The smell of antiseptic wafted through the air, Rachel's eyes twitched slowly then opened all the way.

"Are you awake?" suddenly Nicholas Anthony was beside her.

"Ah, not you again..." she muttered, looking away annoyed.

Nicholas Anthony sneered, one lip rising.
"Hey listen to me carefully, just because what happened last night doesn't mean I like you, you know what happened right? I'm sure you'll remember by now, you kissed me first and..."

"Stop it! God! That sounds disgusting!" Rachel covered her ears. She didn't deny it because she could remember everything well now. She closed her eyes, "I was drunk last night okay? So whatever I did was illegal, you can't take it seriously!" she babbled without daring to look at him, she was still ashamed of whatever she did last night.

Nicholas Anthony nodded, his hands folded across his chest.
"You're right, I can't deny that. Okay! So good luck with your debts again! You know where to call me if you change your mind, I'm giving you twenty-four hours, bye Ms. Clarke!" he said casually. He turned around and walked briskly leaving Rachel lying on the hospital bed.

"Shit!" Rachel cursed as she grabbed her own hair, but after a moment she cringed as she felt a stinging pain in her forehead. She glanced at the nightstand, took out her cellphone, and turned on the selfie camera to see her face. "Oh God!" she screamed when she saw her bruised and slightly injured forehead. Her mood was doubly worse than before.

While she was pensive a nurse came in.
"Ms. Clarke, your CT scan is good, there are no serious injuries, you can go home after completing the payment at the administration and pick up the medicine at the pharmacy," said the nurse firmly and quickly.

Rachel sneered, "Payment?" she hissed to herself. So that snob Nicholas Anthony didn't even pay her hospital bills?! He's really annoying! Even though she had a lot of debts, she would never want to marry that man, even if it's just a marriage contract it will still hurt her pride.

That afternoon she returned to the apartment feeling uneasy, she was very angry and annoyed with Nicholas Anthony but the picture of what they did last night also made her feel very strange, maybe because it was her first time having sex with someone. When she was about to enter the lobby, her cell phone suddenly rang, from her mother. She pulled over and sat on a sofa that was there and then pushed the green button to accept the call.

"Hey, Mom!" she greeted cheerfully, even smiling just so her mother wouldn't guess what was happening to him.

"Rachie, do you remember where I put the house certificate? I looked in all the cupboards and safes but couldn't find it, Janice said I should report the loss to the police if the certificate can't be found," said Paula Clarke, Rachel's mother anxiously.

Rachel's body tensed up instantly, cold sweat starting to run down her back. She gripped the phone tightly, trying to think quickly.
"No Mom! Don't report it to the police! The certificate is in my apartment when I brought my important documents it was carried with the other documents," she didn't lie at all, because the house certificate was indeed accidentally carried. It's just that in the end, it made her naughty mind work so she pawned the certificate to the bank by making a fake power of attorney.

"Thank God! Can you send it to us? No no that's not safe, um maybe Dad's going to be in New York over the weekend to pick that up in your apartment," Mom said quickly as if that was something urgent.

Rachel's eyes widened instantly, "What? Why? I mean, why did Dad even bother to come from Nashville to here just to get a house certificate? You don't have to worry, the certificate will be safe here with me," she raved frantically.
She could hear Mom taking a deep breath on the other end, "Rachie, we're sorry we didn't tell you earlier, but the company your dad worked for went bankrupt and you know at his age he can't easily find a new job, so we planned to pawn a house certificate to the bank so I can get a loan to start a small business, you know I'm pretty good at making bread..."

Rachel was no longer listening to her mother, everything was light and she felt like she was floating. How could she do that bad thing to her parents, she was the worst girl in the century!
"Mom, you don't have to pawn anything okay? I'll give you the money you need! I'll call you as soon as possible, tell Dad I missed him, bye Mom! Love you!" with haste and trembling hands she ended the call. She covered her face with both hands, "what should I do, what should I do...' she muttered to herself.
Then suddenly she remembered the arrogant man who offered her mutual benefit cooperation, Nicholas Anthony. Maybe he was the answer to all the problems, to be specific her financial problem.

She left the lobby apartment and ran quickly in the party dress she had worn since last night to stop the cab, but she realized that she didn't know where to go to meet that snob. The man didn't even leave a business card or phone number. "Where do you want to go?" asked the cab driver, looking at her confusedly in the rearview mirror. "Miss?"

Rachel bit her lip, deep in thought. Then suddenly she remembered the copy of the contract she signed last night. She remembered Nicholas Anthony emailing a copy of it.

"Wait a moment!" she snapped, her hand quickly opening her cellphone. Turned out her memory wasn't wrong at all, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"172 Madison Avenue please..."

As the cab sped through busy New York traffic, she dialed Nicholas Anthony's number. Until the last ring, the call went unanswered.
"That arrogant bastard! He must have ignored me on purpose!" she grumbled angrily.

If she followed her ego she would definitely undo whatever she was doing and return to the apartment. But the image of her father and her mother looking at her with sad faces left her no choice.

She kept calling Nicholas Anthony many times but still didn't get an answer, until finally, she arrived in front of a tall building that was part of Anthony's Corp, at least that's what she read on the internet. She hesitantly stepped into the apartment lobby, she didn't know where Nicholas Anthony's unit was and the receptionist of course wouldn't be willing to tell her.

When she was confused and desperate, suddenly her cell phone rang.
"You called me! Well, I knew you would call," Nicholas Anthony's voice sounded very annoying.

Rachel closed her eyes, should she lose her pride by accepting that annoying man's offer. "Come on Rach, you can ask Lucy for help, she's a tycoon kid!" she muttered quietly in her head.

"I just called to ask about my scarf, I think I left it at the hotel," Rachel mumbled which of course was a lie, she clutched the Scarf that was hanging sweetly in her handbag.

"Really? No, you didn't leave your scarf at the hotel, and by the way, why are you standing in the lobby of my apartment?"

Rachel shrieked in surprise, she turned around and froze for a moment when she found Nicholas Anthony standing behind her in his tracksuit.

"Busted!"

*****