned off where I sat down.

No reason for a married woman to be a virgin was coming to my head so I decided to call my friend, Cole is popular with women so he should be able to at least give me a tip, I placed a call across to him and behold he picked up immediately.

" Why did you pick up the call so quickly? Don't you have patients to attend to? " I questioned him coldly.

"Could you be nicer when you call me? I don't think you called me just to chastise me," the husky voice of Cole came from the other end of the phone.

I was deliberating in my mind whether to tell him or not because he is such a blabbermouth and will continuously tease me with it but I swallowed my pride and said " I have a question that is bothering me and I need your help on it,"

" What does the almighty Allen need my help on?" he asked with a mocking tone.

" Can you be serious here," I said with a warning tone and he immediately apologized

" Is it possible for a married woman to be a virgin? I want to know," I asked, arching my brows.

" Why are you asking me that? Wait, are you entangled with a married woman!" he screamed and I could feel a headache coming. I knew calling him was an utmost bad idea but my curiosity led me on.

" Just answer the damn question and stop interrogating me," I was getting impatient at this point.

" Okay let's be honest here, it's not in my line of profession so I can't say," he said and I hung up.

Some minutes later, my office door opened and I was about to chastise the intruder when I saw that it was Cole that entered.

" Where are your manners?" I growled at him with a scowl

" You look ugly with that face,'' he burst into laughter.

"Why are you here? Don't you have things to do?" I picked up another file and glanced through it before putting my signature on it.

" Can't I visit my buddy again," he said with a smirk.

" I don't believe that's why you are here, and as you can see I am very busy," I continued with what I was doing, not sparing him a glance.

" So tell me, who is the married woman you are inquiring about?," He asked and I immediately paused what I was doing, pondering whether to tell him or not.

His question triggered my memory and the memory of the night rushed to my head.

I went for a business meeting with many company presents, the meeting was scheduled for the night. At first, I wasn't comfortable with going but when I was told that many other companies would be there, I decided to attend because it would help me with networking.

We did the meeting, everything was fine and they insisted that we should have a mini party before we all go back. I insisted that it was late but they all convinced me to stay which I did.

A few hours into the party, my body started feeling hot but I didn't pay much attention to it, later it became unbearable and my head was also feeling fuzzy. I felt that something was wrong with me so I excused myself. I got a room and managed to soak myself inside the bathtub even though it did little or no relief.

I came out of the bathroom with my eyes looking so red like a beast ready to devour anything, my gaze caught a petite girl sprawled and wriggling on my bed, she was whimpering and at the same time sweating even though the A.C. was on.

I moved closer to her to check what was wrong with her, she touched my chest which ignited the fire in me.

" Please help me,'' her tiny voice sounded, I couldn't hold it any longer and ravaged her. Everything cleared from my head the next day when I woke up to meet a blood stain on the white sheet.

' I was her first man and she is also my first woman so I must find her,'

I briefly narrated what happened that night to him " What? So you had a nightstand and didn't tell me, I am hurt," he pouted and I threw shredded paper at him.

" What's your plan now, Did you get the person that drugged you?'' he asked curiously.

" Search for her and take responsibility, nothing else, William is already gathering the information about those people" he breathed a sigh of relief after I completed my statement.

" I can't wait to meet the woman that finally made you a man, How was it?" I spared him a disgusting glance at what he just spatted.

" Ehh, you don't have to give me that look okay? I wish you luck with her," he concluded and went back to where he was sitting before.

I glanced at the wall clock and then dropped a message to William inviting him to my office with immediate effect.

He was ushered as soon as he knocked on my door and he brought the file I requested along.

" This is everything you requested sir," he dropped the file carefully on my table and moved away.

I took the file and the first information caught my attention, I paused and glanced through it carefully.

' Her father was the one that married her off? Interesting!' I lamented, getting pissed at every new information. I tried hard to assimilate why she was made to pass through all that hell just because she was an illegitimate child.

I was still trying to hold myself back as my friend didn't stop teasing me.

" What? It was her husband that set her up!" I shouted, already frustrated at this point. " How could he do that? He could have just rejected the marriage from the beginning," I added and Cole joined me to scheme through the document.

"Damn! Now you know the reason why her husband didn't consummate their marriage. He doesn't want her," Cole said and I couldn't help but feel pity for the lady.

"You have done well with the investigation, I will give you a pay raise," I encouraged, facing William signalling to him that he could leave.

"Another important thing sir, we got her location and she is currently staying in one of your hotels," William concluded and I was elated with the information he just passed across.

"Get the presidential suite ready for me, I won't be going home tonight," I concluded and Cole's mouth was left agape.

Jane's POV My body was racking with extreme nervousness; five bottles of water later and the tightness in my chest had only learned new tricks. I stared at the phone like it had betrayed me personally, every notification a small pinprick. Then my father's name glared on the screen. "You'd better not let me get wherever you are Jane, or else I promise it'll be the last breath you take, you bastard daughter of a whore!" he barked. The message vibrated my bones. I swallowed hard, the words crawling under my skin like cold ants. He always used the same language when he wanted to make me small and quiet. This time he wanted me gone. My fingers hovered over the call button, but I didn't call back. Talking to him would only give him more spoils to gloat with. Instead I thumbed Celine's number, because crying into a cable felt less ridiculous coming from someone who knew how to make it stop being about me for a minute. "Hello?" Celine answered, loud and bright, like she kept sunrays in her pocket. "Celine... he-" I couldn't finish. The breath stuck in my throat. "Where are you? Jane, you sound broken." She waited like there was space for me to be honest, so I took it. I told her everything, waking up in that room, the blood, the way Alaric had thrown me away, Dad's message. There was no dressing it up. There was only bare, hot hurt. "Come over. Now," she said. Her voice was business-sharp. "We'll go to the hotel together. Don't go alone." I told her about the CCTV plan, the only thing I had that felt like a fact instead of rumor. Celine was all in. "I'll bring coffee and tenacity," she promised. "You get dressed. Don't think. Move." It felt like moving through syrup, but I did. I crammed my trembling hands into a faded sweater, shoved my hair into a messy bun, and forced myself into the doorway. The lift to the lobby seemed to take forever. My reflection in the mirrored walls looked like an invasion victim in one of those dramatic shows-pale, hair wild, eyes ringed and big. I wanted to disappear. At the hotel desk, I could already feel the eyes. People loved a scene; they just didn't want to be in it. The clerk looked at my face with that thin pity people offered women who'd been seen at their worst. I kept my voice low. "Hello, I need access to CCTV footage for last night. Room twelve-oh... I was a guest there. I-I there was an incident." He blinked, fingers hovering over the keyboard as if he needed permission to be honest. "I'm sorry, ma'am. Those requests have to go through our security department. Do you have an authorization?" "No." My throat closed. "I'm trying to find out what happened to me. I woke up and - I don't remember, there are gaps. Please. The footage could tell me." He tapped the screen, eyes avoiding mine. "There was a privacy request returned for that footage." He said it like he was giving me the weather. "Returned? By who?" I felt the tiny anger flare, the one that wouldn't let me be small any longer. "We don't have the right to disclose who requested it," he said. Corporate shields. I could taste the false smile like metal. Celine stepped up, stern as an anchor. "Is there a manager? Now." Minutes later a man in a dark suit appeared-too calm, too practiced. He asked a thin list of questions, then said something about protocol. He smelled like expensive soap and excuses. Before I could squeeze another word through my jaw, two men in the hallway moved like shadows and blocked the entrance. One had the kind of posture that made you measure your steps twice. My stomach dropped. "Ma'am, you can't be in the CCTV area," the manager said. "We have to-" "No," Celine snapped. "You will give us the footage. Now." The manager's eyes flickered toward the two men and something tightened behind them, a look I've seen before on Alaric's face when he was about to crush something. I felt a prickle at the base of my neck. This was not going well. "Look," the manager said quietly, "a request was filed and returned. There's nothing we can do without legal orders." He sounded like he had practiced saying it in the mirror. My breath got small and thin. "I paid for a room. I was robbed. I was assaulted. You expect me to walk away because someone filed paperwork?" My voice cracked. The lobby stopped, suddenly everyone was paying attention in a way that made me feel naked. The tall man by the door moved. He stepped into the light, and whatever soft cloak of protection the hotel offered slid away. He looked like someone carved out of the night: broad shoulders, short-cropped hair, and a face that refused to be casual. I recognized the shape of his jaw even though my head was foggy, even if it might have been the same kind of jaw as a dozen polite men, but there was a lean certainty about him. "Miss Jane Williams?" The man's voice was controlled, almost neutral. My name on his tongue was not the gentle one my grandfather used; it had an authority that left no room for argument. "Yes," I said, so small I could barely hear myself. He introduced himself-William, and said something about being the manager for a Mr. George. He said it like it was the part of him that did the talking for his employer. My heart folded. Mr. George. The one I had been trying to find in my head, the shadow in my memory. The man from the hotel. The man from the blood-stained sheets, was this the same room in a different lifetime? Adrenaline punched the air out of me.