The Morning After
1243 Words
"Holy mother Mary, what am I seeing?" Elyra rubbed her eyes hard, hoping the image in front of her would change. "Is that Kael Draven? Did I just sleep with him? No. No, this can't be happening."
"Are you done drooling to your satisfaction?" Kael stood there with the towel still wrapped around his waist, one eyebrow raised like her panic was mildly amusing to him.
"Are you trying to make fun of me right now?" Elyra yanked the blanket up to her chin, her voice cracking. "Where am I? Why am I in your bed naked? What is going on?"
"So you don't remember anything from last night." He walked toward the closet, pulling out a shirt without any urgency at all. "You were the one throwing yourself at me, if you want the truth. You practically begged me to sleep with you, so I helped you with your request."
"What?" Elyra's whole body went cold. "What did you just say? That I did what? That's impossible, I have a boyfriend, I can't have slept with a stranger, and the stranger just happens to be you, Kael Draven?"
"You were drugged last night." He said it plainly, like he was reading a weather report. "I tried calling my doctor, but he didn't pick up in time, so."
"So what?" she snapped, her voice shaking.
"So I did what I could." He shrugged, pulling his shirt over his shoulders. "Though from what I remember, you enjoyed it plenty, and you kept asking for more. Seems like your boyfriend hasn't been taking care of you properly, so I stepped in."
"Excuse me?" Her jaw dropped. "How dare you say that to me."
"I'm just telling you what happened." He buttoned his shirt slowly, completely unbothered. "You should be thanking whatever god you believe in that I'm not some monster who would've taken advantage of you properly."
Elyra pressed her palms against her face, trying to force the memories back, but everything from last night stayed frustratingly blank. "I hope nobody saw us. I work here, Kael. I'm supposed to be getting a promotion soon, and if anyone finds out about this, my whole career is finished."
"Hmm. Well, that's good for you then." He glanced at her over his shoulder, completely indifferent. "Can you put your clothes on please, I'm done looking at your body for today."
Elyra's eyes went wide with fury before she rolled them hard. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"
"As you wish, whatever you say." He checked his watch. "What time is it? Good, still early. I'll have my driver take you home."
"Thanks, but I don't need your empathy." She said it sharper than she meant to, already climbing out of bed and grabbing the blanket to cover herself as she looked around for her dress. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around what happened to me last night, and who had the nerve to drug me in the first place."
She stormed into the bathroom before he could respond, splashing cold water on her face until her head cleared enough to think straight. When she came back out, fully dressed, Kael was already in his suit, looking like nothing unusual had happened at all.
"Here." He held out a small white card between two fingers. "My business card. If you remember anything about who drugged you, call me immediately. I'd like to deal with that person myself, because frankly, you've become an inconvenience to me, and I suspect there's a scandal coming after this."
Elyra stared at the card for a second before snatching it out of his hand. "Thanks, but I won't be calling you. I don't need your help." She shoved past him and walked out without looking back, her heels clicking hard against the marble floor.
---
By the time Elyra reached home, it was barely six in the morning. The streets were still quiet, and the cold morning air bit at her skin as she hurried up to her apartment. Relieved to find her mother still asleep, she slipped inside without making a sound and shut her bedroom door gently behind her.
The second the door clicked shut, everything hit her at once. Her legs gave out, and she slid down against the door until she was sitting on the floor, tears spilling before she even realized she was crying.
"I betrayed Henry," she whispered to herself, pulling her knees up to her chest. "Three years, and I ruined everything in one night I don't even remember."
She pressed her hand over her mouth to keep the sobs quiet, terrified her mother would wake up and ask questions she had no answers for. I hope he never finds out, she thought desperately, but some small, honest part of her already knew that nothing stayed buried forever, not in a city like Valeris.
---
Simon sat in his small apartment across town, staring at his phone screen with a satisfied smirk. He had already sent the photo to Yselle from an unregistered number, no name attached, no explanation given. Now all he had to do was wait.
A message popped up almost immediately. Who is this? How did you get this photo?
He typed back slowly, enjoying every second of it. Doesn't matter who I am. What matters is what you're willing to pay to keep more photos like this one from reaching the press.
---
Across the city, Yselle was still fuming from the night before, pacing back and forth in her parents' living room while her mother tried to calm her down.
"He didn't even look at me once, Mom." Yselle's voice cracked with frustration. "One whole night, and he couldn't even bother pretending to care that I was there."
"Yselle, darling, it was a business event." Beatrice reached for her daughter's arm gently. "Kael had investors to deal with, foreign partners, the entire company's reputation resting on his shoulders that night. It wasn't about you."
"It's always something with him." Yselle crossed her arms tightly. "There's always some excuse, some meeting, some deal more important than me."
"He grew up with you, sweetheart, his grandmother adores you like her own daughter." Beatrice tried a softer tone. "These things take patience, you know that."
Yselle didn't answer, too busy staring down at her phone as another message from the unknown number buzzed through. Her whole body went rigid.
"Yselle? What's wrong?" Beatrice noticed the color draining from her daughter's face.
Yselle didn't answer her. She was too busy staring at the photo now filling her screen, at Kael's face, unmistakable, carrying a woman she recognized instantly into his penthouse.
Her hands started shaking.
---
Back at Draven Global, Kael sat behind his desk, reviewing documents with the same focus he brought to everything, though his mind kept drifting back to a woman who refused his help and stormed out without so much as a goodbye.
Fredrick knocked once before stepping inside, his expression tight.
"Sir," he said carefully, "Miss Yselle Vaudrin is here."
Kael didn't even look up from his paperwork. "Tell her I'm busy."
Fredrick hesitated. "I already did, sir."
Kael finally lifted his eyes. "And?"
Fredrick let out a slow breath before answering. "She says she won't leave until you explain why another woman spent the night in your penthouse."
Kael's pen stopped moving.
He set it down slowly and looked up at Fredrick, his jaw tight. "What woman?”
- Writer
