Erick appeared confused at first as if he couldn't grasp what had happened.

Elin straightened her top and sat up slowly. Then, she called out hesitantly, "Mr. Foster..."

Erick scrunched his eyebrows together, pressing a hand against his forehead as he rubbed it, clearly suffering from a hangover. Once he saw who was with him, his face quickly turned stern, and he asked in a cold tone, “Why is it you?"

As words spilled from Erick's lips, Elin noticed a trace of agitation on his rugged face.

"Does he find me bothersome?" Elin muttered to herself and found it hard to express the turmoil inside her, though “blindsiding" seemed to fit.

Erick was still on the far side of the sofa, his mind seized by shock. The scene before him had left him unable to think clearly.

Elin, the girl he had watched grow up, whom he had always loved like a sister, now lay beside him, without clothes. The shock hit him hard, leaving him dazed.

His voice turned cold. "How did you end up here?"

Elin's fingers trembled, surprised by the chilly detachment in his voice. “I heard you were hurt..." Her voice faded away, lost in the silence.

Erick's expression became a mask of displeasure as he listened to her.

His tone was forceful and almost harsh. "Are you out of your mind? Do you think you can just waltz into a bar like this?"

This marked the first time Erick had spoken to Elin with such severity, his words sliced through the air sharply.

Elin, still shaken from a fiery dispute with her mother, had escaped, only to face a disastrous first sexual experience. Now, she was grappling with this stern rebuke. Her heart twisted in agony, sour like a lemon soaked in acid.

Erick's expression was cold, pressing down on Elin heavily. Feeling wronged yet holding back her tears, she lowered her head and apologized. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come..."

Erick's anger flared as he saw the hickeys on Elin's delicate neck.

Lucky for her to have slept with him. What dangers might have awaited her had she encountered a complete stranger? However, meeting him might not have been the best outcome for her.

While Erick was adept at navigating interpersonal relationships, matters of the heart remained foreign to him. Confused by his feelings, he only recognized the scorching anger burning inside him.

Elin's rash actions to come for him in a bar had sparked his anger like a lit fuse.

Erick had unwittingly become a pawn in a sinister plot, disoriented and vulnerable from a spiked drink.

A business partner had set up a honey trap by sending a woman to seduce Erick while he was intoxicated. The thought of spending an intimate night with a stranger repelled Erick. Seeking refuge, he retreated to the safety of a chamber.