Chapter 1 Nightmare At The Birthday Party

• Tonight was Vero's 20th birthday and she was celebrating it with her friends at her favorite nightclub, The Queen's Secret Palace.
• “Let’s play!” One of her friends shouted after they enjoyed the food and drinks served on the table.. “Truth or Dare!”
• Moans and bored exclamations came from some people, but in the end they did it anyway. Until it was time for Vero to take her turn.
• “Dare,” said Vero.
• “Flirt a man in ten minutes!” said one of her friend.
• “It’s better if you can get his number,” said another.
• “I’ll sleep with him,” responded Vero, and cheers erupted from Vero’s friends.
• They looked around the club, scanning for some interesting-looking men, until they agreed to point to a man with short hair sitting at the bar. The man did steal glances at the place where Vero and her friends were sitting, and Vero was sure that the man was interested in her.
• This will be easy. There is no man who is not tempted by Vero.
• “Have fun,” Vero said as she stood up from her seat. “Don’t wait for me and enjoy the party.”
• Cheers from her friends accompanied Vero’s steps towards the bar.
• The man was much more handsome when seen up close, and it seemed that he had come to this place alone. A perfect match for Vero’s goals tonight.
• Vero sat in the empty chair next to him. After telling the bartender her order, the man spoke to her.
• “Throw a birthday party?” he asked.
• Vero smiled and turned to him. “How did you know?”
• “Because you look so beautiful.”
• Vero’s smile disappeared for a moment. She hates when people tell her how beautiful she is. But Vero didn’t want her birthday night to be ruined again, so she put away her annoyance for a moment and smiled again.
• Her order came, and the man asked her to toast.
• “Are you a regular here? I don’t think I’ve seen you before,” Vero asked, after they had sipped their respective drinks.
• “No. I was just visiting this town.”
• “Oh? You’re not from here?”
• The man shook his head. He stole a glance at Vero’s shoulder, which was not covered by her one-shoulder mini dress.
• “No,” said the man later. “I come from a small town… and I hope to have a pleasant experience in this big city.”
• Vera smirked. “What kind of experience?” she asked. She deliberately provoked the man and shifted her position to face the man while showing her thighs.
• The man glanced at Vero’s thighs before looking back at her face. “An experience you can only get in a big city. And it has something to do with the girls.” The man tilted his head and grinned, then propped his head up with his hands. “In my place, there is no girl who wears beautiful clothes like you.”
• Honestly, this man’s seduction sounds cheap and ridiculous, but Vero doesn’t care. After all, this man would not be her lover. Vero just had to make love to him and show it to her friends.
• And the man wasn’t from the same city as Vero, so she didn’t have to meet him again.
• The perfect man for a one-night stand.
• Vero again changed the sitting position and made her dress even more lifted high. “You know it’s my birthday, right? I was expecting a gift.”
• The man snorted a laugh. “A gift?” he asked. He leaned forward, their faces so close. “Say. What do you want?”
• “Things we can’t do here.”
• *
• An hour later, they were in a five-star hotel room. Vero was so drunk and didn’t really understand what was going on. All she knew was that the man in her arms was a good kisser and knew which points could arouse Vero’s passion.
• It was Vero’s first time making love to someone, and she was happy because her first experience was so great.
• They just finished kissing and Vero’s hands were busy removing the man’s clothes. The man buried his lips into the curve of Vero’s neck and shoulders. Then Vero felt a sting that made her back arch. She felt pleasure and pain at the same time, and all she could do was dig her fingers into the man’s back, under his half-open black shirt.
• Vero tried to hold back a sigh and when the pain she felt was getting stronger, Vero tried to escape from the man’s embrace.
• When Vero tried to push the man away, the man suddenly jerked her body backwards. Vero’s waist hit the edge of the television table and she groaned. Her drunkenness and passion immediately subsided. Vero was about to scold the man, but how shocked she was when the man fell to the floor and convulsed.
• Vero glared and walked back to the door. She fell to the ground when her foot tripped over her pump shoes. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the man whose body was now curving in an odd position. Blood spurted from his lips and wet his face, neck, and chest.
• “Hey!” Vero screamed in panic. “Hey! What happened?!”
• Then, the terrifying movement just stopped. Now, the man lay quietly on the floor. He’s not breathing.
• Vero swallowed. What should she do now?
• Vero waited and waited, and the man didn’t move.
• She bravely crawled over to the man. She crouched down next to him and reached out, searching for the pulse in the man’s neck. But Vero did not find it.
• The smell of blood filled the room, making Vero dizzy and nauseous.
• Vero’s hands trembled in fear. Is this man dead?
• Then Vero remembered that, it could be, this was how her friends pranked her.
• Yes, of course!
• Vero often pranks her friends on their birthdays, and maybe they are getting back at her now. Weren’t they the ones who pointed at this man and told Vero to flirt with him? They also knew that Vero intended to do a one-night stand on her birthday, so they planned all of this.
• Vero grabbed her small bag lying on the table and took out her cell phone. Then she took a picture of the man and sent it to one of her friends.
• I’m impressed. Where did you get the actor from?
• Not long after, Vero’s friend called. Vero picked it up and shouted, “You scared me to death!”
• But her friend didn’t laugh or mock her, and that made Vero’s recently subsided fear paralyze her again.
• “What happened, Vee?! Where are you now?!” Her friend’s voice sounded panicked. “Are you okay?!”
• At first, Vero didn’t believe it. “Stop your acting! I know this is what you and the others did, right?!”
• “For God’s sake, Verona! I don’t know what you’re saying!” Her friend’s tone rose, filled with horror. “Tell me, where are you now?! If you survive, seek help! Is the man dead?! Why is there so much blood?!”
• The series of questions sent chills down Vero’s body. She glanced at the lifeless body covered in blood.
• This is real. She thought. There’s someone died beside me right now, and I could be the cause.
• Without thinking, Vero grabbed her bag and shoes and hurried away from there.
• *