Loved Again Overnight – Early in the morning, Audrey Archer let out a soft murmur and turned over, her hand unconsciously squeezing at something as she tried to drift back to sleep. Wait… She squeezed again, then her eyes flew open. The first thing she saw was a bare chest—fair, firm—and her hand was resting right on it. Audrey froze in shock, yanking her hand back as if burned. She didn’t dare look up at the owner of that chest, wishing she could just shrink and disappear under the bed. “You’re awake? Get dressed. Once we leave the hotel, we go our separate ways.” The man’s voice was low, edged with a hint of irritation, and it instantly threw the already flustered Audrey into even greater panic. She hurriedly sat up, and the thin blanket slipped off her body. When she glanced down, the marks scattered across her chest came into view, and her face flushed bright red. She quickly grabbed the blanket and clutched it to herself. When she turned her head, she met a pair of dark, sharp eyes. Her breath hitched, and she immediately looked away.
“You… Um… Going our separate ways like that… isn’t that kind of bad?” Audrey couldn’t even remember how she had ended up in bed with this man. She was 23. Not the wild type. And this was her first time, so yeah, she kind of hoped it wasn’t just a one-night stand. Part of her even went there… like, what if they actually dated? What if this turned into something real? So, before he could say anything more, she forced herself to speak, her voice small but determined. The man was strikingly handsome—fair-skinned, well-built, broad shoulders tapering into a narrow waist, long legs—but his expression was cold. After all, before they had gotten into bed, they had already set clear terms: it was consensual, it ended that day, and there would be no entanglements afterward. “You have a problem with that?” “Well… I don’t know. You just feel kind of cold and distant. It almost comes off a little sketchy…” Audrey stole a glance at him, but when she saw his indifferent expression, she quickly looked away again, pretending to remain composed as she spoke.
By then, the man had already finished getting dressed. He bent down, picked up the silver-framed glasses from the bedside table, and put them on before speaking leisurely, “What do you want? Like, marry me? Do you think we’re right for each other?” Audrey fell silent. She didn’t. “As you can see, we might be compatible in bed, but marriage is more than that. I don’t like women who cry all the time. And would you like a man who eats garlic and doesn’t brush his teeth?” Audrey imagined living with a man whose breath constantly smelled like garlic, and she was instantly convinced. She shook her head vigorously at him. “We’re not a good match!” The man clearly hadn’t expected to persuade her so easily. He raised a brow slightly, waiting for her to continue. If it meant resolving this matter completely, he was willing to make certain concessions—financial ones, for example. I knew I shouldn’t have been this impulsive. Forget it. I’ll just treat it as a lesson. First time—and last. He hated trouble. And women, evidently, were trouble itself.
He shouldn’t have gotten involved in the first place. “Um… do you still need something?” Audrey asked after hesitating for a while, unable to hold it in any longer when she saw him still standing by the bed with that same cold expression. The man said nothing. “Do we have to leave the hotel before we go our separate ways?” Audrey asked with a troubled look. She had been too tense earlier to notice, but now that she relaxed, the discomfort hit her all at once—her head throbbed like it was about to explode, her body ached, her bones felt like they were falling apart, as if she had been run over by a truck. “I still want to lie down for a bit. Can’t we just go our separate ways from here?” Stupefied by her words, the man paused, then said, “Rest. I’ll extend the room for another night. Leave after you’ve recovered.” Audrey nodded. Seeing him lift his foot as if to leave, she finally relaxed and sank back onto the bed. “Wait!” The man paused at her call, not seeming surprised at all. Clearly, deep down, he didn’t believe there could be a woman this easy to deal with. “Could you close the window before you go?” He turned back, glanced at the woman curled up under the blanket, then at the curtains swaying wildly in the wind.
After a brief silence, he walked over, shut the window, and even adjusted the curtains for her before turning and leaving without another word. Audrey slept straight through until three or four in the afternoon. If it weren’t for the hunger gnawing at her stomach, she probably would’ve kept sleeping. She decided to eat something before heading home. After ordering food, she lay on the bed for a while longer. With some rest, her mind finally started working again—and with it, the memories of last night came flooding back. She was the eldest daughter of the Archer family in Imperialis. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she had grown up pampered and cherished. But recently, her life had taken a turn for the worse—her sister had come back. After 23 years of life, Audrey had only just learned she had a younger sister—and not just any sister, but a twin. According to her parents, the sister had been swapped out at birth with a stillborn baby. If the family who had taken her hadn’t later suffered a disaster and faced complete ruin, they never would’ve revealed such a shocking secret, allowing her sister to finally return home. Although this twin didn’t resemble her, the DNA test proved that the girl who suddenly appeared was indeed her parents’ daughter.
Thinking about all the hardship her sister must have endured over the years, Audrey felt an ache in her heart. She gave her anything good she had, often bringing her little treats and nice things. But her mother said she treated her sister like a beggar, that all she ever did was shove her unwanted scraps at her. The food Audrey thought was perfectly fine had somehow sent her sister to the hospital. Her mother accused her of being spoiled and constantly trying to harm her sister, while her father said she was petty and immature. Last night was their birthday. Audrey had personally made a cake, hoping the family could sit down for a meal together and clear up any misunderstandings. But she waited and waited—her parents didn’t show up, nor her siblings. The only thing she saw was a post from her brother’s social media—’Happy birthday to my two sisters!’ Beneath it was a photo—her parents and brother gathered around, arms around her sister as she made a wish in front of the cake. In that moment, Audrey’s heart ached. She had taken photos like that every year on her birthday—but this time, she had become the outsider. She had always been someone who cried easily, someone who couldn’t take even a little grievance, and so she cried uncontrollably. After that, she had gathered her courage and gone to a bar, drinking and crying at the same time. She didn’t know how much she had drunk.
When she was already dizzy, someone tried to pull her away. She resisted but had no strength left—it was that good-looking man who had driven the person off and told her to go home. The moment she heard the word “home,” her sadness surged even more. She didn’t have a home anymore. In her dazed state, she clung to him and cried helplessly. And then, wherever that man went, she followed. When he asked if she was trying to seduce him, she seemed to have nodded. And then… that was how it happened.