On that day, Mei woke just before dawn, pulling herself out of what felt like a never ending sleep.
Her head throbbed relentlessly, and her body felt unusually heavy, as though she had spent the entire night fighting against an invisible force.
Fragments of disturbing dreams lingered at the edge of her mind.
She remembered seeing her mother more than once, but every time she tried to grasp the details, they slipped away like smoke between her fingers.
Slowly, she forced her eyes open.
Even that simple movement felt exhausting.
Her eyelids were unbearably heavy, refusing to obey her no matter how hard she tried.
A dull ache spread through every muscle in her body, making it difficult to move even a little.
She frowned and attempted to shift her legs beneath the sheets, but the instant she did, a sharp pain settled between them.
Her body stiffened immediately, and her breathing caught in her throat.
As a doctor, she did not need anyone to explain what her body was trying to tell her.
The soreness, the heaviness, the pain…
every sensation pointed towards a truth she refused to accept.
Something was terribly wrong.
Ignoring the pain, she desperately searched her memory for an answer.
She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to remember how she had ended up here.
Nothing came.
It was as though someone had erased every trace of the previous night, leaving behind nothing but an endless stretch of darkness.
The harder she tried to remember, the more violently her head throbbed until it became almost unbearable.
In the end, there was only one horrifying truth she could piece together from the condition of her body.
Something had happened while she was unconscious.
Whatever it was, it left her body bearing the consequences.
The thought alone made her stomach churn.
Her hands trembled as she slowly struggled into a sitting position.
The movement sent another wave of pain coursing through her body, forcing her to clench her jaw.
She bit the inside of her lip, swallowing the cry that threatened to escape.
Her trembling gaze slowly travelled downward until it settled on the pale skin of her thighs.
There, against her skin, was the faint trace of dried blood.
The last shred of hope she had been clinging to quietly disappeared.
Her fear had been confirmed.
She remained completely still, staring blankly at the crimson stain while countless questions raced through her mind.
Who had done this?
Why could she not remember anything?
What exactly had happened after she came here last night?
She pressed her fingers firmly against her temples, desperately trying to force her memories back, but nothing came.
No matter how desperately she searched, there was only silence waiting for her.
Just then, she heard a slow, steady breath.
The sound was soft, yet it struck her like thunder.
Someone else was in the room.
Her entire body stiffened.
Every instinct screamed at her not to turn around, yet she found herself doing exactly that.
Her heartbeat pounded loudly inside her ears as she slowly looked over her shoulder.
The moment her eyes landed on the figure lying beside her, every trace of colour drained from her face.
It was Lucian.
For a long moment, time itself seemed to stand still.
She simply stared at the sleeping man beside her, unable to breathe.
Under the soft glow of the morning light, he looked almost unreal, his expression calm and peaceful, completely unaware of the storm raging inside her.
Her lips parted soundlessly.
She wanted to scream.
She wanted to run.
Yet her body refused to move.
Why…
Why was Lucian lying in the same bed as her?
Her heart pounded violently against her ribs, each beat louder than the last as her thoughts scattered in every direction, refusing to form a single answer.
Had they…
Had she and Lucian slept together?
The possibility struck her harder than anything else.
Her first time…
had it been with him?
Yet from the very first moment she had laid eyes on Lucian, something inside her had always shifted in a way she could never explain.
It was strange, almost unsettling.
She already knew who he was.
The Zhao family had collaborated with the Fu family on more than one occasion, so the eldest young master of the Fu family was hardly a stranger by name.
She had only seen him from afar a few times, yet every encounter left behind the same inexplicable feeling, as though she had known him somewhere long before they had ever been properly introduced.
No matter how impossible it sounded, that quiet sense of familiarity had never disappeared.
But now, looking at him no longer filled her with that strange sense of familiarity.
Fear slowly spread through her chest, followed by a panic so overwhelming that it stole the air from her lungs.
Of all the people she had expected to find beside her, Lucian Fu was the last.
She hurriedly climbed off the bed, but the instant her feet touched the floor, an intense pain shot through her body.
She gasped sharply and instinctively grabbed the edge of the bed for support.
Tears welled in her eyes before she could stop them, blurring her vision.
Why could she not remember anything?
She felt empty, used, and broken.
Taking several slow breaths, she forced herself to stand.
Every movement hurt, but remaining inside the room was no longer an option.
Without daring to look at Lucian again, she hurriedly gathered the clothes scattered across the floor and clutched them tightly against her chest before searching the room for a bathroom.
Every step was painfully slow, and she tried her best to make as little noise as possible.
If Lucian woke up…
if he saw her…
she had no idea what would happen.
After a brief search, she finally found the bathroom and quietly slipped inside before locking the door behind her.
Only then did she allow herself to breathe.
Her trembling hands slowly dressed her body.
As she fastened the last button, her eyes drifted towards the mirror.
The faint blood staining her legs reflected clearly before her eyes.
Her throat tightened painfully.
With nothing else available, she grabbed a few tissues and carefully wiped away the evidence.
No matter how clean her skin became, however, it did nothing to erase the horror weighing heavily inside her heart.
Once she had finished dressing, she inhaled deeply before stepping back outside.
She needed to leave immediately.
As she hurried through the luxurious penthouse, limping with every painful step, fragments of memory suddenly flashed through her mind.
The penthouse…
she recognised it.
Her breathing stopped.
She had not come here by accident.
She had come here to deliver something.
Odessa.
Odessa had sent her here.
The realisation struck her like lightning.
This was the very penthouse she had been sent to the previous night.
But after arriving here…
everything became blank again.
No matter how desperately she searched, she could not remember what had happened afterwards.
She gritted her teeth and continued searching for the exit, ignoring the pain shooting through her legs with every step.
The luxurious hallway stretched endlessly before her, making her feel even more trapped within the unfamiliar silence.
Then she heard a sound, like something was being kicked away
“Who’s there?”
A deep voice suddenly echoed through the quiet penthouse.
Mei froze.