One Night With Mr CEO

A New Place

Chapter 3

The bus rattled along the winding roads of the countryside. Isabella pressed her forehead against the cool window, watching the city skyline shrink into the distance. A part of her felt relief—relief from last night, relief from the chaos, relief from him.

And yet… her heart betrayed her.

Every bump on the road seemed to echo with memories of his hands, his lips, the way his presence had burned into her skin. The necklace in her bag felt heavier than it should, a reminder of everything she had left behind. She tried to push it down, tried to focus on her mother, on the worries that awaited her in the countryside.

When she arrived, the familiar smell of the village—fresh earth, herbs, and cooking fires—hit her like a wave. She stepped off the bus, her bag slung over one shoulder, heart still racing. Her mother’s health had worsened while she was away, and Isabella knew she couldn’t waste a second.

But no matter how fast she walked, no matter how many times she told herself last night was over, her thoughts kept circling back to him. That man she barely knew, that stranger who had consumed her for just a few hours—but left a mark she couldn’t erase.

Meanwhile, back in the city, Adrian King could not focus. His days were filled with meetings, phone calls, his family’s constant nagging to marry, to settle, to find an heir—but his mind kept straying. To her. To the woman who had left nothing behind but a necklace.

He had checked every hotel, every club, every street she might have walked, but she had vanished. And yet, he could not give up. Not when the memory of her burned so vividly in his mind. Not when the necklace, small and silver, felt like the only thread connecting him to a night that should have been fleeting—but clearly wasn’t.

Back in the countryside, Isabella tried to settle into routine. Mornings were spent helping her mother with medicines and meals, afternoons were long walks to the market to fetch supplies, and evenings she spent quietly in her small room, staring at the necklace she dared not wear.

She couldn’t sleep well. Every creak of the house, every whisper of wind against the window, made her think of him. What would he do if he found her? Would he be angry? Would he even remember her?

The days blurred together, but the tension in her chest never eased. Somewhere, she knew, he was looking for her. Somewhere, she knew, the city had not forgotten. And deep down, a part of her feared that this was only the beginning.

Her escape, she realized, had only delayed the inevitable.