Invisible String

Chapter 5

April woke up with a bad headache and a blurry memory of the night before. She looked around and saw that she wasn't in her room in Liberty City or her penthouse suite at The Mond. She shook her head and tried to remember what happened.

The party at the CG mansion, flirting with Raymond Romanov, drinking shot after shot, and taking off her bikini top. No memory came after that risqué move.

"Fuck," she mumbled when she tried to get up. Her headache got worse with the small movement.

"Don't try to get up, it'll get worse," Ramee, whom she didn't expect, said. He was topless, only wearing his grey sweatpants, holding a cup of coffee while leaning at the door frame.

Her vision cleared and saw the huge infamous Suffering from Success painting of the warlord in the room, which made her feel warm inside.

He's still so self-absorbed, at least that didn't change, she told herself and tried her best not to smile.

"The painting wasn't my idea, it's not what you think," he said defensively when he saw the smirk on her face, which she tried to hide. "Carmella wanted it there, I didn't get to move it."

Her smirk turned into a smile, only she knew that it was bittersweet. The mention of the blonde bombshell made her feel things she didn't want to feel: insecurities.

But her pride overpowered the insecurities, making her get up from the bed, though struggling. "Why am I here, by the way? Last night was a blur." She noticed that she was wearing an oversized shirt on top of her bikini.

He flashed a mischievous smile and scoffed, "You just stripped in front of everyone at the party. I pulled you out of there just in time before you fully revealed everything."

She squinted her eyes and tried to look for humor on the man's face but couldn't find any. Ramee was telling the truth. He carried her like a sack of potatoes on his back when she was topless and was about to give everyone a show fully naked.

April whined when her head started pounding again. Ramee immediately ran to her just in time for her to lose control of her legs. He grabbed her and stopped her from falling over. "I told you not to get up, you dumbass."

She rolled her eyes and tried to push him away but failed. He guided her back to the bed and made her sit there for a while before she complained, "I'm hungry," which made him chuckle.

Knowing the siren for years, he already expected that she will be hungry when she woke up, so he had already ordered breakfast from UWU Cafe and had it delivered to his house. "Breakfast is in the kitchen," he said before throwing a pair of boxer shorts to the redhead, then strutted out of the bedroom.

April quickly wore them and followed Ramee to the kitchen, with her eyes wandering around the interior of the house. Surprisingly, the house wasn't as huge as she expected from the warlord. But she did expect the interior: it was painted with shades of gray and black with red accents— Ramee's favorite combination. The furniture was modern and painted in neutral colors, but the art around the house was impressive. Ramee always had an eye for good art.

"Why did you bring me here? I could've stayed at the CG mansion," she asked as she settled into the dining area. She started digging into the food prepared in the breakfast nook.

"It was already crowded there, a lot of the guests were staying there for the night," he answered while opening the fridge.

She nodded as her eyes darted to his topless body. His muscles were properly toned, and his tanned skin from being in the sun too much suited him, even April couldn't deny that her ex-boyfriend looked better, physically.