Woke Up Naked Next to a Stranger - Chapter 15: Chapter 15
You are reading Woke Up Naked Next to a Stranger, Chapter 15: Chapter 15. Read more chapters of Woke Up Naked Next to a Stranger.
The cabbie had to nudge me awake when we pulled up to the gated community.
As I stumbled out, squinting against the streetlights, I spotted a familiar silhouette waiting by the entrance. My sleep-addled brain latched onto the first thought: Ethan?
"Sweetheart, what are you—?"
"I'm wasted. Help me inside."
"Sophia, it's Ryan. Not Ethan."
The man in front of me was talking fast, hands raised like he was calming a spooked animal, but my brain was too fogged to care. I lurched toward him—then my knees buckled. The world tipped sideways, and everything went black.
"Who the hell—?"
My voice was sandpaper. Sunlight stabbed my eyes as I bolted upright, heart hammering. A stranger—no, Ryan—was slumped in a chair beside my bed, his dress shirt rumpled. I clawed at the sheets, panic surging.
Did he—?
But my pajamas were intact. No missing buttons, no weird aches. Just the mother of all hangovers throbbing behind my temples.
Ryan jerked awake at my gasp. Before he could speak, I yeeted a pillow at his face.
"Sophia, wait—!" He blocked it with his forearms, wincing. "You were trashed last night. I just got you home, I swear! Slept right here on the floor—"
Then I saw it: the dried puke splattered down his sleeve.
Memories flickered—stumbling, retching, the sour burn of vodka bile. And someone holding my hair back. Ryan.
Guilt curdled in my gut. "Oh my God. I'm… I'm so sorry."
His shoulders relaxed. "You were upset yesterday. I followed you after work to make sure you got home safe."
I nodded, then froze.
"Ryan." My voice went deadly quiet. "My pajamas."
His ears turned crimson. "You—uh—you puked on your dress. I just… swapped it. Didn't look! Swear to God." He practically teleported out of the room.
Freshly showered, I found him in the kitchen, setting out takeout containers—steaming congee, plump dumplings. My stomach roared. I shoveled food in like I'd been stranded on a desert island.
Then, out of nowhere, hot tears spilled over.
Ryan nearly knocked over his chair. "What's wrong? Is it the food?"
I slammed my chopsticks down. "It's Ethan." The name tasted like poison. "That spineless bastard ghosted me like I was some one-night stand."
Ryan handed me a tissue, his expression caught between sympathy and sheer terror.
I wiped my nose, glaring at my congee. "Twelve years together. And he just… vanished."
As I stumbled out, squinting against the streetlights, I spotted a familiar silhouette waiting by the entrance. My sleep-addled brain latched onto the first thought: Ethan?
"Sweetheart, what are you—?"
"I'm wasted. Help me inside."
"Sophia, it's Ryan. Not Ethan."
The man in front of me was talking fast, hands raised like he was calming a spooked animal, but my brain was too fogged to care. I lurched toward him—then my knees buckled. The world tipped sideways, and everything went black.
"Who the hell—?"
My voice was sandpaper. Sunlight stabbed my eyes as I bolted upright, heart hammering. A stranger—no, Ryan—was slumped in a chair beside my bed, his dress shirt rumpled. I clawed at the sheets, panic surging.
Did he—?
But my pajamas were intact. No missing buttons, no weird aches. Just the mother of all hangovers throbbing behind my temples.
Ryan jerked awake at my gasp. Before he could speak, I yeeted a pillow at his face.
"Sophia, wait—!" He blocked it with his forearms, wincing. "You were trashed last night. I just got you home, I swear! Slept right here on the floor—"
Then I saw it: the dried puke splattered down his sleeve.
Memories flickered—stumbling, retching, the sour burn of vodka bile. And someone holding my hair back. Ryan.
Guilt curdled in my gut. "Oh my God. I'm… I'm so sorry."
His shoulders relaxed. "You were upset yesterday. I followed you after work to make sure you got home safe."
I nodded, then froze.
"Ryan." My voice went deadly quiet. "My pajamas."
His ears turned crimson. "You—uh—you puked on your dress. I just… swapped it. Didn't look! Swear to God." He practically teleported out of the room.
Freshly showered, I found him in the kitchen, setting out takeout containers—steaming congee, plump dumplings. My stomach roared. I shoveled food in like I'd been stranded on a desert island.
Then, out of nowhere, hot tears spilled over.
Ryan nearly knocked over his chair. "What's wrong? Is it the food?"
I slammed my chopsticks down. "It's Ethan." The name tasted like poison. "That spineless bastard ghosted me like I was some one-night stand."
Ryan handed me a tissue, his expression caught between sympathy and sheer terror.
I wiped my nose, glaring at my congee. "Twelve years together. And he just… vanished."
End of Woke Up Naked Next to a Stranger Chapter 15. Continue reading Chapter 16 or return to Woke Up Naked Next to a Stranger book page.