What's up bitch? Are you enjoying New York yet?

I miss you Cruela de Vil! You changed my ringtone. You'll pay for this.

For as long as you are a thousand miles away, you can't do that so...Yah, Hahaha! *evil laugh*

I met your brother, he's really nice unlike his devil of a sister.

OMG! You had sex with my brother?! You're not so virgin anymore arentya? Ewww.....my own brother!

What? Crazy bitch.

So you guys did not do it? Wow, that's a change for my brother. Well, I forgot to consider that you are the Queen of Prudes, I believe you.

I'm not a prude!

You're a 26 yr old virgin. Need I say more?

Can we stop talking about my chastity now?

Okay so spill it.

Well--

Well what? OMG! We're not talking about Dylan here right? I warned you about him!

No! Omg. Dylan is really nice okay, he's hot too...

Eww...he's my brother.

Hahahaha!

Soooo omg the suspense is killing me!

Well I met this guy... He lives across the street. He's .....he's like...uhhhhh I can't even begin to describe him!

Did you feel like your underwear was getting wet and your bra unhooked on its own when you met him?

What?!

Kidding. But seriously answer the question--

Amylinda Cabezares Lee!

Yes, Mary Arabella Galves?....*batting my lashes*

You have no hope, you know that..*sticking out my tongue*

Okay fine, then describe what you felt when you met him.

That's the point. It's indescribable. I can't find the right words. My heart was pounding so hard when I met him. It felt like the world stopped revolving around us. I'm confused A. I wish you're here with me right now. I'm miserable.

Don't make me cry now B.

I guess I just miss you. No one's gonna snap me out of this insanity.

Oh B. I can call Dylan to give you a huge smack in the head. He's good at it you know, he's doing it professionally.

:(

That's it! I'm flying there tomorrow.

Don't be silly. I know Ana is still sick. I'm sorry A.

It's okay.

I'm sure she will be fine. She has the best, most badass Nurse taking care of her.

You know it! Sooo what about the hot guy. Does he have a name?

His name is Nikolai.

Nice name. Well, maybe what you are feeling is puppy love?

Haha you're funny.

I can feel you're grinning like a retarded seal.

yeah yeah I am. Thanks, A! So what now?

Well, just try to enjoy the feeling. Maybe it will just disappear tomorrow. Sleep it over. If its still there tomorrow. Well, it's really puppy love. Haha!

Thanks A. I miss you soooooooooo much!

I miss you too. Love you!

Love you! See you soon k?

K bitch.

Slut. Xoxo.

Sleep it over and don't have sex with my brother. I'm out!

Dammit, that bitch didn't even give me the chance to get back at her. I closed my laptop and tossed it on my bed.

Amy's right. This feeling will eventually go away. I'm gonna meet with Lily and some of the teachers from St. Mary's at a club called Blaze. This will be a good distraction.

I'm wearing a black strapless dress perfectly fitting my body and of course the requisite black pumps and a glittery black clutch for my phone and money.

I took the cab going to Blaze. I have been texting Lily that I was on my way but she is not responding so I decided to go ahead inside, perhaps they are already there.

A huge man wearing all black is guarding the door. There is a long line on the right side of the club. I'm quite surprised that I am able to go in easily. I just smiled at the muscle man and he unhooked the red thingy separating the waiting line and him just like that. It was so cool and weird at the same time.

The club was already crowded when I arrived but I was able to squeeze my way towards the bar. And then, I received a text from Lily that they are canceling because something came up. How convenient.

Since I'm already here, I might as well enjoy the night. I don't want this outfit to go waste.

I ordered iced tea since I have very low alcohol tolerance. A few percent in my system and I'm already intoxicated. Thank God Amy was there during our graduation party. She saved me the first time I passed out. Now that she's not here, there is no way I'm getting drunk.

"Hi, can I have iced tea please?"

"Iced tea? Are you sure? How about some tequila? First shot's in the house." Said the bartender.

"I'm sure. I'm still waiting for some friends, I don't want to get hammered early you know." I lied.

"Okay, as you wish."

"Thank you."

Geez, why do I have a weird feeling that someone is looking at me? I instantly shake off the crazy thought and just enjoyed the music and my iced tea.

While I'm enjoying the music, a guy wearing a suit and glasses approached me in the bar. He is sporting a thin beard and he looks pretty decent.

"Hi." He said with a smile on his face.

"Hello." I replied.

"I'm jrrwdd"

"What?" I didn't hear what he said so he leaned closer to my ear.

"I'm Jared."

"Oh, hi Jared. I'm Belle."

"Belle, nice name. Like the princess."

"I'm surprised that you know Belle."

"Hahaha! I have a sister and she loves Beauty and the Beast. In fact, that's what I bought her for her birthday, a Belle doll."

"Aww that's sweet."

"What are you having?"

"Iced tea." I pointed at my glass.

"But why?" He had a questioning look.

"But why not?" I retorted.

"Haha! Okay. Belle."

"Queen." I said.

"What?"

"Belle is actually not a princess. She's a queen. She married technically the king that makes her a queen."

"Good to know." He replied. We both laughed at our silly conversation. "One more drink? Perhaps with alcohol." He added.

"Uhm okay but just one glass."

"Okay promise. What would you like?"

"Surprise me."

While Jared was calling the bartender, the weird feeling was still there. I looked around and noticed that the club has an upper floor with lounges and several private corners perhaps for the VIP.

"Here you go. For the Queen."

"Thank you, Jared."

"Cheers."

Wow, this drink is actually good.

"You like it?" Said Jared while leaning close to me.

"Yes very much."

"So who are you with tonight?"

"Oh, supposedly some people from work but they bailed the last minute. So here I am, talking to some stranger."

"Ouch. That hurts."

"Haha!"

"Care to dance with a stranger?"

"Dance? I thought you'd never ask."

"Haha. Well let's go."

We walked into the crowd. Jared is holding my hand as we make our way closer to the middle. His eyes are glued to me and down at my body and back to my eyes. He now has a very unsettling look on his face.

Slowly, I felt like I'm seeing double and strikes of bright lights are blinding me. I can feel Jared's arms wrap around my waist all too tightly. He grabbed me closer to him not allowing me to move. I tried with all my strength to pull away from him but I can't seem to find my ground. I felt trapped and helpless. The smell of smoke and alcohol became too distinct. I feel like I'm suffocating. What is happening to me?

Suddenly, I felt someone grab me from the back and held me around my waist.

"Take him out." Said the one who grabbed me. He has this very familiar accent, I thought I have heard before.

Everything around me slowly became a blur. The last image I saw was that a huge guy hooked his arm around Jared's neck as another one stood in between me and Jared. And then I blacked out.

~

I can hear some voices. I try to open my eyes but everything around me is a blinding white. I flicker my eyes, even more, to see in blur an old man wearing white and it seems like he is talking to me.

"How are you feeling child?"

Oh my goodness, "God?"

Wow, I died a virgin. I might as well be called The Virgin Mary now. Amy would have flipped teasing me if she's here. I never thought I'd go down like this.

I heard someone chuckle from my side. "Volkov is right. She's cute."

I tried very hard to get up and open my eyes to have a clear view of my surroundings but my head feels too heavy.

"It's okay. Don't get up just yet. How are you feeling?" Said the man in white.

"Where am I? Who are you?"

"My name is Marcus, I'm a doctor. You are in a clinic."

"Why am I here?" Then I remembered vaguely what happened in the club. "How long have I been here? "

I tried getting up again. There are three men in the room. One is sitting on my right side who I assume the one who mentioned the name Volkov. The other one standing on the other side is a muscular guy who looks very familiar. Yes, that's him. The one who grabbed Jared around his neck. And Marcus who has now a small flashlight on his hand.

"Hey, hey calm down you're safe here don't worry. May I?"

He then pointed the light straight at my left then right eye.

"Do you remember being with a man in the club last night?"

"Yes, his name is Jared."

"Well, he drugged you. He might have placed it in your drink when you weren't paying attention."

"Have you not been told not to accept drinks from a stranger especially when you're at the bar?" Said the guy to my right.

I shot a glare towards him. Oh god, he looks very handsome. Why have I been surrounded by scorching hot men the past few days?

"Who brought me here?"

"Volkov. He owns club Blaze. My name is Alexei, and that's Boris."

"Where is he? Volkov?"

"He's not here. He said you call this number the next time you get in trouble. Like, the next time you decide to accept a drugged drink from a stranger again." The man named Alexei said all arrogantly and sarcastically.

He then handed me a piece of paper. I took the paper but I didn't even bother reading what's written on it. He's right. I was careless. It was stupid of me to have stayed in the club on my own let alone trust a stranger easily. I could have been raped or worse killed by some psycho who pretends to be nice.

Tears are now flowing from my eyes. I feel alone and miserable. I don't want to be here anymore.

"I'm sorry. It's just that you should be careful. You're lucky Volkov was there last night." Said Alexei and he sounded worried and apologetic. I, on the other hand, am not having any of it. I just want to get out of this suffocating place.

"Where's my purse?" I asked while wiping the tears from my face.

The other guy named Boris handed it to me. I grabbed my phone and dialed Dylan. My only family here. I was still tearing up when he answered.

"Whats up Belle? Miss me already?"

"Hey..." My voice was a little shaky...

"Hey what's wrong? What happened?"

"I'm okay. Can you come over and collect me?"

"Where are you?" Dylan sounds worried.

"Ill text you the address. Come for me please?"

"I'll be there. Are you sure you're okay? You don't sound okay Belle."

"I'm sure. Just come get me, please. "

"We can bring you home instead. It's Volkov's order." Said Alexei butting in.

"Please extend my thanks to Mr. Volkov and I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused. I will be forever grateful to him for saving my life. Dr. Marcus thank you very much. Please just send the check to me for the bill."

"Oh no, Volkov took care of it. He owns this clinic so you don't have to worry." Dr. Marcus taps my shoulder and left the room.

I will have to thank Mr. Volkov personally. He must be a very nice person or maybe he's just worried about the reputation of his club, either way, I should pay him a visit soon. As of now, I have to go, I don't want to stay here any longer.

A few minutes later, Dylan came barging in. He's still sporting a rugged look with his leather jacket but he has a fresh cut on his left brow. He looked like he got into a fight.

"Hey what happened." Asked Dylan worriedly."Are you okay? What happened? You know Amy's gonna kill me if anything bad happens to you right?"

"I'm okay." I try to give him assurance. "Nothing really, I'm okay I just felt dizzy, maybe its the weather, that's all." Dylan noticed the presence of Alexei and Boris. He now has this questioning look on his face.

"I'm Alexei."

"Dylan." They shook hands but they are looking at each other like their measuring up each other's guts.

"Uh, yah they are just checking up on me." I interrupted them abruptly.

I feel bad for not telling Dylan the truth but he should not know what happened or else he will tell Amy.

"Can we go now?" I said impatiently. Dammit, I feel like I'm carrying a huge rock on my head.

"Okay. Can you stand?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I wanna go home now Dylan."

I bid goodbye to Alexei and Boris, and once again thanked them for everything.

~

Loraine already left for a business trip in Hawaii. So far, Sawyer has been keeping himself in his room. Thank goodness Loraine left us food in the refrigerator good for one week. She told me we can also have restaurant take out depending on Sawyer. Having to look after Sawyer is a good distraction to whatever happened the other night. It took some time for the headache to disappear.

Dylan has been consistently checking up on me. The man has called three times in a span of 5 hours. I swear that guy is as tenacious as his sister. They are both overprotective too. He surely is Amy with a dong.

I noticed that Sawyer has been really quiet for quite some time now. The door to his room his half-open already.

"Sawyer, can I come in?" He just nodded. "Do you need anything?"

"None at the moment." Sawyer said blankly while glued to the computer screen.

"I made sandwiches for both of us. And some cranberry juice too. This is good for you." I said with glee.

"I'm crippled, not feverish." Sawyer retorted.

"Whether a person is crippled or feverish, he still needs to eat. And please stop calling yourself crippled."

He lets out a sigh of frustration and looks at me in the eyes.

"I'm hungry Sawyer, and I don't like eating alone. Come on!"

"You know you are whiny and needy."

"I am not! Although the needy part, I'm not sure yet. I'm just really really hungry." I'm actually not hungry, not at all. I just needed to engage Sawyer and I know ill get to him.

I walked towards his direction, turned his wheelchair to face me and leaned closer to his face. We had a staring challenge for a while. I am gutted to see his blue eyes which are filled with sadness and hopelessness.

"Come, ill tell you a secret while we eat."

I let him take his own sandwich and I placed one glass of cranberry juice near his end of the small square table.

I took my sandwich and made a huge bite. Wow, this is actually good. Im so proud of myself. Sawyer took a bite and looks like he enjoyed the sandwich as well.

"So?" Sawyer asked impatiently.

"So? What?"

"The secret..." He said while munching on his sandwich.

"You know for a guy, you like to gossip."

"You're the one who told me that you will tell me a secret."

"I'm kidding." I winked at him. He lets out a smile in response. The first ever genuine smile from him. My heart is instantly filled with warmth. The exact feeling I get whenever my kids from the schools I have volunteered in, randomly hug or kiss me out of nowhere.

"I got drugged in a club the other night. Some sick guy slipped the drug into my drink."

Sawyer looked horrified. I told him everything that happened to me in the club. He listened to me attentively while clutching his hand on his wheelchair.

"What if that Jared got into you. God knows what he could have done to you!" He said almost scowling.

"Easy there champ. I have had that sermon from Alexei, no need to reiterate it. I get it. I know I have been careless."

"No, just imagine what could have happened if that Volkov guy did not come to your rescue."

The memory of that night came rushing back to me. Volkov really saved my life. And I haven't even met the guy. I feel guilty leaving the clinic without even asking for Volkov. Is that even his real name? Where can I find him? Oh my gosh! I suddenly remember Alexei gave me a piece of paper where I can contact Volkov, the man himself. The man saved my life but I have been one ungrateful bitch.

I quickly stood up from my chair.

"Hey Sawyer, I'll grab something from my apartment, don't move." Sawyer had a puzzled look on his face. His eyebrows crinkled while looking at me leave the room.

I quickly ran towards my apartment. I scoured through my belongings to find my purse. It's just around here somewhere. Here! I found it under my bed. I took the piece of paper and instantly ran back upstairs to Sawyer.

At this point, adrenaline is pumping through my system. I never thought the person who I'm supposed to help, was the one who made me realize something.

"I got it!"

"Whats that?"

"It's Volkovs number. Alexei gave this to me in the clinic." Oh god, my judgment was so clouded I even forgot about this.

I slowly opened the folded piece of paper. My eyes widened when I saw what's printed on it, a phone number and the complete name of Volkov.

Oh my god. I feel like all the air evaded my lungs. "Sawyer, can you search this name on the internet for me. Limit your search to New York only."

Sawyer wheeled his way towards his computer and typed in Volkovs name. I on the other hand just stood there. Glued to the floor. I can feel the blood pumping in my heart very fast.

"Here! Nikolai Vyacheslav Volkov, President and owner of Volkov Holdings. I think that's him." Sawyer said while pointing at the screen.

A picture of a man walking in a black trench coat surrounded by other men in suit. Oh my god! My hunch has been confirmed. Volkov, the man who saved my life is none other than Nikolai, the Nikolai I met the other day.

"Hey, are you okay?" Asked Saywer while holding my hand.

"Yah, I'm okay."

My hands are already shaking. I decided to text the number from the piece of paper.