"It's a small world, but not that small. Sometimes you are meant to run into certain people. Some people only leave your life temporarily."

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Chapter Two

Hailey's POV

The rays of the morning sun began to break through the thick envelope of mist. The sound of birds chattering signaled the beginning of another day. My body was awaken by the feeling of hot rays blazing past my face. I snuggled even further into the mounds of pillows and wonderfully soft mattress, feeling like I was laying on layers of clouds.

Wait, since when did my mattress feel this good?

I came to my senses, my eyes shot open as I observed the foreign room I was in.

What happened last night?

I tried to remember about yesterday's event, but I couldn't seem to do it since my head was pounding against my temple, threatening to burst my brain from the inside out. I felt like it would explode anytime soon, so I tried not to force myself into thinking and instead, I focused on relieving my pain by rubbing my head, increasing the pressure every once in a while.

But of course that didn't work.

Damn hangover.

I started to think of the different possibilities I was here, but to no avail. This room was too unfamiliar. I was positive that I had never been here. Panic rose inside me and I gulped my saliva in fear while my eyes began to roam around and scan every inch of the room, saving the images of the room inside my brain. And apparently, my brain couldn't stop itself from wandering off to the place where all my negative thoughts converged.

Did someone kidnap me last night? Or worse, am I going to be sold somewhere as a sex slave?

Tears began to form at the back of my lids but I held them from bursting out.

Okay, think logically. Would a room reserve for a sex slave be this luxurious? It couldn't be, right?

My eyes began to inspect the room, taking in every detail of it. To say that the room was beautiful is an understatement. It was large, about three times bigger than the room at my apartment. The interior of the room was designed in a modern way, with the mix of black, gray, white and dark red. A gigantic glass window filled my view on my left, showcasing a view of the city I lived in. 

So this was what penthouse looked like.

But then, I was left with only one answer to my confusing question. I slept with a stranger last night, didn't I?

I groaned, burying my face in my hands, regretting everything that might have happened last night. I so didn't want to lose my virginity this way. I was saving it for a special person, for the right guy. I didn't even give it away to him. Well maybe that's the reason he cheated on me...

Okay, forget about him.

I totally blamed it on the large amount of alcohol I took last night. This was the reason I usually didn't drink. I would forget about things that happened around me whenever I got drunk. 

I just wanted to loosen up and forget about the heartache that was eating me alive, but was it too much to ask?

The last thing I remembered other than letting the alcohol hit my system was an asshole approaching me, whispering nasty stuffs into my ear. It didn't take me long before I put him in his place and let him get what he deserved. He must have done the same thing to tons of other girls. Just the thought of some girls who fell for his tricks and followed him into bed made me gag and feel the need to vomit.

Well it wasn't just because of that. It was also one of the effects of the hangover I was feeling.

But I suppressed it and covered my mouth with my right hand instantly, my left hand groping aimlessly at the side table to find something that could be useful to cure my hangover, like painkillers.

But a piercing sound of something falling onto the floor and breaking into pieces filled my eardrums, my eyes widened in utter horror as I looked at the broken mug on the floor. My nausea was gone, but my heart was hammering rapidly against my chest since the door started to crack open, leaving just a small gap before the person who was holding me captive here walk in.

But what I didn't expect was to see a tall, handsome, muscular and attractive guy standing in front of me. It looked like he had just finished showering, since excess water was dripping from his hair. His hair was disheveled, but not in a messy way. In fact, he could shoot for a hair gel's commercial right away yet nobody would complain. His naked abs were visible to my eyes, which was a gift to my sight. He was only wearing a pair of sweatpants without any shirt on. His defined muscles rippled as he swayed his arms to walk towards me.

Holy shit. Those six packs.

He cleared his throat before his eyes bored into my soul as he stared at me without muttering anything.

I was sure that I hadn't met him or known him in my whole life, but there was something particularly familiar about his eyes and the structure of his face.

Those vibrant green eyes...

Without letting my mind drift off any further from the main problem, I started to bombard him with multiple questions in one breath.

"Who are you? Where am I? What am I doing here? Did we sleep together?"

He grinned at the last question, his eyes never taking off my face. His eyes then traveled along my body, like he was scanning it before they returned back to my face. I felt naked under his stare, my face heated up, so I slowly pulled the cover closer to my chests. I bit my lips to stop myself from muttering colorful words under my breaths.

"I didn't expect you to be aggressive and naughty. I mean, no offence, but at first I took you for a shy girl. But last night you proved otherwise." His smirk grew wider when he saw my pale face that was turning white as a ghost.

I leapt out of the bed, my feet moving on their own pace, aiming for the door. I needed to get out of here fast.

But he was faster.

He bolted towards the door, locking it and blocking it with his own body to prevent me from going anywhere.

"Let me go!" I cried frantically.

He shook my shoulders, his face was only a few inches from mine. "Listen! We didn't do anything last night, okay? I was just kidding. If I had known that you'd get this panic, I wouldn't have made a joke like that."

My body started to relax, my heart rate was slowly returning to its normal pace as I took a deep breath. "So what happened last night?"

"A creep was trying to get into your skirt, so I hit him and saved you. Then, you collapsed onto the ground and you nearly got your head hit but I managed to catch you. In conclusion, I saved you twice."

I ignored his speech about saving me, so instead, I focused myself on the main point. "How do I know that you didn't take an advantage to me, you know, since I don't remember a thing?" I asked, suspicion was starting to form in the back of my mind.

"Please, girls were already lining up just to sleep with me, and you had a doubt that I might have done something to you?" He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

That was disgusting to hear.

"Well..." I trailed off, scratching the back of my head.

"Sorry, but if your desire to sleep with me is too strong, you can take a waiting number first, and I might consider skipping to you before anyone else if you're nice to me," he said, flashing an arrogant smile to me.

"Woah, conceited much?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "But thank you, for um, saving me." My face grew hotter as soon as the words left my mouth.

His grin grew wider, showing off his perfect teeth. "You're welcome."

He definitely had a smile to die for.

I stood at the same place uncomfortably, didn't know what to do. The tension in the air started to grow thicker and he seemed to notice it as he began to change the topic.

"What's your name?"

"Hailey," I answered, short and simple.

"Your full name?"

"Do I need to tell you?" I demanded, rolling my eyes.

"Well, I did saved you last night, so was your last name such a big deal that it was too hard for you to tell me?"

"Hailey Rose Anderson," I defeated. "What's yours?"

"Ian Matthews," he answered smoothly, his green eyes fixated on me. No wonder I felt like I recognized those pretty green eyes. The person standing in front of me wasn't only one of the biggest players in my college, whom I practically should avoid and not associate with, but worse, Ian was his brother.

Fuck me.

Universe sure has a funny way to ruin my life.

♦ ♦ ♦

Ian's POV

As soon as the name I was born with left my mouth, I noticed her round, blue eyes turning wide, her mouth hanging open in horror and it looked like her jaw almost dropped to the floor.

"You're... you're that Ian?" she asked cautiously and began to back away from me.

She recognized me. My heart jumped a little at the thought, but it soon dropped to a lower level than before. The only possible reason she knew me was because she went to the same college as me. And that also meant that she knew my history with girls.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I shouldn't have told her my name, the name that was known for being a player or a man-whore. The title that I was grown accustomed to. 

I should have created a fake name instead...

Wait. What was I thinking? Since when did I care what girls think about me? I was proud of the title which made girls swarm me like bees to honey. But why did I feel like I didn't want her to know about it? Why would I care what she think of me?

"I don't know what you heard about me, but most of the rumors weren't true. I wasn't heartless like they made me look like," I said defensively, hoping that she would believe me. Some girls had spread rumors at the campus about me dumping them after our first dates, saying that I was mean and cold-hearted. 

I didn't know that one night stand was called a date these days.

And I remembered warning them that I wouldn't go out with them again after that, but they still threw themselves at me. If I knew that they'd hold a grudge on me for not returning their calls after our 'first date', I wouldn't have slept with them at all.

"Sure," she murmured with a look of disbelief. I caught her whispering to herself, "But that wasn't the thing that worried me the most."

"What?" I asked in utter confusion. What else could it be that worried her even more about me other than my notorious title?

She shook her head. "Nothing." She shot up from the bed, grabbing her stilettos in the process and went for the door.

I grabbed her arm instantly, stopping her from getting out of the room. "Hold up! What are you doing?"

"Leaving," she replied in a bored tone.

"Wait, why don't we eat breakfast first? You must be starving," I interrupted, grinning at her.

"Listen, pal, I know that you've helped me and all, but I don't think it's necessary for us to act like we're some sort of old friends and have breakfast together, you know?" As soon as those words escaped her mouth, my grin vanished within a second.

Did she just reject my offer to have breakfast together? And, at the top of that, insulted my attempt at being nice?

Not one girl had ever rejected me before. Ever.

I wasn't used to the feeling of being rejected. I didn't know that it would leave your stomach in knots, or like it had been punched multiple times.

I blinked my eyes a few times, repeating the scene that just happened in my mind. But before I knew it, she was gone.

Well, there goes my challenge.

♦ ♦ ♦

Hailey's POV

As soon as I stepped out of his penthouse, relief washed over my body, replacing the distress and anxious I was feeling. 

I lazily bent down to put on the stilettos that were in my hand, cursing under my breaths why I was foolish enough not to wear flats instead of these 6-inch stilettos that were torturing my feet. I forced my swollen feet to move to the nearby escalator, walking into it and pressing the button to the reception area.

When the elevator started to move down, a huge weight on my shoulders felt like it had been lifted a bit. At least he didn't follow me down here.

Unfortunately, I talked too soon.

Just I was about to walk out of the escalator, my eyes widened in surprise, like they were saucers. A gasp escaped my mouth when I saw him standing less than one meter from me with a smirk tugged on his lips.

"Wait, how do you? But you? But I?" I started to vent. Hearing him chuckling at my involuntary babbling, my blood started to boil. I cleared my throat before I began to speak again, this time in a full sentence. "I mean, weren't you just in your room the minute I left you? How could you come down here so fast? And even faster than me?"

"That's one of things that will keep to be a mystery in your life," he replied, smiling at me.

His smile was contagious. I found myself almost cracking into a tiny smile but I held it in. I kept trying to remind myself that he was his brother. I couldn't let myself to get involved with him, the brother of the guy who shattered my heart without any regret.

"Whatever," I mumbled, sounding as uninterested as possible before I walked away from him.

"Wait!" he shouted, grabbing my arm once again like he did before.

"What?" I asked, feeling irritated.

"Let me give you a ride home," he said casually.

"No thanks. I can get a taxi myself," I declined his tempting offer.

"Without any money?"

I fumbled for my clutch around my body but to no avail. Fear began to overtake me, making paranoia filled my head, leaving me biting my lips to calm myself.

I must have left it at the club.

"Fine. I'll... I'll just walk home," I said without waiting for his reply and I increased my pace towards the main door. My eyes were occupied by an unfamiliar sight of the part of the city. I ignored the looks that the people around here were giving me, like I was a lunatic who just ran away from the mental institution. I could tell that I looked horrible without glancing at a mirror. My tangled hair, makeup smudged face, and the dress I was wearing since yesterday gave it away. I was sure that I smelled like I just came out of a garbage can.

I made a blank face, walking straight in hope that I would recognize the buildings around me, but luck wasn't on my side today.

Not like luck was on my side before anyway.

I huffed in annoyance, feeling my blood pressure increased even higher.

But just then, I heard the sound of a car being honked, indicating that God had sent someone to save me from getting lost in this foreign land.

Well... that was what I thought before my head turned towards the person in the sports car, leaving me face-to-face with him.

Ian Matthews.

He opened the roof to his car and it slowly revealed his handsome face, along with an adorable grin on his lips. "Come on. Hop in. It's unlikely that you will get home before midnight at this rate."

I contemplated, my mind running wild to emerge with the a better solution that receiving his help, but it was useless.

I'll regret this.

I cautiously took a step towards his car, opening the door and sitting next to him like a statue.

I wasn't just feeling uncomfortable, I felt like I just landed myself into a trap that would later make me regret.

Well, I certainly hope not. It's just one ride, right?

After telling him my address, he used the car's GPS to navigate my apartment's location, which would take us 10 minutes to get there according to the system. "Fasten you seat belt. This is gonna be a bumpy ride," he said, smirking slightly.

Before I could protest, he abruptly sped up, causing me to clutch the seat in fear that I would be thrown out of the car anytime soon. Wind blew past us in the opposite direction, slamming my face repeatedly like it had a grudge against me.

Luckily, the car halted to a stop right in front of my apartment. Although the ride was over, I could feel like my heart was hammering inside my chest and my fingers were trembling. Dizziness suddenly rushed over my head, making me feel like puking right away. The nausea I was holding before came back.

And before I knew it, my vomit was all over his expensive car.

Oops.

"My favorite new car!" he screamed, looking like he might cry.

Oh shit.

"I'm so sorry!" I said before I rushed out of his car towards my apartment. 

"Not so fast!" He sprinted towards me, grabbing my arm like he always did.

"You just ruined my car, and now you're trying to run away?" he asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"I'll pay for the cost of cleaning up your car," I suggested to him.

"That's not enough. You owe me. Again. I'll make you pay for it later. But I'll leave you alone, for now." A glint of mischievous crossed his eyes before his lips curled up into a smirk.

I said nothing, my eyes were still on him. "Oh by the way, you left your clutch at my place. Here."

I felt like my mouth couldn't comprehend anything. I was too pissed to even speak nicely. "You jerk! How could you not say anything until now?!"

I could have used the money in it to get a taxi, and all of this wouldn't have happened.

 "I forgot about it," he answered, shrugging. I didn't buy it though. I was certain he deliberately didn't give it to me sooner. "Anyway, I feel like we're gonna cross path with each other again soon, don't you think? I'll see you again, Rose." He went into his car and started the engine. He curled up his lips in disgust when his eyes landed on my vomit. 

My eyes trailed over him until he was out of my sight. His words left me gasping for air, making me feel hyperventilated.

He was wrong. I'd make sure that this was the last time we came across each other.

It wasn't like I was gonna bump into him in college anyway. The college was huge, so it was impossible, right?

But then again, sometimes I talked too soon.

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The second chapter of Winning Her Heart is out even faster than I promised! The next chapter will be updated in 2-3 days, depending on my mood and ideas.

xx,

Tris.