Amber jerked awake with a start. She shot out of the bed and took in the strange room she was in.
A rush of dizziness suddenly assailed her and a wave of nausea churned her stomach. Rushing towards a door that she assumed was the bathroom, she made it to the toilet bowl just in time before she threw up the entire contents of her stomach.
For a minute she retched, emptying her stomach of every drop of alcohol she consumed the previous day. And when she was done, she felt extremely weak.
Unable to stand on her own, she crawled to the sink and washed her mouth. Her eyes fell on her reflection in the mirror and she cringed.
She looked like hell. What the hell happened at the club last night?,she asked herself.
Suddenly remembering where she was, she rushed out of the bathroom and stood in the middle of the exquisite room. This wasn't her room, she thought. She wasn't home yet. Her eyes flew to the watch on her wrist.
5:48am.
"Shit",Amber cursed and collapsed on the bed. She couldn't remember most of what happened the previous night. The last she remembered was drinking with Nessa, and then she followed someone to the dancefloor. Then she found herself in the bathroom struggling with... what was his name? David? She wasn't sure. But then a man entered the bathroom and saved her from getting molested.
And then... nothing. She remembered nothing more. She looked down at her dress and touched between her legs. There was no pain, so she could safely say she wasn't raped.
But where was the man who saved her?
She got her answer when she saw a folded note on the bed, beside some clothes and a pair of flat sandals.
Feeling really confused, she picked up the folded paper and her eyes widened at how matured and coordinated the handwriting was. It was only when she read through the note that she got answers to most of her questions.
'Here are some clothes you can change into once you awake. Hope the shoes fits. Change and get out of the room once you're done. A driver will be waiting to take you home'
So bossy, Amber thought. This had to be from the man of last night. She reached out and picked up the clothes. It consisted of a large t-shirt and jeans.
"How thoughtful of him",she mumbled.
A few minutes later, she had taken a quick bath and changed into the more comfortable clothes. She wondered how she would have gone back to her home dressed in a short leather gown and her stiletto boots.
...
Just as the note said, there was a man waiting outside the room the minute Amber stepped out. She hesitated, not sure if this was the driver that was supposed to take her home.
"Miss",the man acknowledged her with a nod. He was huge and intimidating, with a pair of shades covering his eyes. "Are you ready? I have orders to take you home"
Amber nodded nervously, clutching her purse and her other clothes to her chest. The man turned and she hurried after him. She finally noticed that the room she just exited was at the highest floor. A luxurious penthouse. She wondered if the man who saved her was the owner of the room.
As they drove home, Amber tried to get information about the man from the driver. He had to be rich because the car was too expensive, a Rolls-Royce phantom, amounting to more than a million dollars.
"The kind man who helped me",she began timidly. "Who is he?"
"I have no orders to disclose his identity to you miss",the man said curtly.
Amber frowned in disappointment. In a way she expected his reply. Men as rich as him would want to keep their identities secret from the world, especially women.
The car sped on through the dark streets. The sky was still dark, with just a hint of dawn at the horizon.
Amber saw her father's mansion from the distance and she knew she couldn't let the driver drop her at the front. She couldn't risk being seen.
"You can drop me here",she said quickly before they could get any closer. The driver instantly slowed down and parked the car beside the road.
Amber didn't waste any time in opening the door and hurrying out. She stood back, her eyes still locked on the sleek looking car.
"Thanks",she muttered. But the driver just stared at her in silence.
"Is something wrong?",she asked.
"I have orders to make sure you get home safely",the man said in the same tone of voice he used earlier.
Amber began to suspect that he was a machine with a recording. Why else would he sound like something that had been recorded?
"I am home already",she explained. "But you have to go, I do not want my father to see you. Or this car"
The sides of the driver's lips lifted in a smile as if he understood what she meant. Then his face turned stoic again and he nodded at her. Pulling away from the curb, the Rolls-Royce sped off silently until it disappeared round the intersection at the end of the road.
Left alone, Amber walked the rest of the way on foot. The morning air was chilly and she hugged her body close for warmth. Suddenly she froze and looked down at her arms. She had only her purse with her. The dress and the boots were missing. She mistakenly left them inside the car.
Groaning in frustration, she dragged her tired feet forward. The owner of the car would probably think she left them back intentionally.
As she was walked home, she thought back to the previous night. Why couldn't she remember what happened? Had she been so drunk? When exactly did the strange man carry her up to that room?
As she thought about it, an image of a pair of icy blue eyes appeared in her mind. She knew instantly that it was the eyes of the strange man. She remembered gazing into the hypnotizing blue depths. His eyes had been so intent on her, like he wanted to devour her alive.
Flashes of memories came back to her as she walked. She remembered that he saved her from David, or whatever the boy's name was.
A blush tainted her cheeks when she remembered how handsome the man was. He had the face of a god, carved from gold itself. He was the kind of man women desired, the kind that was cold and dangerous, yet utterly alluring and desirable.
By the time Amber came back to the present, she was in front of the mansion. The sky was still a bit dark, so she knew Clarissa would still be asleep. She tiptoed up to the window she sneaked out from the previous night and pushed it up.
Throwing her purse into the living room, she hurled herself upwards and squeezed through the space. Landing on her bum, she cursed loudly.
As she picked up her purse and hurried towards the hallway, a light bulb came on and she froze, squinting through the bright light to see who it was.
Her father sat in the middle of the living room, his face a mask of rage.