Nafisa woke up with a start, gasping as she sat up. She couldn’t recall her dream, all she remembered was sinking into a never-ending cloud and feeling suffocated.

“What the hell was that dream?” She muttered as she pushed her loose hair back irritated at the feeling of it brushing her neck.

Almost instinctively, her hand reached under her pillow for her phone. After patting around for a moment, she realized that it wasn’t there. Jumping up, she searched underneath her bed and covers. It wasn’t there.

Suddenly flustered, she searched through her entire room and bathroom, messing up the usually organized space in her panic but her phone was nowhere to be found.

“Where could it have gone? After arguing with Dad and the family about my new job I…came back to my room?” As she tried to recall what she had been doing, sharp pain shot through her head, causing her to fall to her knees.

“What….ugh.” Nafisa grabbed her head while groaning in pain. She felt as if her head was going to split in half before the pain suddenly stopped.

Sighing, she got up while rubbing her head, thankful that the pain had stopped.

“This is why I need to stop drinking. The hangovers are horrible. Besides, spending the whole day drinking just because they don’t support my new job is crazy behavior. I’m too old to be acting up like that. Now I can’t find my phone.“

Grumbling to herself, she quickly pulled out her laptop to try and find her phone’s last location. It showed that it was currently located in a cafe called HotPot which was in the financial district somewhat close to her office.

As she had never been there before, she assumed that somebody had stolen her phone and was currently there or her phone itself died. She had some important messages on there that were not backed up.

Noting that it was a little past noon on Sunday, she decided she might as well leave a little early. She usually came to spend the weekends at home with her family, but since she needed to recover her phone or possibly buy a new one.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Nafisa quickly showered before changing into casual clothes and packing her duffel bag. Walking into the living room area, she noted that the only people around were her mother and father.

Her father was reading a newspaper while her mother watched the news. Both were in casual clothes and glanced up as she walked down.

“Good morning Nafi. Did you sleep well?” Arianna Radi asked with a soft smile.

“Good morning mom, dad. I feel like shit actually. This hangover is killing me. I really need to stop drinking.” Naifsa groaned

“Language, young lady.” Her father chastened her with a raised brow.

“Sorry. Anyway I’m heading out. Say bye to the boys for me.”

“So early? What’s the rush? You don’t want breakfast? I can make your favorite chocolate chip pancakes.” Her mother got up and walked over to her.

“Nah I’m good. I’m actually… heading out to eat with a friend at a cafe. And since I’m out, I might as well head home and prep for work.” She almost told them that she was going to retrieve her lost phone, but thinking about the scolding that would come from it, she lied instead.

“Nafi? You won’t reconsider the job? There are so many other positions you can take in journalism that don’t require you to be on the ground and put your life in danger. Why don’t you spend a day or two here to think it over.” Her mother sighed.

“Mom. Let’s not have this discussion again. I’m not changing my mind.”

Noting the look exchanged between her parents, Nafisa wanted to sigh. It was always like this. Her father would rage, raising everybody’s emotions. Then her mother would come and soothe everyone into doing what she wanted.

“Anyways I’m leaving now. Love you both.” She quickly gave both of them a hug and ran out before they could say anything else.

She quickly got into her car and began driving to the cafe, hoping that whoever had her phone was still there. The 15-minute drive passed surprisingly quickly. She quickly found parking and quickly walked to the cafe.

Ring!

The chime on the door rank as she entered.

She looked around the cafe noting that despite the chic decorations and atmosphere, it was completely empty. The only people she could see were a barista behind the counter and a man who was casually sprawled on an armchair. He was lazily flipping through a book while sipping on a mug of tea that he picked from the table in front of him.

As she walked in, the man looked up at her and smiled softly at her. He was dressed completely in black, wearing a long-sleeved black turtle neck, black pants, and black shoes that softly clung to his leanly muscled figure. He had a large silver cross over his shirt and even though half his face was covered by his sunglasses, from what she could see, he was incredibly handsome.

Reflexively smiling back, Nafisa turned away and walked to the barista.

“Miss, don’t you happen to be missing a phone?” A smooth, velvety voice sounded out from behind her.

“How do you know that?” Nafisa whirled to face him. The man simply smiled before gently closing his book and setting down his mug.

“Isn’t that why you came here? I believe I can help you with that.” The man reached into the pocket of the jacket hung behind him and pulled out her cell phone. He waved the device around before setting it on his book.

“How do you have that? Who are you?” Nafisa asked him cautiously. Although his face looked somewhat familiar, as if she had seen it in passing, he wasn’t someone she knew.

“Hello, Miss Nafisa Radi. We meet again.” The man smiled widely and she could feel a chill go down her back.

“Who…who are you? How do you know me?”

“Come have a seat, Miss Radi. I have something to ask you.” Vincent smiled coldly at the confused girl.