Ella gasped and her eyes flew open.
The familiar scent of cedar and wine filled her lungs. She felt the press of his body and the roughness of his breath against her skin.
No. No, this isn't happening. Not again.
She must be dreaming. She has to be.
Hasn't this passed already? Wasn't she dead?
Then… Why was she here? And why was he on top of her?
Her vision was blurry and a strange mix of pain and pleasure dominated her body.
In her haze, she tried to push the weight off her, ''It couldn't…be…'' Her old and deranged mind must be making things up.
A rough hand clamped over her mouth, "Shh. Don't ever forget who you belong to.''
Those words dipped her in ice, turning her cold from head to toe.
The man who had buried his face in her neck lifted it and she looked into a pair of bloodthirsty eyes.
''Why… Why must you keep me?" Ella was consumed in such sensations throughout her body that she could barely think straight.
''Because I promised.''
His deep voice was like a cold chamber, isolating her from the entire world and putting her up in a cage.
If she had not realized before, she slowly did now. Had she returned to the past?
And on top of that, in her dazed state, she realized that both her question and his response were completely different from what had happened in their past life.
Those words soon faded from the deepest corner of her head. And in her intoxicated and confused state, she lost her composure in those strong arms.
…
When Ella opened her eyes again, the sunrays were cascading through the windows as birds chirped on the trees.
The darkness of the night and mind both seemed to have faded to quite an extent, relieving her nerves.
She moved her hand to cover her eyes but suddenly, she tensed. The arm around her waist tightened
The man pulled her in towards him and bit her shoulder.
Ella hissed. Her entire body was sore and it seemed that even the slightest poke would kill her. Yet, she endured being bitten by the mad dog who had tormented her for an entire night.
She was kissed and stroked, touched and nibbled in every inch of her body.
The man held her like she was his soft toy and he could fondle around as he wished.
But she was too exhausted to resist so she let him be.
After a while, he pressed a kiss on her neck and pushed himself to his feet.
Unlike her, who seemed to be hanging on the verge of death, the man was like a re-energized vampire, brimming with vitality from head to toe.
There were only loose trousers that hung low on his waist. And his upper body was entirely naked and open to her sight.
The man was like a Greek god and every inch of him screamed perfection.
She laid there on the bed and watched him pick up a black shirt from the couch. His movements made his back muscles flex.
But within a matter of a few seconds, the entire view was covered from her eyes.
The man walked back towards her, ''Looking for him again?"
Like a cat who was living her ninth life and had no more of it to lose, Ella shook her head.
The heavy realization of her current situation gradually dawned in her yet she held it from showing on her face.
As the man sat beside her on the bed, his cold gaze traced her from head to toe.
Had she not gone through this experience in both her lives, she would not have believed that she lost her virginity to this man.
Like a starving beast, he had held her all night and gone at her again and again. Every nerve of her body seemed to react at his simplest gaze.
Yet after all the passion had faded, he looked at her so soullessly.
He met her gaze and leaned in towards her. Cupping the side of her face, he lowered his body.
Ella clenched the sheets. This beast… Did he hear her internal thoughts and wanted to prove her wrong again?
Yet, in the next moment, the man bit her bottom lips. Harshly.
Tears popped up in her eyes.
''Better never think of it again.''
She heard the sound of retreating footsteps and the door closed with a 'click'.
Finally, she allowed herself to relax a little.
As she observed her surroundings, the familiar walls, and super familiar room where she had spent half her life, she realized one thing.
Had she returned to a decade in the past?!
Ella walked up to the mirror, stark naked, pulling the sheets along with her. And she stared at her reflection and what stared back at her was awfully familiar.
Her 22 year old self was fat, bordering on obese side. And all this unhealthy weight has been gained in a matter of two years.
At 19, she had debuted in the entertainment industry. Modelling was what she wanted and in a matter of few shows, she had become the youngest supermodel. It all came crashing down in a scandal and she lost all the fame overnight.
In her previous life, Ella never thought of it as a concern. Out of despondency, she continued binging and followed through all her unhealthy habits till she was afflicted with many health concerns.
''I cannot believe after all this time, I had to wake up in his bed…'' And in that particular moment where things went down in her previous life.
Two lives.
Adrian King is still as obsessed with her as he was in her previous life.
What exactly did he see in her? It was a genuine question that she asked herself for the first time in both her lives.
Her past self still relished in the fact that Adrian King was a big bad wolf who had taken a liking to an innocent sheep.
But now, after living to the 30s in her previous life, dying and then being reborn, she was no longer as delusional.
She was just another girl. Naïve and foolish as she had been in her past life. She lost her career, her fiancé, her family and in the end, she had lost herself as well.
But this time… I can no longer be like that…
'Since God has given me another chance at life, then I must change my fate!'
In the next moment, she deflated like a punctured balloon. How was she going to change her fate?
She was still living with Adrian King. Her present life was going in the same tangent as her past life.
Forget it! She shook her head vigorously. These things can be slowly figured out.
She was no longer the girl who could be played by everyone like a fiddle. This time, the game and the last move will both be hers!
The sound of approaching footsteps broke her thought process.