The night was restless, like it couldn’t sit still. Darkness stretched out over everything like a torn black cloth smothering the world.

The rain poured mercilessly, strange and unsettling.

A flash of lightning cracked across the sky, lighting up everything for a split second. At the front gate of a villa, something seemed to squirm in the shadows.

“No, Mom, please hang on. I swear I’ll bring Mr. Hale back,” Charlotte Brant struggled to her feet from the wet ground.

She’d run all the way here in the storm. Her thin clothes were soaked through, and her damp hair clung to her face in a messy tangle. She’d fallen right at the doorstep and looked completely drenched and miserable.

She wiped rain from her face with numb fingers. The sudden chill had frozen her to the core—she shivered from head to toe.

Clenching her fist, Charlotte knocked hard on the door.

She knew Sebastian Hale was inside. The woman with him was a rising pop star, very much in the spotlight lately.

She knocked for what felt like forever. In the middle of the dark, stormy night, her knocking echoed—lonely, unsettling.

The rain didn’t let up. Her knocking didn’t either.

“Who is it?”

A woman’s voice came from inside—soft, a little rushed, maybe even flustered.

Charlotte’s heart skipped. She’d always known Sebastian had lots of women, that he was a shameless player. But still, she wasn’t ready for the possibility of what lay behind that door. Her chest tightened.

“I... I need to see Sebastian Hale!” she called out.

Before she could even pull her hand away, the door creaked open, revealing a maid in uniform.

“But Mr. Hale is...” the maid hesitated, clearly uneasy.

Her body shifted slightly, almost unconsciously, and in that brief movement, Charlotte caught a clear glimpse inside—right past her, into the living room.

There, on the couch in full view, were two bodies tangled together.

“Oh, Seb... you’re amazing. I think I’m gonna drown over here...”

The woman moaned, spread out across the leather couch, totally naked. Her pale skin was flushed, glowing under the man’s intense touch. With each motion, it was like her whole body pulsed with heat, like it was about to burst into flames.

Even while the maid and Charlotte were having their awkward exchange, the two on the couch didn’t stop—not even a pause. It was like they were off in some private paradise, completely ignoring the rest of the world.

Charlotte just stood there, frozen, shocked. Her mind screamed at her to turn away, but her body refused. She couldn’t look away.

“Come on, baby, louder. I love it when you talk dirty like that,” the man growled, voice laced with pleasure. “You’ve got me all worked up…”

He had to have heard Charlotte and the maid, but he didn’t look up—not once. He just kept going like nothing mattered.

He was built—tall, muscular, his bronzed skin glistening with sweat as he moved. Clearly he spent time under the sun, and it showed. His abs clenched with each thrust, beads of sweat catching the warm indoor light, making his body shine in a strange, almost surreal glow.

The whole room seemed to hum with heat—thick with lust and something else that made it hard to breathe.