"Sir, I beg you ... Save me." It was the middle of the night when Wynonna Sinclair finally saw a man, a living one, in the empty parking lot. She immediately firmly clung to his arm.
She had no idea what she was doing, either. Her brain was foggy like she had a fever.
The man, who had his back towards her, turned around slowly, looked at her red, pretty face, and from his thin lips, he coldly spat out, "Get lost."
Tsk, yet another woman scheming to sleep with him. How shameless. What a waste for such an innocent and dainty face, he lamented to himself.
He was usually not easily seduced by women. Furthermore, he'd just been poisoned by someone at the party and now had a splitting headache. His entire body felt weak, and there was no way he would be interested in her.
He did not expect then that as he was about to open his car door, she'd press a sharp, cold object against his back and threateningly command him, "Lie down in the back seat, or else ... or else I will get nasty!"
Holding an eyebrow tweezer, Wynonna's hand started to shake. She had no idea where her courage to threaten a man as tall and strong as him had come from, but she had no time to worry about that.
Shane Muller's back immediately stiffened, and his white lips curled up in scorn. It was he who did all the threatening, but this was the first time he was being threatened, and by a woman, no less. This woman must be tired of living.
The next second, a flurry of footsteps echoed in the distance, sounding especially loud and clear in the quiet parking lot.
"Where did that woman go?"
"'Split up and search for her!"
Wynonna's expression instantly changed. After her shift at the karaoke lounge had ended, a group of fierce, mean-looking men had set their eyes on her. Fortunately, she had run fast enough to lose them but did not expect them to come search for her there.
While she was in a daze, that group of men started combing the parking lot, approaching every single car that had someone in it and questioning them. Wynonna panicked, and with all of her might, she pushed the man in front of her into the back seat and lay on top of him, smoothly moving her tweezers to his throat instead. She then said, "Those men want to kill me. I want you to cover for me, you hear?"
Shane squinted his cold eyes a little, his pale face covered in a cold sweat. If not for the poison affecting his body, he would never have let a woman command him like that.
Very well, I will remember this woman, he thought. After tonight, once I get back to the Muller family house, she will die for this.
"Hurry up! What are you waiting for?"
Wynonna urged him anxiously when she heard those men's footsteps drawing near.
"Baby ..." A few seconds later, he whispered into her ear in a low, husky voice. "I didn't know you were so voluptuous. How much padding do you use under your clothes?"
Wynonna's ears had turned red when he'd called her "baby" at first, but after hearing that, she then vengefully have his arm a hard pinch.
Voluptuous? Even though her figure was not that great, at the very worst, she would be considered smooth, not voluptuous!
"Don't be angry." He laughed softly. "It's ok. I won't hold it against you."
At this moment, those men had reached their car.
They had wanted to search them thoroughly but automatically changed their minds after hearing their sweet, lovey-dovey conversation.
At the same time, their hearts were filled with great admiration toward this man; he must truly love her to not mind her curvy chest.
Wynonna finally breathed a sigh of relief when their footsteps slowly faded into the distance.
But now was not the time for her to relax yet. She could feel the man's body heat through his clothes, mixed with a mild mint fragrance, causing her to feel warmer and warmer ...
Finally, she reached out with her arms and gradually moved closer to him ...
A story of mutual love. Nobody is getting hurt, and there are no misunderstandings, so everyone can be at ease and enjoy themselves! Wynonna thought to herself.
....
It seemed weird to her how this tall, strong-looking man allowed her to manipulate him without putting up much of a struggle ...
After the drug in her body started to wear off, Wynonna's mind calmed down. To save money, she always brought her own food.
Someone must have drugged her food.
Otherwise, she would not have acted so strangely.
Who on earth could hate me so much? Wynonna wondered.
She had already fallen from being the princess of the Sinclair family to being a part-time working girl, and her father, Charles Sinclair, was now in prison. Was that still not enough?
But now was not the time to think about this problem. She had to get out of there before the man next to her woke up.
The situation earlier had been such an emergency that she had not taken a good look at him. Now that she had, she was stunned.
This man was very handsome, and had slightly upward-slanting brows, thick eyelashes, a high nose, thin lips, and a strong jaw, all of which made him look very distant and unapproachable.
Even though he was asleep, she could totally imagine how much more dashing he would look after opening his eyes.
"Dear Sir, l am very sorry. I did not mean to sleep with you ..." She apologized to him from her heart. Yet she was also secretly delighted that she had slept with a man of such high quality, so she had not lost much in this scenario.
The man was still in a deep slumber as if he were completely exhausted. Wynonna felt guilty and gritted her teeth as she took out a crumpled five-dollar bill, pulled out a pen, and wrote: This is not much, but that is all the money I have, and it should be enough to buy some chives for your health.
Chives would be the most economical and nutritious food for his kidneys. She had already done her part by taking care of that for him, she figured.
After that had been taken care of, Wynonna put on her clothes, took her bag, opened the door, and fled the scene.
Only upon closing the door did she notice that he drove a limited edition Cadillac worth more than 10 million dollars. She felt a tinge of regret and thought, Since he is so rich, he will not need that five dollars.
Should I go and take the money back?
After debating with herself for a while, she decided not to take the money back.
Though he may have been wealthy, the five dollars represented her apology to him, so it was right to give it to him.
After reaching home, Wynonna still felt very wary for a few days and never dared to return to that karaoke lounge for work. She could only send out resumes and once again search for a new job. But no matter how many interviews she went for, for some reason, they were all unsuccessful. As she was running out of options, she suddenly received a phone call.
"Hello, is this Miss Sinclair? I am the butler from the Muller family and I have a deal to discuss with you."
The Muller family? Wynonna let those words slowly sink in. There were very few families by the name of Muller. Could it be the most highly distinguished "Muller family" of Pennvale?
No matter how successful Charles Sinclair was, the Sinclair Organization was merely a medium-sized enterprise. Why would such a distinguished family have any dealings with them?
She was still confused as the butler continued, "It's like this. The Mullers' third son met some trouble a few days ago and is now in a coma. The feng shui master matched your horoscopes and said that you are the best person to marry him to ward off bad luck (It's a traditional superstitious practice. When someone in the family is sick, a joyous event 'e.g. wedding' is used to ward off the illness 'bad luck'). As long as you are in agreement, the Muller family will transfer one million dollars to you as well as get your father, Charles Sinclair, out of prison through their connections."
"This third son has always been very aggressive towards others. But a few days ago, someone poisoned him at a party. By the time a member of the Muller family found him in the underground parking lot, he was already unconscious."
'What's more puzzling is that his clothes were in disarray as if something unspeakable had happened,' the butler thought to himself.
"Alright, I agree," Wynonna said, almost without thinking.
It seemed like the Muller family had already run a thorough background check on her to be able to give her the two terms and conditions that she so desperately needed.
....
"Daddy, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. Please bear it in there for a few more days," said Wynonna.
She gripped Charles Sinclair's hand firmly through the steel window, and her beautiful eyes filled with tears.
It was all because of her. If she had not been gullible, her father would not have been sent to prison, and the Sinclair Organization would not have fallen into the hands of others.
"Silly girl. You don't have to say sorry; I have never blamed you," said Charles. His heart ached as he looked at his daughter's pale face. "I know that you were also a victim. Your heart hurts more than anyone else's."
"I'm fine. Besides, I found someone who can get you out." Wynonna took a deep breath and continued, "The Muller family's third son is in a coma, and his family wants me to marry him to ward off his bad luck."
"Winnie, I won't allow you to sacrifice yourself to save me! If you do, I'd rather remain in prison forever!" This time, it was Charles who firmly gripped her hand as he cut her off mid-sentence.
His words trembled as his body shook.
That was his precious daughter whom he had pampered and spoiled. He only wanted to give her the world's best, to see her happily get married...
"Daddy, I've made up my mind. Stop trying to talk me out of it." Wynonna forced a smile and forced her voice to sound happier. "Don't worry. Their son is in a coma and couldn't possibly do anything to me."
Everything she did now was to atone for her sin.
She used to live a carefree life under Charles's wings, but the sudden change in circumstances forced her to grow up and support the entire Sinclair family.
Charles felt a little better after hearing her last sentence.
The duo talked for a while. Visiting time was soon over, and Wynonna had to get up and leave.
No sooner had she stepped out of the prison gate when a long, straight shadow swiftly emerged from behind a nearby tree, and a long arm pulled her behind it.
Wynonna eyes' widened in fear, then she saw the man before her and could not resist slapping the face of this man who haunted her dreams, "Louis Young! You scum! Are you still not satisfied with how much misery you have given us? What more do you want?"
Louis Young, Charles's personal secretary, was six years older than her.
She had fallen in love with him at first sight and had worked for many years before becoming his girlfriend, humbling herself immensely for love.
Never in her wildest dream could she have imagined that he would send Charles to prison and then dump her for her cousin, Amanda Sinclair!
The man gripped her wrist, and his chilling eyes looked down as he icily spat out, "Be my mistress. Make me happy and I might let your father off the hook."
He did not know what he wanted either. He had already reached his goal but still felt that Something was missing.
It must've been that Wynonna was not suffering enough. Especially when she looked at him with those defiant eyes, he wanted so badly to crush her and make her tearfully beg him.
Wynonna's heart twisted in pain. Mistress? Did this man think he had not hurt her enough, so he wanted to continue humiliating her?
Her beautiful red lips turned up scornfully, and she said, "Mr. Young, are you going to pay my keep? When we were together, you wouldn't even touch me, yet now you want to pay to sleep with me. Are you that much of a bastard, or can Amanda not satisfy you?"
Looking at her tear-stained pale face, Louis moved his black eyes slightly and hoarsely stated, "Only I can withdraw the charges against Charles Sinclair. I am the only person in all of Pennvale who can help you."
"Huh. That might not be so." Wynonna shook his hand off and laughed coldly. "To be clear, I will not be your mistress. I won't let you humiliate me nor walk all over me again! I'd rather grab a random stranger off the street and sleep with him for free than sleep with you! And one day, I will make you pay double for all that you have done to me!"
With that, she turned and walked away, leaving him to see her resolve.
She was so numbed by the pain that when she gave her first time to a total stranger that night, she felt a sense of thrill that she had gotten back at Louis. But there was also a twinge of sadness that her revenge might have meant nothing to him.
"Wynonna Sinclair!" Louis watched her walk away in defiance toward the light, his eyes dark. "You will come back and beg me..."