The Aftermath

The long eyelashes flickered a little as Lyla opened her eyes. Yet she closed her hazy blue eyes as soon as she opened them.

It was too bright for her. She quickly rolled to the other side of the bed to escape the invading brightness.

'Ouch.' Lyla hissed as soon as she tried to move her body. Retracting her legs close to her chest, she coiled up like a ball. It was only then the muscle pain along her lower abdomen reduced a little.

"Won't you wake up?" The voice was famine, but it was anything but soft. And the only emotion it had was anger.

"Ahh!" Lyla helplessly opened her eyes again, only to find a woman she knew. Unlike her usual business suit, she was wearing a white shirt and black skirt.

This side of the room wasn't too bright. Lyla opened her eyes and took another look, mumbling in a slimy voice, "Kira? Good morning."

"Are you sure it is still morning?" Kira, her manager, was anything but happy.

"Why are you so angry, Kira? Is your aunt Flo coming to visit?" While speaking, Lyla rubbed her face on the pillow to get a better position.

"You?" If Lyla could open her eyes in time, she would have seen the flares coming out of Kira's nostril. Kira grabbed the white blanket covering Lyla and pulled it off without hesitation.

"Noooo," Lyla screamed. "I want to sleep. I have no shooting today." Lyla tried to move her hand to every corner of the bed just to find the blanket while shutting her eyes shut tight.

However, her haphazard movement reawakened her muscle cramp, and she coiled up into a ball again.

All this time, Kira stood at the side of the bed, shocked. The blanket had already fallen from her hand. She was staring at the coiled-up Lyla, who didn't have a single string on her body.

The white bedsheet beneath Lyla had stains of all shapes and sizes. Last night, based on the numbers, must have been extremely intense.

For a moment, Kira thought the workers had forgotten to replace the sheets. However, it was not some kind of cheap motel. After all, it was a subsidiary of a 5-star hotel chain.

More than that, those intense love bites were especially bright on the pale white skin of the naked woman in front of her.

"What the hell were you doing last night?" Kira couldn't hold it in any longer. Her scream startled Lyla. She quickly jumped up on the bed, only to realize the cramp in her lower abdomen was a severe one.

For the moment, all she could do was grab her stomach, but Kira didn't have a single ounce of sympathy towards her. Her eyes were glued to Lyla's nether region.

Without a single hair, there was nothing to hide. And the hickeys were especially dense around her puffy vaginal lips. Parts of her pubic and inner thighs were very red.

Right now, Kira's chest was like a big bellow, pumping air into her brain. Still, it didn't quench her anger. She just wanted to beat her.

Yet she stood there for a moment while staring at Lyla, who was clutching her stomach. She wanted to know what Lyal was thinking last night.

For a brief while, Kira refused to look at her. She inhaled deeply and turned to leave the room without saying anything. She needed some time to clear her brain, or she might really beat her up.

"Kira, it's aching." Kira's hand stopped an inch away from the doorknob. She looked back, only to find Lyla was staring at her with a pair of teary eyes.

*Knock* *Knock*

"Who is it?"

"It's Dave. I have brought some clothes."

Kira looked back at Lyla, who was still sitting on the bed naked, answering, "Wait for a moment," and moved to cover her.

When Kira opened the door, Dave handed her a bag without even trying to peek. Kira, on the other hand, snatched the bag and slammed the door in his face.

"Lunch is served," Dave spoke from the other side of the closed door, adding, "we can talk after lunch."

'He knows something.' Kira was sure about it, and she wanted to run out to interrogate him. But she needed to have an idea of what had happened.

She looked back to find Lyla wasn't on the bed anymore.

Kira discovered a shirt, jeans, an incorrectly sized bra, a panty, and a sweatshirt in the bag. A mask, a box of sanitary pads, and a pack of pain relief patches were also included in the bag.

'They are quite accustomed to this kind of thing.' Kira had expected that much when the employee of the Dykon's Nest informed her about Lyla.

"Kira!" The shaky voice attracted her attention, and as she looked back to find Lyla's face was already white as a sheet of paper.

Tears were streaming down from her eyes as Lyla came running naked in Kira's embrace. And the dam broke.

Kira wanted to rebuke her, but listening to the muffled groan coming from her, the girl from her embrace, she couldn't say a single word.

She could understand what was going through Lyla's mind. After all, in this world, no one knew Lyla better than her.

She was just 20 when she joined Star entertainment as a rookie manager. And her first artist was a cute 8-year-old girl.

It's been 12 years. The child artist became a teenager and was dubbed as 'nation's sister.' She landed her first major role at the age of 18 and won the award for best rookie.

Yet, looking at the girl who was crying her eyes out on her chest, Kira felt that the little girl had never really grown up.

She took the blanket to cover Lyla's body and sat down on the bed. She wanted to know what had happened last night, but she knew it was not the time.

It took quite a while before she calmed down completely. When Kira took a better look at her, she found it wasn't just her eyes, but also her upper lips were a little swollen.

Kira simply took out a set of underwear from her own back and put it on Lyla. Like an obedient child, Lyla cooperated with Kira.

"Do you want to use these?" It was only then Lyla looked up to see Kira was talking about the pain relief patch.

Looking at it, Lyla wanted to cry again. She had no memory of last night. Her last memory was having a couple of drinks with a pair of guys before moving to the bar counter to have another one.

When she sat at the bar counter, she remembered someone attempting to take advantage of her. But she had no idea who he was or how he looked.

Looking at the dazed Lyla, Kira shook her head as she pulled Lyla's shirt and hoodie up to put a patch on the abdomen.

As Lyla hissed in pain, Kira couldn't stop herself from saying, "Do you realize how hard I fought the company just so you wouldn't have to serve those filthy scumbags? Yet you have to come out and get lucky."

"I…" Lyla sniffed, trying to hold back her tears. "Kira, I didn't do it. I don't want to do it."

"Then who was it? Did they force you?"

"I don't know." She shook her head as her tears broke. She looked at Kira, with her red eyes, before adding, "I don't, don't remember."

"You…" Kira shook her head. She moved towards the door, knowing that the more she talked to Lyla, the more enraged she would become.

However, before she could reach the door, a cold yet sweaty hand grabbed her. "Kira, please believe me. I didn't want to do it. I just came here to drink."

Lyla was already on her knees. Looking up with a pair of wet eyes, she pleaded, "I drank... They tried to… I went… Then…"

The more she spoke, the more intangible her words had become. "Please don't leave me. I... Lie... I am… The truth. Please… Leave…"

It was as if Lyla had lost the ability to speak. She was opening her just to grasp more air.

"Help! Help!" Kisa had no problem understanding what was happening as soon as Lyla's hand lost its grip. Lyla sprawled on the ground.

"HELP!" Kira cried at the top of her lungs as she moved Lyla's body to her side and put her hand in her mouth to stop her from biting her own tongue.

Tears streamed from her eyes, as she couldn't stop cursing her short-temper. Blood leaked from her finger as unconscious Lyla's jaw was trying to clamp shut. Kisa wasn't feeling any pain.

However, every time she looked at unconscious Lyla she felt as if something was squeezing her heart so tightly that it was about to burst.

"Somebody," she cried as the door pushed open, and Dave came in with a concerned face. "Help me. Please, help her."

********

*Pat* *Pat*

Annie was rapidly punching her speed bag. Rapid hitting sound was resonating through the empty gym.

She was so concentrated on her training that she didn't realize that someone was standing behind her.

"It looks like you had some intense fight last night." The woman spoke in a teasing tone.

"What is my pillow princess doing here?" Annie turned to look at the woman, who was a few years older than her, before moving to grab a towel.

"No, seriously." The woman touched the red scratch marks on Annie's back, adding, "to think there is a woman brave enough to leave the marks on you…"

Annie came to a halt in her path. It wasn't the first time she'd spent the night with a rowdy companion. Yet, it was the first time she had ever felt so defeated.

And this lady was right on the money. It wasn't, however, about a few scratches. It was about a woman who left a mark not only on her skin but also on her mind.

In their society, she was known to be the dominant one on the bed. All those who approached her knew that about her, and she liked it that way.

It was the same about the woman in front of her. Even though she was now Annie's sister-in-law, she too wasn't an exception.

On the surface, it was the same last night. Throughout the entire ordeal, she was on top, yet in the end, it was that small girl who had controlled the pace.

Annie had no idea when she had passed out from exhaustion. She only remembered walking out of the room in a rage when she awoke this morning, frustrated, and saw the woman's blissful expression.

Maria, her sister-in-law, looked at Annie's face and understood what was going on in her mind. After all, before falling for her brother, the amount of time she had spent on Annie's bed wasn't small.

Maria shook her head, knowing what would happen if that woman dared to climb onto her bed again. For now, she had no intention of adding oil to fire.

"You are going to compete in the Olympics, right?" Marie patted the small belly bump and smiled, saying, "You'll be an aunt by the time you return."

"Really?" Annie was pleasantly surprised. But before she could say anything, her phone rang.

"Yes, Dave."

"The girl had a seizure."

"What?" Annie felt a chill down her spine. She was aware that the girl had been drugged, but having a seizure so long after made no sense.

"Her manager said she had past trauma, and the doctor had confirmed."

'Then why are you making me worry?' She wanted to shout at Dave, but couldn't.

"Should I come?" Even if she was angry, she couldn't forget the innocent smile of the girl. It would be wrong to say that she wasn't worried.

"No need. I will take care of everything here." Dave added, "I just told you because you had asked me to."

"Put the bill on me." Annie quickly added, "And don't tell my aunt."

"Don't worry, if the boss gets to know about this then…" Dave didn't dare to jinx it and ended the line after a few words.

"What is it?" Marie asked in a concerned voice.

"Nothing." Annie shook her head and walked toward the bathroom, mumbling, "if I had controlled myself, it might not have happened."