Chasing After My Crush

Poisoned Wine, Burning Passion

A gentle tap on her shoulder made Emilia turn sharply, expecting to see Ricco behind her. But to her surprise, it wasn't him.

"Hey, Aldo? Is this really you?"

There stood Aldo Dixon - polished, confident, and still carrying that familiar warmth in his eyes. He had been her classmate back in university, the one who had stayed up with her through sleepless nights of study, helping her master the most difficult subjects. He had also once confessed his feelings for her, but Emilia had kindly turned him down. Despite the heartbreak, Aldo had never turned his back on

"You look good, Emilia," Aldo complimented. He invited her to where he was seated with his group.

Across the room, in a secluded corner, Ricco sat silently with a glass of wine in his hand, watching everything unfold with stormy eyes. The muscles in his jaw tightened as he saw Emilia walk over to Aldo's table. Tonight's event was supposed to be a light gathering - a blend of business and celebration - but for Ricco, it was becoming unbearable.

His father's recent insistence that he marry Lucia Russo - the overly ambitious heiress of the Russo Group - still rang in his ears. She was his childhood friend, nothing more. Yet, Lucia had taken his father's wish as an open invitation, hovering around him all evening and ruining any chance of peace.

Ronald gently whispered to him that Emilia was already there. He saw that Emilia was sitting and talking with another man, and the short dress that she was putting on revealed her beautiful figure and her attractive legs, which made his blood boil even more.

The Dixon group was having a truth-or-dare game, and the penalty was for all: if you lose, you will have to drink two cups of alcohol.

It kept on going until it reached Emilia's turn.

She chose to dare, and she dared to kiss the man sitting next to her, who was Aldo. She hesitated for a while before giving him a peck on his cheek. Then they drank to their satisfaction.

Ricco could see and hear them from there, and his heart tightened on seeing Emilia pecking another guy.

Lucia tried to start a conversation about their childhood experience, but he wasn't giving in. She handed him a glass of wine that was drugged.

"See her off after she's done," he said to Ronald. He drank the wine immediately and headed to where Emilia was because she was already drunk.

Aldo wanted to carry her, but Ricco pushed him away. Lucia, seeing that he had carried another woman and was heading out, was a blow to her, and she had already planned on sleeping with him tonight to get him.

She vowed to find out who the woman was and make her regret knowing Ricco.

In Ricco's suite, Emilia moaned softly, her skin flushed.

"Hot... I'm burning," she murmured, tugging weakly at her clothes.

He tried to steady her, guiding her toward the bed. "I'll get you water. You need to cool down."

But she clutched his shirt, her fingers curling into his collar.

"Please... help me," she pleaded, her lips brushing his.

The drug in her system clouded her judgment, and something else stirred in Ricco, too. The wine... had it been drugged?

He tried to resist, but her kiss deepened. Her touch was fire. His body, already affected, began to respond.

One kiss became two, then many - fierce, searching, hungry.

And in that moment, neither of them could fight the fire raging between them.