𝐻𝑢𝑟𝑡 𝑀𝑒 𝑁𝑜𝑡

It wasn't just another year; it was a great one. My father had just publicly launched his third company. You can imagine the immeasurable joy in our hearts. To celebrate, he threw a lavish party at the most expensive hotel in the city. I saw many famous and well-known individuals in the country, to be frank I was proud of my dad.

At the party, my mother stood beside him, wearing an expression that spoke of how she had stood by him through the hardest, roughest, and sleepless nights. Through all his frustrations and lonely nights, if not for us, he would have given up long ago. That's my mother, Fenna Kingsley Prescott

"Alondra, make sure you take pictures of every step your father and I take and post them, okay?" my mother exclaimed in a whisper.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, Mom."

I took out my phone and opened the camera. She hurried over to my father, and I took several photos and posted them. I rolled my eyes again and headed downstairs.

The dress Sapphire chose for me clung to my figure, accentuating my shape. My hips felt more pronounced, which made me incredibly self-conscious. My cleavage was prominently on display. Sapphire had chosen this wine-colored dress for me, and I couldn't refuse her gift.

That was when I saw him — Lev Sinclair. Tall, with perfectly combed silky brown hair and an unreadable expression on his face. In his left hand, he held a glass of red wine. He was staring at me, but it felt as though he was looking right through me. He wore a sharp smirk.

I should have looked away, but I couldn't. My eyes refused to move from him. It was as if they had stopped functioning the moment they landed on Lev Sinclair.

I instinctively used my hands to cover my exposed cleavage and took a few steps backward. Even though we weren't close, I could feel his gaze — his eyes alone could undress me. It was as if he was memorizing every inch of my body.

I hurriedly went to sit with Sapphire, who barely noticed me. She was engrossed in her phone.

"Alondra! I didn't see you coming! Mhmm, someone is proud of her daddy," she teased childishly. That was when I realized I was still at the party. I took a glass of water from a waiter and gulped it down like my life depended on it.

"Alondra, are... are you sweating? Under all these air conditioning?" Sapphire retorted, making the word 'sweating' sound like a sin.

I touched my face in horror. "How on earth...!?" I exclaimed. Even my makeup was melting off.

Could Lev Sinclair really have such an effect on me? It wasn't like I had a crush on him. His devious stare made me shiver and had physically made me sweat.

"I'm going to the washroom, please bring me your makeup box, okay?" I said nervously as I headed to the washroom. I washed my face repeatedly, then used a tissue to pat it dry.

_Shit. What was that? Who the hell is he?? Was what I could manage to say.