The room was in complete disarray, with the lingering scent of red wine hanging in the air. The sultry heat of a summer night always seemed to bring unexpected events.

As the first rays of morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a golden glow across the dimly lit room, Anna Summers slowly stirred.

She groggily propped herself up, running a hand through her tousled dark hair, trying to shake off the haze of sleep. Fragments of her dream lingered in her mind—she had dreamt about being with Nathan Schmit last night...

In the dream, his strong arms had held her firmly, his movements commanding and intense...

A deep blush crept onto Anna’s face. She instinctively wanted to slap herself. Was she fantasizing about Nathan? Was there something between them?

A few moments later, Anna was fully awake—and that’s when she noticed it.

Her body ached, sore in ways she had never experienced before. Every movement sent a dull throb through her limbs. Her eyes drifted down to the tangled white sheets—faint hints of red and other unmistakable traces marked the fabric.

Her heart pounded.

This... this wasn’t a dream.

It had happened.

She had slept with someone.

A man.

And that man—he had to be Nathan, right? They were engaged, after all. It had to be him!

Anna had always been traditional, believing that her first time should happen on their romantic wedding night. But now...

Panic surged through her. Her legs were still tangled with someone else’s—her own slender ones against a much more muscular pair. The blanket had been kicked to the side, and the wrinkled sheets looked nothing like their pristine state from the night before. Clothes were scattered haphazardly across the plush carpet, men’s and women’s garments mixed together in careless abandon.

Heart hammering, Anna hesitantly turned her head toward the man beside her, intending to wake him. But the moment her gaze landed on his face, a cold chill rushed down her spine.

Her breath caught in her throat.

This man—was not Nathan Schmit.

Who the hell was he? And why was he in her bed!?

Anna clenched her fists, pressing her lips together to keep from gasping aloud. She struggled to stay calm, though her mind was racing.

Last night, at the company’s celebration party, she distinctly remembered getting drunk. It had been her cousin, Olivia, who had helped her to a hotel room to rest.

But after that?

Nothing.

Her memory was a complete blank.

Drunk. Blacked out. And now, this.

Before she could process what had happened, the sharp ding of a text message jolted her back to reality.

She froze.

Her hand, which had been about to shake the man awake, quickly withdrew. She exhaled slowly, glancing at her phone on the nightstand.

A message flashed across the screen.

Nathan Schmit: Anna, where are you? Everyone’s looking for you.

Anna’s stomach clenched.

Nathan couldn’t find her. Of course he couldn’t—her phone had been on silent, and she hadn’t answered any of his calls. He must have resorted to texting in frustration.

A wave of nausea rolled over her. Her hands trembled as she clutched the phone.

There was no way out of this.

Her engagement with Nathan... it was over.

There was no way she could explain this to him.

Fighting back the panic, Anna threw on her clothes as quickly as possible, not even bothering to freshen up. She just needed to get out of here. Away from this nightmare.

But life was never that simple.

Just as she stepped out of the hotel room, a furious voice slammed into her like a freight train.

"Anna, I can't believe you actually spent the night with another man. Do I mean nothing to you!?"

Anna froze.

Nathan stood there, his face dark with anger, his cold blue eyes flashing with betrayal.

Before she could react, he raised his arm.

Slap!

The sharp crack of the slap echoed through the hallway.

Anna was stunned.

She had never been hit before.

She instinctively pressed a trembling hand to her burning cheek, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Why—why was Nathan here? Why now?

Panicked, she shifted slightly, attempting to cover the faint mark on her neck—a damning piece of evidence she hadn’t noticed before.

Nathan’s gaze flickered to her attempt at concealment, and his expression twisted in disgust.

"No, I don’t know—I don’t know anything! Nathan, please, believe me, I didn’t betray you!" Anna pleaded desperately, but the words felt hollow even to her own ears.

Because the truth was undeniable.

She had been with another man.

And it hadn’t been Nathan.

Before she could say anything more, another voice chimed in.

"Sister! So you really are here!"

Anna’s heart sank.

She turned, almost instinctively, and saw Olivia standing there.

Anna clung to a fragile hope—Olivia was the one who had brought her to this room last night. She had to know the truth.

But before Anna could speak, Olivia beat her to it.

"Nathan, look! My sister really was here all night!" Olivia exclaimed, her voice laced with just the right amount of shock and betrayal. "Anna, why didn’t you come home? Dad had a heart attack this morning—he’s in the hospital! How could you do this? We were all so worried about you!"

Anna’s breath caught in her throat.

Her father... had a heart attack?

And here she was—waking up in a strange man’s bed?

The implication was enough to fuel every rumor imaginable.

Nathan’s jaw clenched. His disgust deepened.

"Enough, Olivia. We don’t need to waste our time on her."

His voice was loud. Intentionally loud.

And just like that, Anna realized what was happening.

More and more people had gathered, whispering, watching.

Then Nathan said the words that shattered her completely.

"Anna slept with another man. She spent the whole night with him."

Gasps filled the air.

"No! That’s not true! Olivia, you were the one who brought me to this room last night!" Anna turned to her cousin, desperate, her voice shaking.

But Olivia’s face was a mask of innocent devastation.

"I don’t understand, Anna. How could you do this?" Olivia covered her mouth, feigning disbelief, her wide eyes filled with false sorrow. "You told me you loved Nathan. You promised you’d change for him. How could you betray him like this? Dad will be so heartbroken!"

The whispers grew louder.

Anna felt like she was drowning.

"No, it’s not like that!" she protested, shaking her head violently. "Olivia—tell them the truth!"

But no one would believe her now.

Nathan’s cold voice cut through the noise.

"Enough."

His eyes—once warm, once filled with love—were now filled with icy hatred.

"Anna, you’re disgusting. Are you really trying to pin this on Olivia?" He sneered. "I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you. We’re done. The engagement is off. The wedding is cancelled."

"No!"

Anna’s scream tore from her throat, raw and desperate.

She knew there was no going back.

But it shouldn’t have ended like this.

As Nathan turned to leave, Olivia cast one final glance at Anna, her lips curling into a victorious smirk.

"So even you, Anna, have your bad days."

And then she was gone.

Anna stood frozen, drowning in shame, as cameras flashed and whispers swirled around her.

Her world had just come crashing down.

And she had no idea where it had all gone wrong.