Deep down in her heart, Gwen knew she was not as carefree or bubbly as she portrayed herself to others.

In the past ten years, she learned many things that turned into habits until time slowly made her carve them into her bones.

One of these was her love for Hayes Gilmore.

Her feelings for him were like a drug she couldn't stop taking. She wanted to quit it now but didn't have the guts to do it yet.

But through Callie's help, she thought that perhaps she could finally end this habit. Meeting a new man sounded right to her.

She stared at the familiar and expensive-looking building in front of her. The first time she went to Grand Oasis, she was determined to end her marriage with Hayes. This time, she was determined to forget him.

Some things in life were really strange in many ways.

Gwen was true to her words when she told Callie that she would drink to forget. Plenty of tequila shots later, she was already staggering as she headed to the dance floor.

She laughed loudly. She had never felt this free and happy!

The lights almost blinded her eyes, but she didn't care. Several bodies squished her on the dance floor, but she continued dancing to the music.

"Woah! You dance so well." A manly voice muttered near her ears.

Gwen turned around, only to find a smiling man dancing behind her.

She tilted her head and stared at him with her intoxicated eyes. The man seemed to be young. Perhaps he was in his early twenties.

He looked attractive as well.

Gwen and the stranger continued dancing together, never breaking their eye contact. Slowly, Gwen's pink lips curled into a smile.

The man smiled at her, too. With just one look or smile, the two instantly understood each other.

This was how clubbing worked. People went there for particular reasons, so it was easy to figure one out.

A few minutes later, Gwen found herself hugging the man's arm as they made their way out of the dancefloor. Even if they were silent, they both stared at the club's exit as they walked.

Still tipsy, Gwen tripped over something and almost landed on the floor. Luckily, the man was fast enough to hold her arms and guide her outside.

By the time they reached the door, someone had bumped Gwen's shoulder with so much force that she almost fell. She stood up straight and looked at the person, but they were already far from her sight. The only thing she saw was blond hair.

She narrowed her eyes and thought that it seemed familiar.

"Let's go?" the man asked her. Gloria retracted her gaze from the dance floor and nodded at him.

Gwen felt soberer as soon as she sat in the man's car. She watched the splendid night view of Merlin City with feelings of confusion and emptiness in her heart.

The man hurriedly swiped the card, and the hotel room door instantly opened. Not even bothering to turn the lights on, he instantly cupped Gwen's cheeks and kissed her.

Gwen went still for a few seconds. Then, she started responding to the man's kisses.

The two of them didn't break their kiss as they traveled to the bed. Their clothes littered the whole place but were too drunk and heated to care.

Suddenly, a series of knocks blared from their door.

The man regretfully broke their kiss. "Wait. I'll check it quickly," he told her as he panted.

Gwen heaved a deep sigh as the man disappeared into the room. Her brows furrowed when she heard some noises from outside.

She sat up on the bed, but the noises suddenly died down. Gwen lay again and stared at the ceiling in a daze.

After a while, someone opened the door. Gwen glanced to see who it was, but the only thing she saw was a tall black figure standing not far from her.

Gwen got out of bed and tried to reach him, but her legs suddenly shook, and she almost fell. The man stretched his hand to prevent her from falling before caging her in his arms.

Gwen raised her head and stared at him. Her drunken eyes sparkled as she stared at the beautiful man in front of her. She let out a soft laugh and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Why? What's wrong? I thought we were having a good time. Want me to teach you some moves?" she whispered alluringly.

The next thing Gwen knew, she was already lying on the bed, with the man hovering over her.

Tears brimmed in her eyes. She stared at the man, but her sight was already blurry.

"Hayes," was the last thing she said before completely losing consciousness.

Gwen woke up with a pounding headache. She fluttered her eyes open and surveyed the unfamiliar room.

Her body froze. Fragments of scenes from last night flooded her mind.

"Are you awake?" A low, hoarse voice muttered behind her.

Gwen blinked, confused why the voice sounded familiar. She slowly turned around and saw who it was.

The sun shone through the windows behind him. The white duvet covered half of his body, but Gwen knew he was naked underneath that fabric. His sleepy gray eyes stared at her face softly. He raised his hand and pressed down on his golden hair.

Before Gwen could open her mouth, he smiled at her and said, "Good morning."

Gwen's eyes widened as her lips parted in shock. As if she had finally regained her senses, she grabbed the blanket and sat up from the bed to cover herself.

Her brain seemed to have stopped functioning as she stared at the man on the bed.

'Oh, God. I'm just dreaming, right?'

The man looked at her innocently, driving her to madness.

"Why are you here?" she screamed.

Gwen still couldn’t decipher how Seth ended up in the same bed with her.

She remembered meeting a young and good-looking man on the dance floor last night, but she didn’t know that it was Seth.

‘How did this happen?’ she thought.

Gwen was still frozen on her spot, still thinking. Meanwhile, Seth transferred his gaze from her face to her body. Gwen mindlessly glanced at him until she saw what he was looking at.

“You pervert!” she hissed and threw the pillow at his face. Her cheeks blushed as she tightly held the blanket on her body.

Seth let out a sarcastic laugh and removed the pillow from his face.

“A pervert? I don’t recall you calling me that last night. Now that I fulfilled your lustful needs, you think I’m of no use anymore, hmm?”

Gwen remained glaring at him. Seth glanced at his shoulder before looking at her again. “What do I have on my shoulders? Hmm… Let’s see. Aren’t these Mrs. Gilmore’s artwork last night?” he teased.

Only then did Gwen notice the red marks on Seth’s shoulders. Some were obviously scratched by nails, and the rest were bitten by a person.

A series of memories from last night popped out of her mind again. She vaguely remembered how she cried and groaned, but the man ignored her pleas. The more she made noises, the more she became a ruthless beast in bed. Hence, the scratches and bite marks on his shoulder were all caused by her.

Gwen glanced at Seth and swallowed hard.

She didn’t want to admit it. Heck, she hoped that she was just having a nightmare.

But the truth was that she slept with Seth Parker last night. Not someone else.

‘But how could I possibly not recognize him from the dance floor? Was I too drunk?’ she thought.

In the end, Gwen could only heave a deep sigh. It had already happened, so thinking about it more wouldn’t erase the truth that she really spent a night with him.

She wrapped the blanket around her body and stood up from the bed. However, it only took a step before a throbbing headache attacked her.

Gwen groaned. When the pain slightly subsided, she turned to Seth, who was still lazily lying on his back and staring at her. She rolled her eyes at him and started to collect her clothes on the floor.

“Why are you so upset, Mrs. Gilmore?” Seth asked in a mocking voice, stopping Gwen from entering the bathroom.

The woman clenched her teeth before turning around. Her piercing eyes instantly met his gray ones. “I’m Gwen Lewis, Mr. Seth Parker. Stop saying, ‘Mrs. Gilmore.’”

That name was just one of the few reminders of how she made herself look stupid in the past ten years.

She put her hands on the side of her waist. “Moreover, I really am upset. I’m actually planning to go to the hospital to have myself checked. Everyone in this city knows how much of a playboy you are. Who knows what type of virus you gave me.”

Seth’s face looked grumpier and grumpier as he listened to her.

Gwen noticed that she almost felt regretful for saying those things. However, she kept her façade by looking at him coldly and angrily.

Suddenly, Seth chuckled and sat up on the bed. “Yes, I’m a playboy. But who are you to treat so lowly? You’re not as pure or innocent as you think, Ms. Lewis,” he mercilessly uttered.

Seth shook his head. “From what I observed last night, it seems like Hayes didn’t satisfy you when you were still married. You were so unrestrained and wild. If only I didn’t know the truth, I would immediately think you had been sex-deprived for years! It seems like you just got divorced, and the first thing you did was sleep with a man. You truly shocked me, Ms. Lewis!”

Rage filled Gwen’s eyes. She threw all her clothes in Seth’s direction with all her might. “Fuck you, Seth! You’re a shameless bastard!” she yelled.

Seth smirked and picked the white lacey bra beside him. “Yeah, I’m shameless. Didn’t you know about that?” he asked while playing with the white cloth.

The word shameless really suited him.

Realizing that arguing with him was useless, Gwen released a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

Not long after, she looked at him again, only to find him playing with her bra as if it was a toy.

“Give me my bra,” she sternly said and stretched out her hand.

Seth tilted his head and smiled devilishly. “You want your bra? Come and get it yourself.”

Gwen looked at Seth with disbelief. Impatience and anger were evident in her eyes, but she calmly walked toward the bed.

The ends of the huge blanket fell freely on the floor. Gwen tightly held the fabric on her chest, dragging its heaviness with her.

She was almost near him when she almost tripped on the floor. She glared at Seth, blaming him for her misery as she gathered the blanket from the floor with one hand.

Seth bit his lip as he watched Gwen struggle. He placed his right hand behind his head while the straps of the white bra clung to his left fingers. His blond hair was disheveled, and his gray eyes seemed brighter because of the sunlight.

Obviously, he was having fun watching the woman in front of him.

Step by step, Gwen slowly walked toward him. As soon as she reached him, she leaned her body and was about to snatch her underwear from his hand when Seth suddenly stretched his arm away from her.

Gwen glared at Seth. Unbothered by the woman’s death glares, Seth only looked at her with amusement and mockery.

Realizing that he wouldn’t give her the bra, Gwen stood straight. They both stared at each other’s eyes until a smirk formed on Gwen’s lips.

“I suddenly remembered what you told me that rainy night. Didn’t you say that you wouldn’t sleep with me since Hayes used me already? I guess they were just all lies, then,” she muttered.

She looked at him straight and added, “Do you like me—”

Before Gwen could finish her question, her white underwear hit her face. Gwen groaned and caught the bra with her hands.

“Seth, what the heck?” she screamed.

“I don’t know if you’re just really narcissistic or plain stupid!” Seth shook his head and scowled at her.

“Hayes spent three years with you and still didn’t like you in the end. Why would you think that I like you? My taste in women wouldn’t be worse than Hayes!”

Gwen pursed her lips and looked away.

“Go home,” Seth coldly muttered.

Of course, Gwen was certain that Seth wouldn’t be interested in her.

Her lips twisted upon remembering what he said earlier. Seth and Hayes had quite the same preferences when it came to women. In fact, they both liked the type of Lacey Brooks.

‘Good luck to you two, then. There’s only one Lacey Brooks in the world,’ she bitterly thought.

Gwen picked up all her clothes and marched to the bathroom. She hurriedly showered, put on her clothes, and left the room.

She had one problem, though. When she and Callie went to Glory City last night, she didn’t bring a purse or even her phone. She didn’t even have any money with her now. Her apartment was quite far from the hotel, so it would be impossible to walk back.

So, she borrowed a phone from the hotel receptionist and called her friend.

“Callie.”

“Gwen?” Callie murmured on the other line. “I was looking for you last night! Where did you go?”

Gwen puckered her lips, feeling guilty and sorry for her friend. “I’ll explain later. Please pick me up. I don’t have any money with me.”

Callie huffed. “Fine! But promise me that you’ll tell me everything later, okay?”

Gwen smiled. After a few more minutes of scolding her, Callie asked her where she was and ended the call.

“Thank you.” Gwen smiled at the receptionist and handed the phone.

She turned around, ready to walk out of the building when her gaze landed on a familiar figure.

Gwen and Hayes looked at each other’s eyes at the same time. Hayes glanced at her body once before looking at her face again.

Gwen almost took a step back. For some reason, she felt as if she had been caught committing a crime.

Hayes, on the other hand, looked at her with indifference. Then, he removed his gaze from her and strode toward the elevator with a group of people in corporate attire behind him.

Gwen slumped her shoulders and sighed as soon as he was out of sight.

She walked to the hotel’s lobby and sat on the empty sofa. She closed her eyes and released a few deep breaths, filling her lungs with air she seemed to have lost earlier.

Thirty minutes later, Callie arrived.

Callie’s original plan was to scold Gwen some more, but all of it vanished when she saw her friend’s pale face. Her eyes were closed, and her back leaned against the sofa.

“Gwen, are you okay?” she asked worriedly and touched her forehead. “You don’t have a fever, but you look pale. Do you feel sick?”

Gwen opened her eyes and shook her head. “I’m okay. I haven’t eaten anything yet, so maybe it’s just hunger.”

“Come on, let’s go eat something first!” Callie replied.

Gwen only nodded her head before standing up.

They were both busy eating their food when Callie suddenly brought up the topic again. “My friend told me that they saw you with a cute guy at the club last night,” she said in a malicious tone.

She slowly scanned her friend’s face up to her neck as if looking for something.

Gwen rolled her eyes and stopped Callie.

After a few moments of silence, Gwen spoke. “His name is Seth Parker.”

Gwen drank her orange juice while Callie’s lips parted in shock.

“What?” Callie shouted, making the other people glance at them.

“Yup. I slept with Seth Parker last night.”

Callie’s brows fused in confusion. Thoughts ran wildly in her mind, but she only stared at her friend.