Chapter 2


    Chapter 2 The Addictive Taste of Her


    The room was bathed in a warm glow of the lights. The man who sat on the couch had wless


    features, his handsome face the painstaking artwork of the heavens. He wore a finely tailored suit that


    entuated his strong silhouette. At present, Elliot Presgrave’s eyes turned icy as his grandmother’s


    steely voice reverberated in his mind.


    Elliot, you must take Anastasia Tillman for a wife. I will only have her and no one else as my


    granddaughter-inw in the Presgrave Family.


    Right now, however, the only person Elliot was thinking of was the woman whom he had ravished in the


    dark all those years ago. That fateful night, his drink had beenced and rendered him so intoxicated


    that the only thing he remembered was how the woman had hopelessly sobbed while she begged for


    mercy under him.


    When all was done, he had taken off his watch and pressed it into her hand, thereafter passing out in


    the dimness of that room.


    Fast forward to five yearster; he was still looking for her. It was justst week when he learned that


    she had sold off his watch at the secondhand market, but the news came toote, for his grandmother


    insisted that he take some other woman for a wife.


    Just then, his phone rang once more. He picked it up and greeted brusquely, “What?”


    “Young Master Elliot, we have found the girl. Her name is Hayley Seymour, and she was the one who


    personally sold off the watch.”


    “Send me her address, and I’ll pay her a visit,” Elliot ordered as an ted gleam shed in his eyes.


    The mysterious girl from that night has finally been sighted! I have to find her, no matter what. I need to


    make it up to her for the things I’ve done that night.


    Meanwhile, Hayley was in the women’s boutique. She had taken over the boutique a little over a year


    ago, but the business had been on a steady decline. Struggling to pay rent, she had tried toe up


    with ways to scrape together enough money to tide over. Atst, she decided to try to sell the watch


    she had in her possession, and much to her pleasant surprise, it fetched a whopping price of five


    hundred thousand.


    The watch hadn’t been hers, to begin with. Five years ago, the clubhouse staff had contacted her and


    told her that they had retrieved a watch from the private room, thereafter prompting her to collect it from


    their lost and found department. Upon arriving at the club and seeing that it was a designer men’s


    watch, she imed it as her own without even a second of hesitation.


    Since then, the watch had been nestling in her closet until she decided to sell it off at the secondhand


    marketst week. Leading up to the sale, she hadn’t expected that the watch would be worth much, but


    that was before she was offered an astonishing five hundred thousand for it.


    Hayley was glowing as she stared at the amount of money she had in her ount, and she thought


    happily to herself, I guess I can livefortably for a while longer.


    At that moment, the door to her boutique swung open, and she quickly rose to greet the customer.


    “Wee to…”


    She trailed off then, so stunned that she abandoned the rest of her words.


    The man who had entered her boutique stood tall and straight. He was handsome beyond


    comprehension, and he carried with him an innate nobility.


    It took a while for Hayley to snap out of her daze before she stumbled over her words to ask, “I-Is there


    someone you’re looking for, sir?”


    That was a fair question, considering she was running a women’s boutique. It was impossible that a


    man wearing a refined handmade suit would be here to browse through dresses and the like. He


    looked like he stood at six feet two, and there was no mistaking the domineering edge of his presence.


    “Hayley Seymour?” Elliot asked as his narrowed eyes locked onto her. He searched her face,


    desperately trying to find traces of the woman from five years ago.


    “Y-Yes, that’s me. And you are…” She couldn’t quite finish her words; her faculty of speech was going


    haywire under the man’s burning gaze.


    Having heard her reply, the man reached into his pocket and produced a men’s watch before her, then


    asked in a deep, rumbling voice, “Has this watch been in your possession all these years?”


    Hayley nced at the watch and instantly felt the urge to shrink into herself. Blinking guiltily, she


    stammered, “Y-Yes, the watch is… mine.”


    “And you were the woman from the Abyss Club five years ago? The one who was in Room 808?” Elliot


    pressed, eyeing the girl in front of him intently as he thought with a start, Could she really be the girl


    from that night?


    The wheels in Hayley’s mind began to turn furiously. Room 808 from five years ago… Wasn’t that the


    room where Erica and I set Anastasia up? Why is this man asking me about that incident?


    Without dwelling too much on this, she answered straightforwardly, “Of course, that was me.”


    “Keep this watch from now on, and don’t try to pawn it off again. I’ll make it up to you for what


    happened that night,” he said as he handed the watch to her. “I’m Elliot Presgrave. Remember my


    name, will you?”


    Hayley looked up at him in shock. Elliot Presgrave? As in, the heir to Presgrave Corporation, the


    leading conglomerate? “Y-You’re Elliot Presgrave?” she asked, so overwhelmed she might copse.


    The man next to Elliot handed her a name card and interjected, “Miss Seymour, this is our young


    master’s name card. You may look for him if you need his help in any way.”


    She took the card with one shaky hand, and when she saw the shell-shocking name embossed onto


    the gold stationery, her heart nearly flew out of her chest. So the guy who slept with Anastasia five


    years ago was not the male escort we arranged for her, but this fine specimen who happens to be the


    heir to the Presgraves’ family fortune?


    As realization dawned upon her, Hayley reached out and grabbed Elliot’s arm, then forced tears to


    spring to her eyes as she threw a fit. “You have to take responsibility, Elliot. Do you know how hurt and


    traumatized I was after that night?” With that, she looked down and cried crocodile tears, sobbing


    miserably like she was the one who had been vited five years ago.


    There was only one thing on her mind right now: to step into Anastasia’s shoes and assume the role of


    the victim from that fateful night. She was set on having Elliot take responsibility so that she could get


    more benefits out of this. Ultimately, she hoped to marry the man and be Mrs. Presgrave.


    “Don’t worry, I promise to take responsibility,” the man said solemnly, his husky voice steady and


    reassuring.


    “Miss Seymour, Young Master Elliot has arranged a vi for you, and you can move in anytime. He will


    take care of all your needs from now on.” Elliot’s personal assistant, Rey Osborne, pointed out


    helpfully.


    Hayley’s eyes lit up at once. She was so ecstatic she could pass out. A world of riches and mor will


    soon be in my hands!N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.


    “There are some things I have to take care of, so I’ll get going,” Elliot said, then after casting Hayley a


    brief look, he turned to leave.


    When the door swung shut behind him, Hayley clutched the watch tightly. She was so overwhelmed by


    this unexpected turn of events that she could cry. “I’m going to be rich! Rich!” While she celebrated the


    windfall, she found herself hoping viciously that Anastasia had dropped dead within thest five years


    so that she wouldn’t appear out of nowhere like roadkill.


    In the understated luxury ride, Elliot sat in the backseat with his eyes closed. Is Hayley really the


    woman from five years ago? Why does she seem different? Or have five years changed her?


    The orange rays of the setting sun spilled through the car window and yed over the man’s chiseled


    features. He looked so handsome that it was hard to believe he wasn’t some valuable piece of art that


    belonged in a museum; there was no one who could replicate such fine looks.


    He was the true sessor to Presgrave Group. He had taken over the reins five years ago and


    launched the conglomerate to new heights, so much so that it was crowned first ce among the


    world’s leadingpanies.


    On that fateful night five years ago, he had experienced his first and only downfall in his lifetime. One of


    his rivals had spiked his drink in hopes of manipting him into ruining his own reputation. Elliot had


    saved himself by darting into the private room, but just as the effect of the drug was at its peak, a


    random woman scurried in and relieved him of his predicament.


    Since then, the fact that he had just ravished and taken away a girl’s innocence had been weighing on


    his conscience.


    He was sure that she had been chaste up to that night, for when he woke up after the deed, he saw


    under the lights of the private room the traces of blood that stained the couch.


    As he thought about the scattered mess in the private room that followed his misdeed, he stopped


    doubting Hayley’s identity and his impression of her. I have to take responsibility for what I’ve done to


    her.


    While this was happening, Anastasia was in her apartment somewhere abroad as she said on the


    phone, “Got it. Give me three days tops to return to the country and prepare for thepetition.”


    “Mommy, are we going back?” A small figure wandered over to her side. He wore a blue checkered


    shirt and a pair of denim shorts. His features were delicately chiseled, albeit childish. He was only four


    or so, but there was unmistakable grace and elegance to his movements.


    Anastasia smiled and nodded. “Would you like to go back with me?”