Chris's smile was disarming. His dimples, his eyes, the warmth that softened the sharp angles of his face it all pulled Bella in before she even realised what was happening. Their bodies seemed to move on their own, closing the space between them until only inches remained.
His gaze dipped to her lips. He hesitated, waiting for her permission. Bella's breath caught. She leaned in, closing her eyes, and then his mouth claimed hers.
Her heart raced, her skin flamed. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. It was nothing like she had ever felt before every nerve in her body alive, every moment burning with longing. She wanted him. She wanted Christian Hampson.
Her legs slid over his lap, straddling him, feeling the undeniable press of his body beneath her. His hands gripped her hips, hers tugged at his shirt, desperate for more. The fire only grew hotter.
When his lips trailed to the sensitive spot behind her ear, a soft moan escaped her throat. His fingers unhooked her bra with practiced ease, and her breath shuddered as his mouth marked her skin with urgent kisses.
"Bella..." His voice was hoarse, strained with desire. "You drive me insane."
She arched against him, heat coursing through her veins. His lips closed around her breast and she gasped, pleasure rippling through her body. When he laid her gently on the bed, she instinctively tried to cover herself, but he caught her hands.
"You don't have to hide from me," he murmured, eyes dark with need. "You're beautiful. All of you."
He stripped off his shirt, revealing broad shoulders, sculpted muscles, and abs carved to perfection. Bella's eyes roamed over him, breathless, caught between awe and desire.
His mouth travelled lower, worshipping her skin with every kiss. When his lips reached her thigh, he looked up at her, silently asking. She nodded, nerves and anticipation sparking together. In a single movement, she slipped off her shorts, surrendering herself to him.
And Chris showed her just how much he had been holding back. Their passion deepens into a night of urgency, tenderness, and complete surrender.
Bella woke the next morning sore in places she never thought possible. Chris had been gentle, but she was still so new to intimacy this was only her second time that her body ached from the intensity of it all.
Chris was still asleep, his features relaxed, almost boyish. His hair was tousled from her fingers, his lips slightly swollen from the endless kisses they had shared. He looked nothing like the ruthless tycoon the world saw just a man, peaceful in her bed.
Her heart swelled. She tucked closer to him, and he instinctively pulled her in, even in his sleep. Bella smiled, drifting back into dreams.
The next time she opened her eyes, it was to the soft brush of lips on her forehead.
"Good morning, sunshine," Chris said, his dimples flashing as he stood dressed sharply in a navy Armani suit, white shirt, and polished Prada shoes.
Bella sat up, pulling the blanket against her chest. "Good morning," she murmured, blushing at the memory of the night before.
"You don't have to go to work today," Chris said smoothly, adjusting his tie. "I already spoke to Mrs. Henshaw."
Bella blinked. "What do you mean you spoke to her?"
"I told her you won't be coming in until further notice. Not until this scandal dies down."
Bella froze. Then anger surged like ice through her veins. "You what?"
"I called her this morning," Chris explained, showing his call log. "It's better this way. Reporters won't hound you at work, and the company avoids unnecessary drama"
"You meddled in my job without even asking me?" Bella cut in, her voice rising.
Chris frowned. "Bella, I was only trying to protect you"
"Protect me?" Her laugh was bitter. "No, Chris. You weren't protecting me. You were protecting your business. You didn't even give me the chance to speak for myself! Do you know how this looks now? Like I am exactly what the media says a gold digger who only has her job because she sleeps with her boss."
"Bella, no"
"How dare you decide for me? How dare you take away my choice?" Her hands shook as she yanked on her clothes. "You've made it worse, Chris. Even if the rumours clear, no one will ever believe I got here on merit."
His expression darkened with frustration. "So what then? Do you still see me only as your boss? After everything we shared last night?"
Her chest ached, but anger burned hotter than heartbreak. "Maybe I was a fool to think you cared about me as a person and not just as another problem to manage."
"Bella, what I feel for you is real. Deeper than business, deeper than"
"Enough," she snapped, raising a hand to silence him. Her eyes shimmered with hurt. "You've always seen me as convenient. A project. A distraction. Maybe even a charity case. But I refuse to be anyone's business decision."
She tore her wrist from his grasp and walked to the door.
"Bella, please"
"You disgust me," she whispered, and slammed the door behind her.
Bella's thoughts were unraveling.
"Maybe the articles are right," she whispered to herself. Maybe Chris had been behind everything all along.
The scholarship. Her grades. The job at Hampson Airways. Every achievement she had clung to as proof of her worth suddenly felt poisoned.
What if it was all him?
She could almost hear the hateful comments echoing: gold digger... disgrace to women... only there because of him.
"I can't believe I let him tame me," she muttered bitterly, tears stinging her eyes. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to think he cared. To think I cared."
Revulsion swept over her. She stumbled into the bathroom, turned the shower to scorching, and stepped under the spray as if the water could wash away the shame. She scrubbed hard, until her skin burned, until she felt raw.
But nothing cleansed the heaviness. Nothing erased the disgust.
"All men are the same," she thought, her chest tightening. "Dad lied to Mum for years before leaving her with nothing. And now Chris he's no different. I hate myself for trusting. I hate myself for believing. I hate myself for letting him touch me."
Her head grew heavy, vision swimming. She gripped the tiles but her legs weakened, her body numb. The room spun. Then blackness.
When she opened her eyes again, she was standing in a hall.
It was breathtaking. A red carpet stretched the entire floor, flashes of cameras bouncing off chandeliers. Celebrities in glittering gowns and tailored suits glided past. Bella blinked, confused.
At the entrance, she spotted a man and a woman handing their invitation to the attendant. The man was Austin, Bianca's husband. The woman wore a red dress, elegant and daring. Something about the dress tugged at Bella's memory.
She moved closer, heart pounding. The woman's face blurred like a smudged painting, but the dress it was hers. The one she had worn to prom.
The woman told Austin she would be fine on her own. Moments later, a tall man in a grey suit approached her. His face came into focus, and Bella's breath caught.
Chris.
"Hi," he said softly.
"Hello," the lady in red replied.
"I'm Chris. And you are?"
She smiled. "Call me Butterfly."
Bella's chest tightened.
She followed as they talked, as they drank glass after glass of wine, as Austin's warning fell on deaf ears. She watched the lady...herself...lean closer, whisper something to Chris.
"Let's get out of here."
They stumbled into a taxi, lips locked before the hotel door even closed. Bella's heart pounded as she watched, an outsider to her own memory. Chris was careful, gentle. The girl...she was clumsy, inexperienced.
The next morning, the bed was empty. Blood on the sheets. The girl, she gathered her clothes in a panic and fled.
Bella's throat constricted. The traffic light flashed red, the taxi jolted to a stop, and then impact. The deafening crash ripped everything apart.
She gasped, her chest burning, unable to scream, unable to move.
"Christabella."
The voice pierced through the fog.
"Christabella, wake up."
Hands shook her, strong and desperate. She fought through the darkness, until at last her eyes flew open.
Chris's face hovered above hers, pale and stricken with fear. He pulled her into his arms, crushing her against his chest.
"It's okay," he whispered, his voice raw. "Everything is fine now. It was just a dream."
But Bella remembered. She remembered everything.
"The event where we first met...it was Cedar Events Centre, wasn't it?" she asked, pulling back, searching his face.
Chris froze. His eyes widened before he masked it with forced calm. "Yes. Why?"
"And the hotel..." Bella's voice shook. "River Valley Hotel, suite 1109. Right?"
His breath hitched. He looked as though her words had pierced him straight through. "You... remembered?"
"Yes." Her voice trembled but grew steadier with each word. "I remember it all. The red dress. The wine. The accident. My eighteenth birthday...Grandma gave me Dylla that day, but they kept it after the crash so I wouldn't ask questions. Then she gave it to me again at my nineteenth birthday"
Tears welled in Chris's eyes. He smiled through them, dimples showing, relief flooding his features.
"Bella, I'm so glad. I thought you'd never remember." He crushed her into his arms again, his voice breaking.
"I need to call Mum," she whispered.
"She's here already," Chris said gently. "Downstairs."
"Why?"
"You fainted, Bella. I found you in the bathroom... in the tub." His voice cracked. "You were under the water, unresponsive. Do you know how terrified I was? I thought I was going to lose you."
Bella's breath hitched. She glanced around the room, suddenly aware of how close she had come to never waking up.
And for the first time, she saw the fear in his eyes. Not the fear of a businessman protecting his empire, but the fear of a man who had almost lost the woman he loved.