The footsteps began to come closer and closer until they stopped.
"Who are you?"
Celine's heart thudded.
The voice was a low rich baritone that commanded attention, deep and resonant with a subtle growl that sent shivers down her spine.
She remained still, not moving at all.
Had she walked herself into trouble?
She had broken into someone's private suite like a thief in a wedding dress, she was definitely in trouble.
"We both know you're awake, who are you and what are you doing in my room?"
Shit, he knew she wasn't asleep. Seeing no point in playing dead any longer, Celine moved slightly raising herself slowly before she turned her face towards the direction the man's voice came from and froze.
The person standing before her looked unreal, ethereal in a way even movie stars couldn't dream of looking like.
His face was chiseled with sharp unbelievably handsome features that exuded an unmatchable amount of confidence and quiet strength. His hazel eyes seemed almost otherworldly shifting between deep green and light brown in the room's warm lighting, those deep eyes were veiled by a stone cold expression. The intensity of his gaze felt both captivating and unnerving.
Now that she could see him up close, she realized how tall he was. If she were to guess, she would say he stood at a height of 6'5 to 6'6 but what made him frightening and alluring at the same time was his muscular build. The tight black shirt he was currently wearing over blue jeans showed the ripple of abs that trailed down to narrow hips. Even in that relaxed attire, he carried the quiet domineering air of royalty, like someone used to being obeyed without question.
Instantly, recognition dawned on her. It was a face she'd glimpsed once, not too long ago, but it remained imprinted in her mind.
It was him!
The stranger she sighted in the wedding hall earlier.
Celine gripped the fabric of her dress tightly, just staring at him made her heart pound in her chest, a physical sensation she'd never experienced with Ian no matter how charmed she thought she was of him. She had believed herself to be in love with him, but she'd never once felt a flutter in her chest whenever he was near, not even once. This realization caused astonishment to shine in her eyes.
"You?" The deep voice that felt like a tickle of velvet and steel resounded again. Those alluring lips that looked a deep glistening shade of pink that seemed like he'd run his tongue over them quirked up in a light harmless smirk before he grabbed an expensive looking cigarette box on a drawer nearby, lighting it with an elegant precision before taking a deep drag, his gaze slid to her once more,
"It Is you." He said as if confirming again before he began to stroll out of the inner room.
Something mischievously sly seemed to have flashed in his eyes, though Celine couldn't tell why, the look in his eyes before he just left a while ago had made her heart lurch again, it felt like his eyes had drunk her in with a deliberate slowness.
She looked at the glass doors.
He just left her in here like that?
Wasn't he going to kick her out?
Slowly she got off the bed and traced his steps and the smell of smoke till she walked out to a massive terrace where he stood at the edge of the glass railings, smoke swirling around his figure adding a sense of mystery to the man.
"Shouldn't you be saying your wedding vows right about now, what were you doing in my bed?" He tilted his head towards her ever so slightly as he spoke.
His stance exuded such unquestionable power, Celine would never think it possible till now that a man could be so attractive.
Every movement he made dripped with a dark yet majestic aura no one could ignore.
Who was this man?
She wondered quietly but felt the need to answer the question.
"I'd rather jump off a cliff than say eternal vows to that bastard, all he'll be thinking about right now is nothing but his precious reputation."
Thinking about it right now further infuriated her, a kind of anger that made her feel like she should have taken off her incredibly high heeled shoes and whacked them over Ian's head before making her escape from the wedding.
When she had been running out of the wedding hall, all she wanted was to find a place to be alone and think. She was absolutely certain that Ian would have monopolized the entire hotel to search for her by now. Not to mention the swarms of paparazzi and reporters that had been at the wedding, they would have flooded the place by now.
"So you ran from your own wedding? I'm damn sure your groom must be looking for his beloved bride." The man spoke lazily taking another drag of his cigarette.
Celine didn't want to be found, not by the reporters, not by her family and most certainly not by Ian.
Right now she'd taken shelter in a stranger's suite, a place she wasn't fully certain she could stay and hide if he didn't decide she was a nuisance in a few minutes and kicked her out.
The thought made her knees weak, if she left this suite Ian would certainly find her.
The thought made her breath hitch and a sudden exhaustion engulfed her.
She was tired!
Tired of the entire emotional turmoil from the past few days. After finding out her sister betrayed her, it came with her fiance's betrayal as well, not to mention a highly publicized wedding that had now become a debacle.
The panic she'd pushed back suddenly began to set in making her breathing suddenly turn labored. It felt as if the whole pressure of everything she'd endured all along came crashing upon her at this moment. Unable to remain standing, Celine lowered herself to a crouch, truth was she couldn't keep standing, not on these high heels and not with the weight of the pain she would go through when she left this suite dawned on her.
Whatever laid outside in wait for her was ruination.
Her family, her career, everything!
The tears came in full force she couldn't stop them now, she could only lower her face hugging her arms around herself as she bit down the sobs knowing she shouldn't be crying in front of a stranger, knowing she shouldn't be in his suite at all but it was her only saving grace at the moment.
She suddenly began to hear footsteps, he was walking towards her.
When she felt his figure loom over her, she froze, feeling a strange sinking sensation in her stomach, her heart began to race as a feeling of dread washed over her.
He was going to kick her out now. He was going to toss her out to her beloved groom who was waiting to destroy the rest of her life.