The next morning, Valentina woke up with a pounding headache. To put it politely, she was hungover. Pushing down her nausea, she lay back down on the bed and wanted to go back to sleep to let the system effect do its job, but then she sat up in a rush.

This wasn’t her room at the Grayson house.

And this definitely wasn’t her bed.

She looked around at the room’s minimalistic design and the bright sunlight shining through the window.

From the highrise buildings she could see, she guessed she was in an apartment or a hotel room.

All she remembered was chatting and drinking with rio, getting into the taxi since her phone was dead, and then….. nothing.

A quick glance at her clothes showed that she was still wearing what she wore last night. The only thing that was removed from her were her shoes, her jacket, and one sock.

“Uhhhh, I feel so grubby.” She grumbled as she slowly stood up while cradling her head.

As she scrubbed the sleep from her eyes, she could smell the delicious scent of something sweet.

Opening the door and walking out, she was greeted by a minimalistic yet modern apartment. All the furniture was in tones of white and natural wood, while several plants were tastefully placed around. To her right was a simple modern kitchen with a large island, and a man stood over the stove.

“You’re up early. Hungry?” Rio glanced at her before concentrating on flipping the omelet in the pan. He was dressed only in checkered pajama pants that hung low on his waist, highlighting his slim yet muscular physique and allowing her to see several tattoos he had on his ribs, back, and upper arm. Seeing his damp hair and towel hanging around his neck, she assumed that he had just showered.

“I am. Go and put on a shirt. I don’t want to see you half-naked. You look scandalous.” She replied grumpily as she dragged herself to take a seat on the island, placing her head on her arms.

“Somebody is grumpy in the mornings. And why should I? I’m in my own home. And you’re one to talk. Have you seen yourself?” Rio snorted just as rudely while intentionally looking her up and down.

“What about me?”

“There’s a mirror by the door. Go take a look and come back. And button up your shirt; you’re the one who looks scandalous.” He instructed before turning back to the pan.

Shooting him a glare that he didn’t see, she trudged to the mirror and took a look at herself.

Her hair was a curly mess, falling every which way in a thick mass. Her white shirt was unbuttoned and untucked, exposing the simple sports bra she had on while her skirt had risen up her waist up a tad bit.

With her single sock on, and wrinkled clothes, she looked as if she had a fun night of drinking and had fallen asleep in her clothes.

What part of this was scandalous?

“Prude!” she yelled at him before slipping on some house slippers by the door.

Holding her aching head, she trudged back to the kitchen and sat down, holding her head.

“Bad hangover, huh?” Rio asked sympathetically.

“I don’t know how you’re moving around. Also, there’s nothing wrong with my outfit. You’re the one literally walking around half-naked. Hurry up with the food, please.” Valentina sulked as she glared at him.

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As he heard her words, Rio stared at her incredulously. Did she not realize how she looked? Bedhead, half-lidded eyes, half-revealing clothing, and indolent pout as she stared at him expectantly, resting her head on her slender arms. It was a scene that could come out from any movie about a night together between two people of the opposite sex.

There were filmmakers and photographers who spent hours trying to recreate a scene like this, and she treated it like it was a normal occurrence. Clearly, she didn’t see him as a man if she didn’t have a problem with him viewing her like this. Although he was both glad and upset that she was comfortable enough to behave casually like this, he hoped that she wasn’t acting like this in the Grayson house with that man, with no self-awareness about how men viewed her. He could feel a sense of crisis.

As she stared at him as if asking, ‘What?’ he decided he would call her and tell her later to be more aware of her surroundings. There was no need to make it awkward now. Plus, he still had something to apologize for.

“I told you I’m a champion drinker, but don’t feel too bad you did well. I’ll get you some painkillers.”

He quickly went into his bathroom and brought back some ibuprofen before handing her a bottle of water.

“Glass bottle. Fancy.” Valentina teased him as she quickly took the two painkillers.

“I am very fancy. Don’t be jealous.”

“Who says I am? It tastes like tap water to me. Also, I feel grubby. Mind if I shower in your guest bathroom? And brush. My breath stinks.”

Rio: “……”

Now, she was treating him like a hotel concierge.

“…That’s fine. I’ll get you a change of clothes. The toiletries are fresh, and there are extras under the sink.”

“Wow. How prepared you are, Mr. Fallen Angel.”

Ignoring her nonsense, he quickly served her an omelet and pancakes before looking at her with a bit of trepidation.

“What?”

“Eat first while I tell you.”

“Why are you looking at me like that? Did you do something wrong?” Valentina eyed him suspiciously as she took a bite. Her eyes widened cutely as she energetically dug in after pouring a mass of chocolate syrup all over her pancakes.

“So…I may or may not owe you an apology. It seems we were caught. My popularity truly knows no bounds, ahaha.”

“Ahaha?” Valentina repeated sarcastically while arching her brow, “Explain before I beat you up. People got your autograph and photo yesterday. Don’t tell me they posted it?”

“With that tiny body? I’d like to see you try.”

“Should you really be sassing me when you’re apologizing? What do you mean we got caught? Explain. In full detail. Without missing a single word.”

Seeing her stern expression, rio sighed before pulling out his phone and pulling up an article.

Grabbing his phone, Valentina read the headline before slamming her head on the counter.

The headline was simple and clear.

[Dating Rumors - Rio of the Fallen Angels and the Possible Actress in his Latest Music Video?]

In the article, there were several blurry photos of her and Rio leaving the hot restaurant they had eaten at yesterday. He was holding the door open for her while she was placing the face mask on her face and that was the angle that had been caught.

Even though they had only partially captured her face, Rio’s was quite clear as he hadn’t put his glasses back on and refused to wear a mask. They had also captured photos of them walking around the park and sitting on the car hood, although the quality was quite bad.

The article was full of speculation of who she might be, but they included some photos of other women rio had been spotted with before that fit her height and build.

Unfortunately, that also included her.

As she quickly searched the internet, she saw that numerous celebrity blogs had also posted a similar storyline.

Locking the phone, she glared up at him.

“You said we wouldn’t be caught. I let it go once, but now there’s this?????”

“I’ve never been caught before, and I’ve gone multiple times with Shawn!” Rio protested.

“It was because you didn’t wear your mask!”

“I said I’ve never been caught before. I usually roam around there on my off days, and it’s never really news. It’s my bad.” He replied consolingly.

Seeing that she was still angry, he clarified, “Don’t worry about it; the PR team at Platinum is already taking care of it. My manager was the one who sent it to me. Besides, it’s just speculation, and again, they want to spin us as friends for your Lawsuit. It will be fine. We weren’t weren’t doing anything suspicious. You’re being dramatic.”

“Am I? You’re going to be fine, but your fans are going to kill me. I can feel them driving nails into voodoo dolls right now.”

She couldn’t help but shudder at the thought.

“Nah, they might be riled up for a bit, but it will die down. Plus, it’s not just you. They had other celebs on the comparison list, right? Besides, Platinum doesn’t ban dating, and neither does Black Rock. Relax.”

“How can I relax? Ughhhhh, I’ve just lost my appetite.” Pushing her plate away, Valentina wanted to bang her head on the counter but refrained.

“Val. Chill. It’s not that serious. When the variety show comes out, they’ll know we’re close friends anyway. It’s fine. It’s not the first time something like this has happened, and it won’t be the last. The bloggers like to speculate on celebs dating all the time. If you come out and deny it, they’ll latch onto you. Just let it ride out.”

Sighing, Valentina shot him another look before turning away. It was her fault for believing him. Clearly, he didn’t know the havoc female fans could cause when they suspected their idol of dating. Especially if it was someone they didn’t think was worthy of him. He would be okay, but she would bear the brunt of it.

“I want to go home.” She told him plainly. She was sure the lawyers would have a whole new round of scolding for her. And she didn’t even want to think about if Kaiser had seen this.

Ugggggggggg.

“Should I take you back?”

At her glare, he laughed and held his hands up.

“Fine, fine. Call your driver. And shower first. Or at least change. You don’t want to be caught in the same clothing.”

“Fine. Thanks for breakfast.”

Grumbling to herself, she took the spare clothes he brought her: a pair of oversized men’s joggers and a nondescript black crewneck and changed in the guest room.

Remembering her cell phone, she found it plugged in by the bed.

Scrolling through her phone, she saw that Kaiser had sent her several messages.

Kaiser[1:15 PM]: let me know what time you’re heading back. I’ll order food and come back early.

Kaiser[3:15 PM]: I haven’t heard from you, but I heard you went to Platinum’s building. Hope your variety show went well.

Kaiser[7:15 PM]: Are you coming back tonight? Luca is asking after you.

Kaiser[9:15 PM]:?

Kaiser[10:30 PM]: Appointment with Luca’s psychologist tomorrow evening. Expecting to see you there according to our deal.

Seeing the tone of the conversation get colder and colder, she held her aching head.

Oh boy.

Had she called the wrong number with Rio’s phone?

What a mess.

She should hurry back.