Chapter 2 Sybil Bursts In
990 Words
Just as I was about to finish getting dressed and continue piecing things together, a sudden commotion erupted down the hallway, disrupting my thoughts.
"Where is that little wench?!"
With a shrill voice leading the charge, the door swung open with a loud bang.
A woman in a tight black dress stormed in, her hips swaying with every step, followed by a crowd of onlookers eager for drama.
Instinctively, I pulled the quilt up a bit tighter around me, casting a cold gaze at the intruder.
It was Sybil Anderson, my half-sister.
She stormed over, pausing in surprise when she saw me on the bed. Her hand, clutching a key card, froze mid-air as her entourage came to a halt behind her.
"Ms. Anderson, are you sure this is the right room?"
The timing felt a bit too perfect. My sister, who normally despised me, had personally invited me to that banquet yesterday. I hadn't attended a single social event since I was eight. And now, here she was, barging in with an entourage in tow. This was a hotel, yet she somehow had a room key here.
'If I hadn't swapped bodies with him, let's call him Mr. X for now, wouldn't the one lying in bed under everyone's scrutiny be the naked Emma Anderson? Maybe there'd even be a man by her side. It's hard not to think Sybil might be behind all this. What was she planning? If this was all Sybil's scheme, did Dad know?'
For a brief, surreal moment, I almost thanked the cosmic blunder that had given me Mr. X's perfect disguise. 'At least in this awkward moment, I have the perfect mask.'
I sneered and, with a voice that was deep, smooth, and resonant, challenged her. "And who might you be, bursting so eagerly into a man's room?"
His voice, my voice now, was powerful, striking to the core.
I bit my lip, inwardly applauding myself.
'If it weren't my own voice, I might've swooned a bit.'
(End of Emma's POV)
Sybil frowned at the man before her.
'What's wrong with those fools? I specifically told them to find Emma the ugliest, most revolting guy around. But this man lounging so casually in bed, with golden hair and blue eyes, looked like he'd been sculpted by the gods. And those eyes... so deep, drawing anyone in who dared to look too close.'
The chiseled lines of his bare torso left little to the imagination, pulling gazes from the crowd.
Somewhere in the crowd, someone snickered.
Sybil's cheeks flushed, but she quickly regained her poise, straightening up like a peacock raising its feathers. "Enough nonsense! Now hand over my sister!"
At her words, my expression darkened, my tone turning icy.
"You barged into a stranger's room, demanding your sister. Really?"
Sybil scoffed, looking me up and down. "Oh, quit the act. I know your type, bound by all that client confidentiality. I get it. But my sister's about to get engaged, and here she is, sneaking off with you. Do you realize the scandal this could bring to our family in Gobturnia? So just hand her over, and I'll take her home."
Anger flared up inside me, and I sat up, letting the quilt slide down, pooling around my chest.
A perfect display of muscle greeted their eyes.
"Oh, you don't want a scandal, yet you waltz in here with a whole crowd? And what proof do you have that I'm hiding your sister?"
Sybil faltered under my demeanor. Her gaze lingered on my chest before she stammered, "Someone saw it with their own eyes."
"Then where's your witness?"
Her eyes darted to a suspicious bulge under the quilt beside me, and she surged forward, reaching to yank the covers off.
But before she could have done that, I caught her arm, holding it firmly in my grip.
My grip left a red mark on her skin, and tears of pain formed in her eyes as she glared at me, hissing. "What now? Feeling guilty, are you? But all we have to do is lift the quilt to find out if my sister's in here, don't we? Or are you afraid?"
I tightened my hold, yanking her closer until she was inches from my face.
Looking straight into her eyes, I murmured in a low, suggestive voice, "I'm not wearing a thing right now. Tell me, Miss, are you here for your sister... or..." I leaned in close to her ear, my voice dripping with insinuation as I asked, "Just here to check me out?"
My words were loud enough for everyone around us to hear, and whispers quickly spread through the crowd.
"Ms. Anderson does seem... very eager."
"Honestly, with a guy that handsome, who wouldn't be?"
"Do you think... she's hiding something?"
"Should we... give them some space?"
The murmurs reached Sybil's ears, and she struggled against my grip, her teeth gritted. "Stop twisting things."
She gave a sharp nod to the side, her chin jutting toward a corner of the room. "I know Emma's in there somewhere. How long do you think you can keep her hidden?"
I gave her an enigmatic smile. "And what if she isn't here?"
"Isn't here?"
Her face twisted into a look of incredulous amusement. "If she's not here, I'll apologize to you at tonight's banquet, in front of everyone."
'There's no way. My informant saw Emma enter this very room. No way she isn't here.'
In this, Sybil was utterly confident.
"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow, glancing toward the crowd behind her. "You all heard her, right?"
Several people nodded, and I broke into an unrestrained smile.
That smile was enough to make Sybil's heart skip a beat. She'd never seen such an enticing man before.
While she was distracted, I pushed her back, grabbed a nearby blanket, and wrapped it around myself.
Then, I stood, fully revealing the bed to everyone in the room.
- Writer
