When Love Is A Lie by Ingrim Dempster

Should a woman always give her first time to someone she loves?

The moment the sharp pain ripped through her, Katherine Clarke realized that her chance for that was gone for good.

Faced with a stranger forcing himself on her, she cried so hard her vision blurred. Her instincts told her to run, but her weak, disoriented body couldn't move. All she could do was give in to the nightmare and sink into despair.

When she finally accepted there was no escape, she clenched her jaw and tried to hide how scared she was. Her voice was dry and broken as she muttered, "At least use protection."

The man on top of her stopped for just a second but didn't say a word. Instead, his actions became even more violent.

She didn't know how much time had passed before it ended. Completely worn out, she lost consciousness.

The next morning, when she woke up, the suite was quiet and empty. The messy bed and the pain in her body told her clearly—it hadn't been a nightmare. It had really happened.

It had all been planned. What was supposed to be a regular business dinner turned out to be a trap. She'd been given drink after drink until she could barely stay awake, then sent to that room to be taken advantage of.

Last night, when she realized she had been set up, in her half-conscious state, she had thought of Julian Nash—her husband—who had just come back from a business trip. She messaged him again and again, calling nonstop. When he finally answered, his voice was cold and distant. "I'm busy. Call the cops."

Even now, his words kept ringing in her ears.

With just a few words, he had crushed all the love they'd shared and what little pride she had left.

A bitter laugh slipped out as the pain in her heart turned numb. She slowly pushed the blanket off and got out of bed.

Just then, a business card slid off the bed and fell to the floor.

She stopped in her tracks. She picked it up slowly, and the second she saw the logo, her blood ran cold.

It was from Nash Group.

The room had been dark, and she never saw the man's face. But out of all the things she could've imagined, she never thought the man from last night would be connected to Julian's company.

Could Julian have had something to do with this?

......