Mistaken thoughts

"Yes," Alice replied bluntly, her voice unyielding. "I don't want anything to do with you anymore. The only reason I even agreed to meet you tonight was to get this over with. So, are you free tomorrow or not?"

She wanted this sham of a marriage to be over as soon as possible. Keeping the marriage had lost its purpose there were other ways to reclaim what was hers.

John remained silent, his pride crushed and his ego bruised. The reality of her words left him stunned. All his plans, his smug assumptions they had been shattered in an instant. He had never considered the possibility that Alice, the woman he thought he had control over, would be the one to end things so decisively.

She didn't want him. She never had. Then why had she come here tonight?Just as his thoughts spiraled, he began to feel dizzy. His vision blurred, and he slumped back into the chair. His body went slack as the drugs Alice had slipped into his drink took hold. With a frigid composure, Alice moved to his side, pulling a small sample bag from her pocket. With practiced care, she plucked a few strands of his hair, avoiding touching the follicles, and sealed them inside the bag. Once she was sure everything was secure, she turned on her heel and left, her demeanor icy and unflinching.

Outside the room, Jermin, who had just stepped out of the private room across the hall, spotted Alice leaving. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and the strands of hair falling from her ponytail gave her a disheveled but tantalizing look. He frowned. Earlier, he'd overheard John making that call, requesting a drug he recognized as a powerful aphrodisiac. Watching Alice enter John's room shortly afterward, he had assumed the worst. Now, seeing her exit with her flushed appearance, he felt an unexpected pang of disgust. His fleeting interest in her vanished, replaced by disdain. Clearly, she was just another woman with poor judgment, associating herself with a man like John. With a cold glare, he started walking toward her he needed explanations as to, why she disrespected him during the business meeting but he eventually stopped, thoughts churning. After a moment of hesitation, he turned away, leaving Marcus, his assistant, bewildered. What had gotten into his boss lately?

Alice unaware that someone was having an inner conflict, because of her, continued on her way out of the hotel. The cool night air greeted her, but before she could leave, she was intercepted by a loud, furious voice. "What were you doing in there with John for so long?" Sherlin's shrill demand cut through the night.

Alice's lips curled into a taunting smile. "Why don't you go inside and ask him yourself, Sherlin?" she said, her tone light but cruel. "That is, if he's even capable of answering you right now." She knew exactly what her words implied, the innuendo fueling Sherlin's fury.

As Alice turned to leave, Sherlin stepped forward, shoving a stack of documents at her. "You said you'd sign the divorce papers if you got fifty percent of the shares. Well, here's thirty percent I managed to pull some strings. I'll get you the remaining twenty percent after you divorce John. Don't you dare back out!"

Alice scanned the papers with a cold, calculating gaze, a sly smile forming. She had already planned to leave empty-handed, but Sherlin's desperation was playing right into her hands.

She didn't know that

Sherlin was this desperate to have John,,, Well so long as she benefited from it she couldn't care less

"Instead of wasting your breath on me, why don't you go check on your 'man'? Maybe you can convince him to sign the divorce papers himself, and let me know when his ready and keep my remaining share's"Alice said coolly, knowing the remark would hit Sherlin's sore spot.

With that, Alice walked away, leaving Sherlin seething behind her.

*Back at the private room*

John stirred, a dull haze lifting from his mind as he slowly woke up. He blinked several times, disoriented, the room spinning slightly as the effects of the sleeping pills faded. He could remember talking to Alice last, wondering what happened after that.

A faint, sweet scent lingered in the air, and he realized it was the incense he had requested earlier the aphrodisiac. His eyes darted to the corner of the room, where a woman was quietly setting up the incense, unaware that he was now awake.

His body responded almost immediately to the scent, a heated sensation spreading through him as the effects took hold. The woman one of the hotel staff looked up, startled to find him awake. He moved toward her, his footsteps slow and deliberate, his gaze intense.

"Hey," he said, his voice low and persuasive. "I didn't expect you to come here now... But now that you are, why don't we make the most of it?" There was a confident, almost predatory glint in his eyes, his tone unmistakably suggestive.

The woman hesitated, her cheeks flushing as she took a step back, nervous but clearly affected by the incense that now thickened the air. "Sir, I—" she started, but John was already closing the distance between them, his voice dropping to a softer, almost pleading tone.

"Come on... you're already here, and I know you want this as much as I do," he coaxed, his words smooth and coaxing. He leaned closer, his hand gently brushing her arm. "No one will ever know. It'll be our little secret."

Her hesitation melted under the force of his words, the aphodrics taking effect. She didn't move when his hands cupped her cheek, and her breath hitched when he leaned closer, his lips almost touching her's. A murmur of agreement slipped from her, and John didn't wait for another invitation.

He pulled her closer, his mouth finding her's in a fierce, almost desperate kiss.

There was a tense silence as she stood there, torn between professionalism and the sudden, undeniable desire the incense had ignited in her. After a brief, conflicted pause, she gave a slow, reluctant nod, unable to resist any longer. John's lips curved into a triumphant smile, and he guided her towards the bed without another word.

The rest of the night blurred into a haze of passion and heat. The incense thickened the air, heightening the moment, and the sound of their encounters filled the room, echoing off the walls.

Time passed in a heated blur until, exhausted, they lay tangled under the sheets. The scent of the incense still hung faintly in the air, mingling with the remnants of their passion. Suddenly, the door to the private room burst open, slamming against the wall with a loud bang.

"John!.... John how could you do this to me?" a voice screamed, shrill and furious. Sherlin stormed into the room, her eyes widening in horror as she took in the scene before her. John, lying next to the hotel staff member, the rumpled bed and the undeniable evidence of what had happened. Her face went pale, and then she began to cry, her tears turning into a rage-filled torrent as she rounded on John.

"What is this?! What is going on here?!" she shouted, her voice shaking with disbelief and betrayal.

John, feeling an immediate wave of irritation at her interruption, forced a mask of calm over his face. He couldn't afford to lose his temper now, not with Sherlin standing there, her face streaked with tears. The woman beside him, panicked, scrambled to gather her clothes. In her haste, she stumbled out of the bed, blushing furiously as she mumbled apologies. Within seconds, she was rushing out of the room, desperate to avoid being fired, her footsteps echoing down the hall.

Sherlin's gaze followed the woman's escape before snapping back to John, who was already reaching for her, his expression now softened with an almost practiced regret.

"Sherlin, listen to me," he said gently, taking her hands in his. "It was a mistake... a moment of weakness. You have to understand I...I was drugged... I didn't know she was here and couldn't control the effects of the drugs. It meant nothing, I promise."

Sherlin's sobs grew louder as she wrenched her hands free, her voice breaking. "A mistake? You call this a mistake?! You were with someone else, John, and I had to find out like this!" She glared at him, her face flushed with a mix of fury and heartbreak.

John sighed, inwardly annoyed by her reaction but careful not to show it. He forced a sympathetic smile, trying to pull her into his arms, his tone gentle and soothing. "I know, I know... I messed up, but it was just a lapse in judgment. You're the one I care about. Can't you see that? I'm asking you to forgive me, Sherlin. Don't let one mistake ruin what we have. I love you and wouldn't, want anything to come in between us"

She hesitated, her tear-filled eyes searching his face for any hint of truth, her shoulders shaking with the effort to contain her anger and disappointment. "I don't know if I can just forget this, John," she said, her voice raw with emotion.

He pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her forehead, his grip firm as he whispered reassurances she wasn't entirely sure she believed. "Please, Sherlin," he said, his voice low and pleading. "We can get past this. I'll make it up to you. I swear."

For a moment, Sherlin remained stiff in his embrace, her mind torn between wanting to believe him and the raw pain of betrayal. Finally, she relented, letting him hold her as she continued to cry softly against his chest, the sting of what she had seen slowly dulling under the weight of his promises. "I can only forgive you if you agree to divorce Alice" She would seize this moment and make sure they got divorced

John hesitated for a moment, Sherlin's words reminding him if his encounter with Alice and, the fact that she proposed the divorce he only hesitated slightly and responded "Of course baby I'll do anything, for you we'll go to the civil affairs bureau when I'm free" Sherlin didn't miss the hesitation in his expression but didn't comment on it and slowly buried herself into his body.