Seven days until the engagement party.
Her fiancé cheated on her!
Just a wall away.
In a luxurious, dimly lit presidential suite,
Willow West was straddling another man.
Her mischievous hands slipped through the gap between two buttons on his shirt.
They found firm abs, and she gave them a light squeeze.
The man's body trembled, on the verge of losing control.
Her other hand proactively undid the button just below his Adam's apple.
The scent of liquor on her breath mingled with her soft voice as she spoke against his bobbing throat.
Inch by inch, she drew closer.
"The internet says men who button their shirts all the way to the top are relics of a feudal past!
Let's see what you're all about!"
Her sharp canines nibbled at his Adam's apple.
The man was burning hot against her soft body. He captured her mischievous, chattering lips in a fierce kiss, his deep voice a wanton invitation.
"Have you ever considered that it might be a seal?"
The world spun, and in the next moment, Willow West found herself pinned beneath the man.
His searing kisses fell like a dense net, trapping her completely.
They were mingled with the intoxicating scent of alcohol.
Their fingers interlaced as the world swayed in a blur of passion.
A shrill, jarring ringtone, like a death summons, shattered the room's intimate atmosphere.
The man's gaze fell on the caller ID, and his waist and abdomen instantly tensed.
The word "Hubby," like a death knell, flashed on and off the screen.
Aiden Pierce's voice was hoarse. "Cheating on your husband?
You've got some nerve!"
A dewy pink blush spread across Willow West's face. Her voice was so soft it could melt your bones.
"We're not married, so it's not adultery. At most, it's two-timing!"
"So you're taken?"
The warmth in Aiden Pierce's dark, deep eyes vanished, instantly replaced by a frosty chill. He pulled away and sat up.
His gaze was now terrifyingly cold.
"I'm particular. I don't touch women who are already taken!"
With that, he rolled off Willow West, leaving her small hands grasping at the air like the tentacles of an octopus.
Left hanging, Willow West seemed unwilling to give up. She tilted her head, laid it right on the man's lap, and her naughty hands slipped under the rumpled hem of his shirt.
Like a little rascal, she poked at his perfectly sculpted abs.
In the dim light, the man's jawline tightened. All emotion drained from his face, leaving only that noble, cold expression that warned strangers to stay away.
He caught her hand, stopping her brazen advances.
Reeking of alcohol, the drunken woman held up her phone with one hand. Her long fingers tapped the screen, unlocking it.
She rapidly tapped out a few words and hit send.
Willow West shoved the phone in the man's face so he could clearly see the words on the screen.
"You're dumped, you scumbag!"
The woman's soft voice was like a siren's song. "Is this good enough for you now?"
Then, she wrapped her arms around his neck and possessively covered his thin lips with her soft ones, causing Aiden Pierce to be momentarily dazed.
Her supple waist was suspended in mid-air, and he instinctively reached out to support her.
She pressed her advantage, her soft lips growing moist.
Sparks flew, and the two became entangled once more.
「At the crack of dawn.」
Willow West was jolted awake by her phone ringing.
Willow West's hand fumbled around blindly until someone placed the phone in it.
Squinting, Willow West answered the call.
Instantly, a shrill voice pierced her eardrums.
"Willow West, who the hell do you think you are, daring to break up with me! You really think you're hot stuff, don't you?!
Where the hell did you go?
I told you to bring medicine to Ruby, so where are you?"
Willow West burrowed her head under the pillow, her voice thick with annoyance.
"Bianca Sterling, are you out of your mind?!
You want me to deliver medicine to your mistress?
Do I look like some kind of pathetic servant?"
Willow West was not a morning person. Being woken up had put her in a terrible mood, but she still refused to open her eyes.
"Willow West, are you crazy?!
Ruby and I grew up together, and she just got back in the country. What's wrong with me looking after her a bit, like a big brother?
Do you have to get jealous over nothing! Why is your mind so filthy?"
"Oh, yes, yes, yes!
I'm the filthy one!
Bianca Sterling, do you really take me for a fool?
Robin Sutton gets hurt and calls you instead of going to a hospital!
Are you a doctor?
She drinks too much at a party and can't get home, so she calls you in the middle of the night!
Are you her chauffeur?
Her pipes burst at home, and she calls you. What, are you a repairman now?
I had no idea my good-for-nothing fiancé was so multi-talented!"
Even with her eyes closed, Willow West's talent for sarcasm was second to none.
Willow West's tirade grew stronger, and she felt the urge to smash something.
But her hand brushed against something warm and hard!
Willow West shrieked and her eyes flew open.
A well-defined, pale, slender hand was holding the phone for her.
They were both lying on the same bed!
The naked kind of lying in the same bed!
When Willow West saw the man's face, all sleepiness vanished.
Her small, palm-sized face seemed to crack, inch by inch.
"AHH!"
Aiden Pierce?!
Why was Aiden Pierce in her bed?
Willow West's head instantly started to throb!
'What in the world is going on?'
The man's impassive face was devoid of expression as he looked down at the stunned woman, taking in every ounce of her panic-stricken confusion.
'The little thing who had been so bold in seducing him last night was now like a frightened little quail.'
'How interesting.'
Over the phone, Bianca Sterling heard Willow West's scream and sounded a little nervous. "Willow West, what's wrong?
Don't think I'll forgive you just because you're acting like this!
If it weren't for you, Ruby wouldn't be having an allergic reaction!
You have to apologize!
If you don't apologize, we'll just have to postpone getting our marriage license..."
Willow West hung up and blocked his number.
Her eyes were wide as she stared at the dangerous-looking man before her.
The facts were telling her that the man she'd gotten drunk and slept with last night after witnessing that scumbag Bianca Sterling's cheating... was none other than Aiden Pierce!
'How could it be Aiden Pierce?'
In Aethelgard, Aiden Pierce was nothing short of a legend!
The Pierce Family's ancestors were famous warlords in Aethelgard.
For three generations since, they had gone into politics, with each new generation producing even more brilliant and prominent figures.
With the connections and wealth accumulated over generations, the Pierce Family was now the most deeply-rooted and powerful family in Aethelgard.
And this man, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, had taken just five short years to completely reshape Aethelgard's business world. Riding the rise of new energy, Aiden Pierce had become the new titan of industry.
However, even a man as celestial as him had his flaws.
He was naturally indifferent, cold, and aloof.
An outstanding man like him never had a single romantic scandal to his name.
According to Willow West's uncle, Roman West, his good friend Aiden was utterly boring, wooden, and old-fashioned.
A relic of a feudal past who buttoned his shirt all the way to the top!
And she...
...had actually slept with Aiden Pierce!
'My God, I am so screwed!'
"Little West, don't you have anything to say to me?"
Willow West forced an awkward laugh that looked worse than crying.
"Long time no see, Uncle Pierce!"
"That's a rather formal greeting!
Little West, it's been a few years, and you've certainly grown bolder!
You used to just sneak kisses, now you've graduated to drunken debauchery?"
Aiden Pierce's words instantly brought back some not-so-pleasant memories for Willow West.
Aiden Pierce and her uncle were best friends.
For as long as Willow West could remember, the man had exuded a frigid aura that warned everyone to keep their distance.
Aiden Pierce rarely smiled, greeting everyone with a stern expression.
Growing up, she had always been afraid of Aiden Pierce.
In high school, Willow West had started dating early.
The first time she and her first love were kissing, they were caught red-handed by none other than Aiden Pierce.
It was because of that incident that the West Family sent her to an all-girls high school.
From then on, whenever Willow West saw Aiden Pierce, she wished she could run and hide!
Later, Aiden Pierce went abroad, and she gradually forgot he even existed!
'I heard he's a new titan in Aethelgard's business world and only recently returned to the country!'
'How did we even meet?'
'How did I get him naked?'
'How did we end up in bed?'
'This is going to be the death of me!'