It took some time for the elevator to reach the room on the 24th floor.
Despite Theo's strong arms tightly embracing Iris, it seemed she could still sense the feeling of being lifted off the ground. Instinctively, her hands naturally wrapped around his neck. She nestled her head against Theo's chest and gently nuzzled against it.
Theo felt her intimate gesture and stiffened for a moment, a weird feeling rising in his heart. He couldn't identify what that emotion was. He lowered his head and saw Iris' gently trembling eyelashes as if she was not sleeping soundly.
Theo held her more tightly but still gently.
"Ding!" The elevator stopped at the 24th floor.
They were lucky enough to not encounter any journalists or passers-by. John, the driver, was already there waiting for them and opened the room door.
"Sir…" the driver was just about to speak when Theo stopped him by eye contact.
The driver got what Theo meant, closed the room door, and left after they came into the room.
Theo gently placed Iris on the bed, as if handling an exceptionally precious jewel, his movements so gentle that he didn't even notice it himself.
He sat on the bed, next to Iris, gently watching her. The woman had her eyes tightly closed, seemingly frowning, with faint traces of tears at the corners of her eyes.
'What made her run out on a snowy late night like this? What could ever make her cry?' Theo pondered.
It seems like Iris was dreaming, appearing upset. She turned over, her body pressing against Theo's legs. Theo was quietly watching her, not yet realizing what was happening. Iris then opened her eyes, she woke up.
Their gazes clashed.
"Who are you?! What are you doing here? Where am I?" Iris instantly awakened, scrambling to sit up as a flurry of questions burst out of her mouth with a panic in her voice. She clutched the sheet in her hands, covering herself with it.
Theo watched with keen interest as Iris, who climbed to the other side of the bed, was still visibly shaken. 'How funny is she,' he laughed as he thought to himself.
Leaning against the bed, Theo spoke in a teasing tone, "You're asking who I am? Weren't you the one who flagged down my car and asked me to take you to a hotel? Well, here we are, in a hotel."
Right, she had a big fight with her cheating boyfriend and his lover, then she left the house and was desperate to get a taxi to a hotel nearby. Eventually, she finally managed to flag down a Rolls-Royce.
Then she fell asleep and woke up on this bed, lying on a stranger's legs!
Iris felt remorseful for her carelessness. Luckily, it seemed like this guy didn't mean anything bad.
She was a little relieved.
"Yeah, I remember now… Thank you for the help, and sorry for the misunderstanding, but sir…"
"Theo," he interrupted.
"Okay, Theo, but I'd really appreciate it if you woke me up when we arrived here." Iris crawled out of bed and wanted to leave the room. "I—"
She was suddenly interrupted when Theo's ringtone blared through the room.
Iris couldn't hear what the other end of the phone said, but from Theo's furrowed brows, she would say it mustn't be something pleasant.
"I see," he responded, "bring some alcohol and food for two people. Take more wine."
Iris was confused, she was about to leave, what did he mean by 'food and wines for 2'? Maybe he's taking another woman here with him for the night. Who cares, Iris thought in her mind.
"Sir, I'm about to…" Iris wanted to tell Theo she was leaving after he hung up the phone.
Theo stood up and walked quickly to the window, pulling all the curtains shut. He then turned around, walked up to Iris, and looked straight into Iris' eyes.
"I'm afraid you have to stay one night in this room," he paused and continued, "with me."
Iris' eyes widened in disbelief as she looked up at Theo. However, she believed that there must be a reason behind his actions, perhaps related to the phone call.
"Sir…"
"Theo." He corrected her.
"Theo, may I ask why? It's inappropriate for us to stay in a room. We're strangers, we didn't know each other till 2 hours ago!" Iris calmly said to him, "Besides, I'm feeling really upset right now. I just want to be alone."
"Strangers? Are you sure?" Theo's words puzzled Iris, she was pretty sure she indeed had never seen him before.
"You know me as Theo and I know you're Iris, and I know you're upset tonight," Theo added, it seemed like he said they're not strangers was a joke. "How do you call us 'strangers'?"
Iris wasn't in the mood for jokes. She walked towards the door and wanted to leave.
"There are a lot of journalists outside. Your face will be posted on the front page tomorrow if you go out."
Theo's words stopped from making her way to the door.
"What do you mean?" Iris asked. "Who are you?" She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Theo was only getting more and more mysterious and she couldn't figure out what was going on with him.
"As I said, my name is Theo. I'm sorry but there are hundreds of cameras in the hall waiting to capture a photo of us and there isn't much I can do about it. " Theo sat in front of the couch. "I've ordered some food and drinks for us. You must be hungry and exhausted."
What a ridiculous excuse! Iris doubted his words, and Theo must've sensed her disbelief for he took her towards the window where the curtains had just been closed. Carefully, he opened a small gap and pointed for her to see.
Iris was shocked to see a dense crowd below, comprising not just journalists but also people holding banners with 'Theo' written on them. She finally believed that he had not lied and all those people were there for him.
"Okay then…" Resigned to her fate, Iris realized that she would probably have to stay here at least for tonight. "But when can we go out?" she asked, concerned that they might not be able to leave even tomorrow. She had a translation lecture to attend tomorrow which she couldn't miss.
Theo was about to answer when suddenly, the doorbell rang.