Chapter 2

I was even more furious than Chris.

Anya must be insane. I had spent the whole night revising the contract and only slept at three. There was no man at all. She was sprouting nonsense.

And she even mentioned stains on the sheets. What did she think she was doing?

My expression turned icy as I leveled an unforgiving glare at her.

"You better watch what you say. Do you know you could get in trouble for making false accusations?" I said, voice cold. "Who did you say entered my room yesterday?"

Anya looked startled and stumbled back. "M-maybe I got it wrong..." she stammered.

Chris yanked me away, his teeth clenched as he shot me a fierce glare. "Valeria, don't go threatening her."

Then he turned to Anya and forced out a smile. "Take your time. Don't be afraid."

Anya anxiously dropped her head and deliberately lowered her voice.

"We're really not allowed to discuss any guest's private business," she muttered. "Sorry, I must've remembered wrong."

I was so angry I nearly passed out, my blood boiling with rage.

Chris was just as pissed off.

His eyes were blazing and his chest rose and fell as he tried to calm himself.

He said, "Valeria, so this is why you wouldn't stay at my place? No wonder you ignored my video call last night." His voice shook. "Just who is that guy?"

Chris didn't trust me anymore.

Just because a stranger threw out a few wild accusations, he suddenly doubted everything between us—my character, our relationship.

I stood there frozen, like someone had dumped a whole bucket of ice-cold water right over my head.

My heart felt like it was being crushed, throbbing with pain.

I couldn't believe I was just a morally corrupt person in his eyes, that I'd come to his city on a work trip, only to sneak off and shack up with some other guy in a hotel room.

And then, the next day, I'd be able to sit across from my own boyfriend at dinner, pretending nothing ever happened.

When I didn't say anything, Chris took it as a sign of guilt.

Anya was all smug, pretending to comfort Chris. "Sir, seriously, don't get so worked up. Maybe that guy was just some relative of hers?

"I mean, the guy looked ancient—fifty-something at least, half his hair gone. Could've been her dad, you know?"

If I let Anya go on any longer, I'd explode with rage.

I couldn't take it anymore. I burst out, "Shut the hell up. Spreading rumors like this is illegal. I'm calling the police right now. And get your front desk manager. I want to see the security footage."

Chris's face shifted from flushed red to ghostly pale in a heartbeat.

He stared at me for a long moment, then gave a mocking, bitter laugh.

"Valeria, seriously," he said, "You know I'd never let you call the cops."

I was bewildered. "What are you getting at? Why won't you let me call the cops?"

Chris stared at me with disappointment in his cold eyes.

"My uncle's a cop, and he's responsible for this whole district," he said. "If you make that call, odds are it's him who'll show up.

"What, you want everyone to know you cheated? Maybe you don't care if people trash your name, but I'm not about to throw my own dignity away."

I could hardly hold back a bitter laugh. "So that's it, Chris? You decide I'm guilty with just a few words?

"And just because you told me not to call the cops, I have to obey? Who made you the boss of me?

"Anya's slandering me, and now my necklace's gone missing too. Of course I'm calling the police. There's no way I'm letting this slide."

Anya looked like she was terribly wronged, her eyes welling up as if she might cry any second.

"Ma'am, how can you just make things up like this?" she said. "I would never trash a guest's reputation—I really didn't mean any harm.

"You didn't even have that necklace on when you checked in yesterday."

A look of realization came over Anya. "Whoa, so that necklace—was it a gift from that man last night or something?"

She instantly slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes widening in panic as it hit her that she'd just blurted out something way out of line.

Chris's face got darker by the second. His patience snapped and he seized my wrist. "Valeria, for God's sake, stop embarrassing me in public.

"Is that damn necklace all you ever care about? What about me? Do I mean nothing to you?"

"Come with me!" he demanded, dragging me away.

His grip was brutal, fingers digging in so hard it felt like he wanted to crush my bones.

I couldn't help but cry out in pain; rage surged inside me like a tidal wave, ready to swallow me whole.

We'd been together two years—I had believed I knew Chris through and through.

He was always so upbeat, kind, and gentle. He worked his ass off, always pushing himself to be better.

Even though his family wasn't exactly loaded, he never let that get him down. He was proud, but never arrogant.

"Valeria, I promise I'll work my ass off," he'd always say. "We can't afford a fancy villa or a sports car right now, but I swear I'll do everything I can to make sure you have the best life possible."

And when he got his bonus, he'd take me out to celebrate.

He was so hard-working that just two years out of university, he'd already climbed his way up to department manager.

I'd even made up my mind to introduce him to my parents before the year was out, finally ready to stop hiding my real background and lay it all bare.