Turning on my heel, I steeled myself for what was bound to be the most embarrassing moment of my life yet. I still couldn't get over the fact that I'd been caught trying to sneak out and the next thing I thought about was playing it cool.

I could say that I just needed to rush over to my room and get cleaned up—that I didn't want to get in his way. But then I'd be lying and I'm not supposed to lie. Gah! I knew I should have left as soon as he fell asleep but instead, I too fell victim to the wicked predator known as sleep.

Amid my mental battle with myself, I noticed that no one had stepped out yet and my heart was pounding in my ribcage when I summoned up the courage to get moving. Seizing the rare opportunity that presented itself, I rushed to turn the burnished door knob and slipped out.

Once inside my room, I closed the door and leaned against it to catch my breath. I still couldn't believe how close my plan was to failing. The next thing I did was to get down on my knees to pray after which, I observed my morning rituals.

Upon getting out of the shower, I felt more relaxed and ready to face whatever the day would bring. All I had on was a robe and I was drying my hair with a towel. Wanting to check something on my phone, I looked around for it but couldn't seem to find it anywhere.

I was still searching for it when a knock fell on my door. It was probably room service and I didn't hesitate to utter the words “come in”. Just then, I realized that there was no way that room service could come around since I was still occupying the room at the moment and I also hadn't called to report a mess.

Spinning on my heels, I saw a certain inexplicably handsome fellow standing by the entrance. Who would've thought that he'd come to find me---of course he would show up either due to our unfinished business or for reasons best known to him.

Thankfully, my embarrassment from earlier had faded a bit but that didn't mean I was ready to have that conversation. I could tell him not to bring up what happened the night before and he would leave it but there were details about the previous night for which I still needed some explanation.

Well, it all still depended on what he came to my room for.

“Hey, Stella-Mea.” His voice was calm and soothing and he definitely looked better than he did the night before.

“Hey.”

It was at that point that I allowed my eyes to rove his tall, lanky form. He donned a deep purple and black ensemble and in his hands was a heap of…my property. I think I knew why he showed up. I watched him walk further into my room and as he breezed past me to place my items on the bed, I caught a whiff of his cologne.

“You forgot your dress, clutch, shoes, necklace, hairpins, and even your phone in my room,” Ro explained, holding a phone up.

I glanced at the items and then at him. “I was looking for my phone right before you came in. Thanks for bringing them back.”

Going closer to him, I retrieved the device.

“Speaking of belongings, I also have something of yours.” I pointed to his folded pajamas on my bed. “But I'm not giving it back.”

My fiancé chuckled, revealing his high cheekbones. “For the record, I wasn’t expecting you to.”

“Of course. I'm going to be keeping it as a souvenir from our very unplanned first night together.” I phrased it in a confident tone.

“Okay.” He replied before lifting his hand to scratch the back of his neck. I noticed the room's atmosphere changing before he said anything more. “Can we discuss something right now or would you want to get dressed first?”

The urgency in his tone was glaring as was the flustered expression that had taken over his perfect features. I guessed we were finally going to face the enormous elephant in the room.

“We can talk.”

He nodded. “Okay.” Then, he pointed at my bed. “Can I sit?”

“Yeah,” I concurred as I began to put away my belongings.

Silence enveloped the pair of us momentarily as he raked his tapered fingers through his silky brown hair.

“I'm sorry about last night, Stella-Mea,” Ro verbalized in a solemn tone. “It was your first outing as an elite but it turned sour.”

He was looking at his hands as he talked and I could see how vulnerable he was right then. The events of the night before were beyond embarrassing, to say the least, and it was a burden that laid heavily on him.

The last time I remembered seeing Ro like that was when he had to propose to me and his composure was usually top-notch—definitely way better than mine. For the second time, I was reminded that Ro wasn't made of steel, and sharing sensitive moments like those with him just made me love him more.

Without thinking, I left what I was doing and came over to the bed where I sat down and proceeded to put my hand over his. This prompted him to turn to me while I strung my words together.

“I wouldn't say that it went sour but it looks to me like you are blaming yourself for it. First of all, it was wonderful to meet your friends and associates—it was more than thrilling when I had to take care of you again just like the old times. Yes, I may not have anticipated having to do that at that point but that's what happened.

“Yesterday gave us the opportunity to make a significant difference in our relationship given the fact that we slept on the same bed for the first time. Secondly, because of the memories we made last night, I will continue to remember that charity event as one of the most interesting moments of my life.”

Those ethereal silver-grey eyes seemed to brighten up. “You really feel this way?”

My hand tightened around his, squeezing it. “Uh-huh. Last night was wild---it's definitely not something I'd forget in haste. God was there for us and He helped us through the situation yesterday. I was scared about running into paparazzi but that wasn't the case.”

He nodded. “Those guys are real nuisances. Either way, what happened yesterday won't be repeating itself ever again—I assure you. You said you don't mind taking care of me, but I also don't like being helpless.”

Detaching my hand from his, I began to tap on my chin while feigning thoughtfulness. “Well, I used to know a certain guy who was so vulnerable that he really couldn't do much for himself. He even had to be sung to before he could sleep.”

Realizing that I was in fact teasing him, he once more ran a hand through his hair and looked away, seeming timid. “Are you really bringing that up? It was a long time ago and yes, back then, I couldn't help it.”

I struggled to stifle my laughter. “That’s exactly what happened last night, Ro. Sometimes you can't help it and you fall into a position where you inevitably need someone else's assistance.”

“Fine,” he conceded. “I see your point but it's not like I got drunk yesterday or somethi–”

“I know. I saw what happened---I was watching. I know someone tried to sabotage you.”

The moment those words left my lips, my fiancé turned precisely to me and pierced me with his dreamy eyes. For a moment, I feared that I had said something wrong but then I noticed the look of appraisal on his visage.

So, I continued: “Everything I saw last night points to this outcome. There's also a very high chance that the sabotaging act was carried out by someone who knows you personally—that’s my surmise.”

My thoughts wandered to Zoe Saunders from yesterday. Did she know Ro personally? I hoped she didn't.

Lifting myself from the bed, I moved away from Ro to continue with what I was doing before as I gave my concluding remark. “This may also not be the case as I could be going off on a tangent.”

“Actually, I didn't expect you to come up with such an accurate guess,” I heard him speak. “That's impressive and it goes to show how attentive you were at the charity event.”

“You're just flattered that I was watching you.”

I glanced at him in time to see the corner of his mouth twitch. “Maybe.”

Before I could stop myself, I giggled and then walked over to the table where I stayed to do my hair and make-up the day before. I began to take the remaining items on that piece of furniture so I could keep them in a single place.

“I also feel that the individual who had my drink drugged yesterday is someone familiar to me. I have my suspicions here and there on the person who did it and I have reached out to the necessary people that will get me footage from the event.” My fiancé stated.

“That's good,” I remarked before a certain realization hit me: “What if your drink wasn't the only one that was drugged? Your friends–”

“Don't worry, Stella-Mea. I'm the only one that the server gave a drugged drink to. I've confirmed it.” Rowen interposed.

A frown etched onto my features. “That server… She's our key to finding the perpetrator, right? Because it's unlikely that she did all that on her own.”

“Yes.” He answered as I trudged across the room, carrying my items. “You should seriously consider becoming an investigator sometime, Stella-Mea.”

His words prompted a scoff from me; however, I said nothing. Once I had successfully arranged the items where I wanted them to be so packing them into my bag would be easy for me, I turned to my Adonis.

“You know what I want? I want whoever had your drink drugged last night to be brought to justice and face harsh consequences. You weren't the only one who felt helpless last night, Ro, because I struggled to cope with the possibility of you being poisoned through that drink. Anything could have happened and I wouldn't have been able to do anything about it.”

The scent of his cologne that mildly saturated my room was suddenly stronger around me. Then, I felt a bit of pressure on my waist which prompted me to look down only to see a pair of sturdy hands encircling it. They spun me around to face him. 

Ro's actions were so abrupt and intimate that my body simply froze under his grip. I hadn't even known when he stood up from my bed and walked over to me amidst my passionate rambling and somehow, he always managed to steal my breath away without even trying.

I was yet to get used to it but at that point, I didn't think I ever would. His charms were just too good.

My eyes gradually ascended from where his hands rested on my body, to his torso and neck before going higher and lingering on his lips. When our eyes met, I was taken aback by the intensity in those silver-grey orbs and instantly looked away, my face quickly heating up.

One of my fiancé’s hands shifted upward to my back while the other grasped my chin and steered my visage back to him. The smirk curving his sensual lips made me flush even harder and I was tempted to push him away and bury my head in a pillow till I looked less like a tomato.

“Now that you have me blushing like a fool, are you happy now?” I bristled.

“You looked like you had everything under control last night, Stella-Mea,” Ro admitted, gently flicking some locks of auburn hair away from my face. “I just love how you handled everything yesterday despite all the uncertainties and risks and you have no idea how hot you looked while doing it.”

“Uuum…” I didn't know what to say about that sudden compliment or how to stop my brain from putting ideas in my head because of it.

Once more, my gaze swept over Ro's amused features and then, I realized that he was trying to outwit me in my own game. The game of teasing that I had started.

“And what else did I do yesterday that you like?” I inquired with the most dreamy voice that I could muster.

Ro’s hand was still splayed on my back while the other was stroking my cheek. If he knew that I had identified what he was trying to do, he didn't show it.

“How you screamed at my drunk friend and took the wheel---that was something. I didn't know you had it in you.”

I was surprised. “Wait. You saw that?”

“I was only drugged, Stella-Mea---so yes, I saw that,” he answered. “Trevor is most annoying when he's drunk or close to being drunk. He's practically unbearable.”

Rolling my eyes, I said, “Stop talking like you guys aren't partners in crime. Trust me, if it were in a different setting and your high-profile friends weren't there, you wouldn't hold back.”

I knew I was probably wrong but I needed to hear the truth from him.

Ro sighed and dropped his head so our faces would be at the same level. He covered the distance between us so that any more movement from any of us would result in a lip-lock.

“Listen and listen carefully, sweetheart. You shouldn't make the mistake of comparing the man that I am now to the man that I used to be because they are two very different people.

Yes, there is every tendency for me to be less responsible when I and Trevor are together, however, it is not to the extent of getting drunk. That used to happen before but not now. I planned to have a total of two drinks yesterday and that was it but unbeknownst to me, the first one had a surprising element to it.”

After saying this, Ro backed away from me, withdrawing his hands from my slender form. Perhaps, I had gone too far in probing him and I'd said the wrong things. Was he mad at me—wait! Was it even possible? For the man that I cherished so much to disregard me for something that I'd said?

A sad, hollow feeling welled up inside of me and I felt my heart breaking apart into a gazillion little smithereens.

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Looks like there's trouble in paradise now, isn't there? That charity event sure did a lot of damage to our favourite couple. What will happen now? Anyways, it's been a while, guys. Thanks to all my commenting readers and the ghost ones. Y'all are the bomb💣!

It's Yuletide season and yadda yadda so, Merry Christmas and a happy happy happy new year ahead to you guys. Remember to stay kind and spread joy because it's important. You are loved and the world needs you---don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

I'll stop here for now. Have a great day and don't forget that Jesus loves you,

Neon.