The first night was gone. Evelyn Morgan tried every means to pull herself out of grief. After all, life had to go on. Who made her get drunk and find a "cowherd"?
As a sophomore who was not staying on campus, she walked to the entrance and found a crowd blocking the way, not knowing what was happening.
She squeezed into the crowd and saw Caden Lockwood standing upright next to a black car. He was still as handsome and imposing as ever, yet too indifferent for anyone to approach, ignoring the gasps from the crowd of admirers.
Evelyn immediately turned to run but heard that familiar voice call out: "Evelyn!"
Oh no!
She quickened her steps, but a firm grip tightened around her wrist. Her scalp tingled. She turned her head and looked up her arm—it was indeed Caden Lockwood.
"Get in the car." His tone was commanding.
Listening to the gasps from her peers around, Evelyn's face changed.
Why did Uncle come?
Did he want the whole school to know she spent the night with a cowherd?
Without another word, Evelyn obediently got into the passenger seat. In a situation like this, leaving was the best choice.
The car slowly drove away from the school. Evelyn glared at Caden and roared, "Why did you..."
"Girl." Caden spoke calmly, his aura completely overshadowing hers, "I'm here to collect the payment."
Those few words left Evelyn completely stunned.
Pay...ment...
Oh my God!
What nonsense was he babbling!
"Isn't it reasonable?" A particularly enticing smile curved at the corner of his mouth, "You spent the night with me. I have professional integrity; I won't overcharge or undercharge."
Evelyn looked at Caden, utterly dumbfounded, her eyes blinking in a peculiar cuteness.
She had overlooked it—he seemed correct in his logic: she called for special service; she should pay.
"How...how much?" Her voice got choked in her throat.
"Thirty-six thousand five hundred, non-negotiable." His deep, sexy voice reverberated over her nearly collapsing nerves.
"You're robbing me!" Evelyn shouted, "Why is it so expensive!"
"You were at a world-renowned hotel," Caden looked into Evelyn's eyes, his voice steady and calm. "And you spent the night with a world-renowned man."
Evelyn swallowed hard. Admittedly, her uncle's looks were formidable!
World-renowned?
Could it be true as he claimed, that he was really that good?
But thirty-six thousand five hundred?
She lost her dignity, and she had to pay too?
"You...you must be joking." Evelyn's voice trembled, "How could it be so much! I didn't feel any...top-notch...service!"
Caden lowered his eyes and chuckled, his handsome face brimming with vitality. His thin lips moved slightly as he said something that made Evelyn's face change: "Didn't you feel no pain?"
Evelyn remained stiff for a full five minutes, her heart being peeled away like an onion, layer by layer, her eyes filled with a thin mist, stubbornly refusing to shed tears.
Caden's thoughts were utterly captivated by the delicate girl beside him. Seeing her in such sorrow, his heart clenched, silently scolding himself for being too harsh on her.
As if finally resigning herself to fate, Evelyn took a deep breath and suggested with a sob: "I don't have so much money. Can I owe a part of it first?"
Caden raised an eyebrow. Evelyn had refused his financial support since she was sixteen, asking Aunt May to tell him she'd pay back the money she used over the years bit by bit, stubbornly and resolutely, almost heartbreakingly so.
Indeed, he was bullying her, wasn't he!
Caden had never thought he would spend so much time teasing a girl.
He certainly wasn't free at all!
"I accept only one method of installment payment." His deep, mellow voice brimmed with authority as he stared at her and opened his lips: "Two dollars a day, without interruption."