CHAPTER 1: CHAPTER 1: ONE WILD NIGHT

"Sir, help me!"

The girl was dressed in a snow-white dress, akin to a startled young deer, stumbling into the room. The hem of her dress fluttered lightly with her movement, resembling a blooming flower.

The hotel room was shrouded in darkness, and through the moonlight, Vivian Lynch could not see the man’s face but vaguely perceived a tall, blurred figure.

Bathed in moonlight, the man stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, his fair skin shining, slender fingers fiddling with a string of sandalwood Buddha beads. His brows and eyes were cold and his face handsome, like a celestial being, sacred and untouchable.

He was enveloped in a noble aura that transcended worldly affairs, as if isolated from the mundane world.

Vivian Lynch felt dizzy, as though grasping a beam of light, gradually approaching.

She stepped forward and clung tightly to the man’s towering stature, her body weak and limp under the influence of drugs, burning hot, direly needing a cold breakthrough.

Caden Hawthorne’s brown pupils contracted sharply, his action on the Buddha beads abruptly halted.

Vivian’s soft body pressed tightly against his chest, seemingly offering her relief. "Sir, help me!"

Vivian whimpered softly, repeating her plea.

His body is indeed so cool and comfortable.

In the middle of the night, Caden Hawthorne’s tall frame trembled slightly, the Buddha beads in his hand falling in that instant.

No matter how the girl tempted him, he stood there, unmoving.

Until Vivian’s hand touched his sexy Adam’s apple.

"You..." Caden hurriedly grasped the girl’s restless hand, incredulity on his face.

He lowered his gaze and met a pair of eyes as clear as autumn water.

"Sir, I... I feel so uncomfortable..." Vivian was drugged, her consciousness beginning to blur.

She continuously burrowed into his embrace, as though searching for something. A faint fragrance drifted to Caden’s nose, his Adam’s apple flickering, a wave of heat spreading from his abdomen.

"Did Grandpa send you?" Caden, now breath heavy, asked in a voice gradually becoming atypical.

Vivian didn’t understand what he was saying, raised her overheated face with tears in her eyes, voice tinged with pleading and longing, her white jade-like hand gently caressing the man’s handsome face. "Sir, I don’t want you to be responsible. Please, help me..."

She clumsily and boldly wrapped her arms around his neck, tiptoed, and proactively kissed his cool thin lips.

Caden attempted to push her away, but the sweetness of the girl’s kiss was tempting beyond description.

Unable to repress the desire in his eyes, Caden picked her up horizontally, his gaze profound as ink: "Alright, I’ll help you."

He gently placed her on the soft large bed, and at this moment, the room’s lighting gradually became gentler.

Vivian appeared slightly nervous, her hands tense without knowing where to place them.

The man leaned down, grasping her small nervous hands, then kissed her tempting red lips.

Moments later, scattered clothes lay around like petals, with the ambiguous atmosphere and the girl’s whimpering spreading throughout the night.

Meanwhile, the Lynch family received a call.

"What? Vivian Lynch ran away?" Mrs. Lynch wore a look of astonishment and disbelief.

The angry voice of a middle-aged man filled her eardrums, heavy with the threat, "Your daughter injured my son and ran away. If the Lynch family doesn’t give me an explanation, I’ll make sure you can’t settle in Aethelgard."

Mrs. Lynch’s face turned pale, cold sweat seeping from her forehead, urgently explaining, "Hey, Director Warner, please don’t be angry. I promise I’ll find that deadbeat girl..."

Before she could finish speaking, the caller hung up.

"Hello, Director Warner..."

An hour ago, Vivian was arranged by her family for a blind date, the potential match being the son of a company owner.

Originally, Vivian did not want to go but was forced by Mrs. Lynch who threatened her, dressed her in a pretty evening gown, and tricked her into going to the hotel.

That son of Director Warner was short, fat, and notorious for being a pervert, looking at her with disgusting eyes.

He drugged her water, dragging her to a hotel room, intending to take advantage.

Vivian resisted with all her strength, grabbed an ashtray and knocked him unconscious, then fled desperately.

She could not fathom why her parents would treat her like this.

Amid heartbreak and to avoid harm, Vivian rushed into a stranger’s room.

Thinking rather than being assaulted by a fat, ugly man, she’d choose a man she found agreeable to help neutralize the drug.

The next day.

Dazzling sunlight shone into the hotel room through the glass window.

Vivian was awoken by the ringing of a phone; she sat up, her body achingly sore.

She trembled as she picked up the phone, seeing dozens of missed calls from Mrs. Lynch, which she rejected and turned off the phone.

Vivian knew the Lynch family must be searching for her everywhere now.

Turning her head, she looked at the sleeping man beside her, finally seeing his face clearly.

The man’s facial features were upright, charmingly delicate, with a straight nose and lavish lashes gently closed. His contours were distinct, thin red lips exuding an air of aristocracy.

Who would have thought that such a handsome man would become a beast in the flood last night, taking her again and again.

Upon reflection, Vivian felt no regret for being with such a good-looking man.

Dragging her exhausted body, she noticed the evening gown torn apart by him, no longer wearable.

Carefully, she slipped off the bed, picked up the man’s oversized shirt, and wore it, taking her bag and phone, quickly departing the hotel.

In his drowsiness, Caden instinctively reached out, seemingly yearning for her presence.

Caden’s eyes abruptly opened, turning to look, but the girl had vanished.

"Ran away?" His lips curled into a cold arc.

Indeed, she declared not wanting him to be responsible last night, apparently, she left early.

Unconcerned, Caden pushed the covers and got out of bed.

Suddenly, the striking red on the bed caught his attention.

Pausing his action, Caden muttered softly: "Was that woman a virgin last night?"

Caden’s gaze was surprised, deep eyes narrowing.

How intriguing, the first woman to leave after spending the night with him!

The Hawthorne Family, Hartswell Manor.

"Grandpa, can you stop sending women my way?"

Returning home, Caden’s first intent was confronting his grandfather.

Master Hawthorne stood by the pond, leaning on a cane, grasping a handful of feed and feeding his prized arowanas.

"Women?" Upon hearing, Grandpa Hawthorne turned his head towards Caden, his face darkening, hurriedly approaching.

"What woman?" Grandpa Hawthorne wore a confused look.

Caden seemed accustomed to it; it wasn’t the first time the old man tried arranging women for him.

"Grandpa, don’t pretend. Was the woman at the hotel last night arranged by you?"

Grandpa Hawthorne puckered his lips, looking dissatisfied at him, "You rascal, if you listened to my arrangements, that would indeed be a blessing."

The Hawthornes, single-lineage for nine generations, with Caden’s father dying young, the old master pinned hopes on him for carrying on the family’s legacy. Alas, Caden devoted himself to Buddhism, uninterested in women, infuriating the old man to no end.