The end to my normal, poor, and simple life all started when I had a one-night stand with an unknown man. He was unknown to me because I was too drunk and too heartbroken to remember or care who he was.

“Hmmm...”

My eyelids and body felt so heavy. Is it morning already? I have to go to work today...

I breathed in deeply as I still kept my eyes tightly shut. It must be morning already and I didn’t want to get up. This bed feels so soft and comfortable, I could sleep in it forever.

Wait...

I gasped as I bolted up into a sitting position. I knew it...this is not my bed!

Where am I?

Squinting my eyes against the sunlight that was pouring in through a crack in the curtain and onto my face, I started to look around. My body still felt tired and heavy from sleep and perhaps all the drinks I had last night as well.

.....

Looking around, it seemed like I was in a very luxurious hotel room, and I was alone. I was sitting on a king size bed in a large room decorated with burgundy wallpaper. The room was luxuriously decorated with a mix of burgundy and gold color tones.

To my shock, I couldn’t remember how I ended up here no matter how hard I tried to remember. What happened to me? How did I end up here? Where are my friends?

Thinking too hard began giving me a nagging headache. What time is it now? I need to get to work. As I began getting up, I felt the sheet and blanket rub directly on my skin. Pulling up the blanket that was covering my body confirmed my worst suspicion.

Yes, I was completely naked.

I closed my eyes as I braced myself for the worst-case scenario. I can’t believe this is happening to me. What happened last night? Did I sleep with someone?

I saw my clothes strewn randomly all over the floor as if they were taken off of me in a hurry. I blinked rapidly a few times, willing my hangover to go away so that I could focus on the situation at hand. With the resolve to face the truth, I pull the whole blanket away to expose my naked body.

It aches. There.

Spreading my legs a little confirmed my worst suspicion. I felt an ache that I was used to experiencing after a night of hot and heavy love making. It was clear that last night I went all the way with a man that I didn’t even know...and didn’t even remember...

I didn’t really remember what happened last night, but my pussy seemed satisfied with the attention it had received and undoubted enjoyed. Reaching my hand down to touch the cleft in between my legs, I found myself still dripping wet from the session last night. The warm wetness of my love juices coated my fingers. I looked at the sticky wetness of my love honey and realized that I must have came quite a lot last night. Whoever I slept with did a thorough job of giving it to me...

I moaned softly as I looked around again at the bed. The state of the bed left little room for imagination of what took place here last night. I sighed with relief as I spotted a few used condoms in the room. At least, I don’t need to worry much about STDs or unplanned pregnancy. We must have done it so many times last night, judging from the many used condoms, although I couldn’t quite recall exactly what happened.

“Oh no!” I exclaimed as I saw the time on my mobile screen. If I don’t hurry up, I will be late for work.

I don’t even have time to return home to change. I should quickly shower and get dressed before heading straight for work. This is such a disaster!

“Ah...” I sighed loudly as I saw the reflection of my naked body in the mirror. Whoever I slept with last night was quite aggressive in his mating session. There were many love marks on my body such as my neck, shoulder, my chest, my tummy, and a few on my thighs and legs. Thankfully most of them wouldn’t be visible if I wore my clothes. I’ll conceal the hickey on my neck with some concealer and make up in case my long hair did not cover it completely. That should do.

The love marks on my body brought back hazy memories in bits and pieces of what happened last night on the bed in this hotel room. Short fragments of memories of what the unknown man did last night to me began flooding back into my mind. He supported me to this hotel room, and I remembered that I kissed him passionately before he started kissing me back. Then, he pushed me down onto the bed and continued kissing me as he began stripping me. When I was naked, he started stripping himself.

Then he kissed my neck softly before licking it. This mark here was probably from when he sucked on the side of my neck. Then his hands wandered and explored my body. His hands felt warm on my skin as he caressed and kneaded my naked breasts. This mark on my chest was from when he sucked on my breasts teasingly before he started licking my nipple wildly.

My fingertip stroked my nipple, and a slight stinging pain told me just how sensitive they still were from his rough sucking last night. My nipples were still swollen and a little pink from the loving yet slightly rough attention that they had received from before.

These marks on my thighs were from his kisses before he started sucking on the sensitive skin of my inner thighs. I wondered if he tasted me there and then I was sure that he probably did. The stinging sensation in between my legs that seemed to throb deeply inside of me was a sure sign that something thick, long, and massive had been inside of my love tunnel. My lower abdomen told me that his cock must have stirred up my insides quite deeply when he thrusted his thick and massive rod into my wet hole.

–To be continued...

I didn’t know why I hated to admit it but the man from last night was very good at sex, and it seemed like he knew what he was doing. My wrecked but fully satisfied body and pussy was more than enough proof of that. It didn’t matter though because I won’t ever see that man again and even if I did, I probably won’t recognize him. He probably won’t recognize me either.

Oh, the joy of one-night stands with no strings attached.

Although I said that inside of my head, this was the first one-night stand that I’ve had all my life. I cleaned up myself and showered quickly as I tried my best to make it in time for work. Recovering from a hangover is getting more challenging now, I guess I wasn’t getting any younger.

I took a deep breath as I closed the door firmly behind me, mentally locking up the event of last night and putting it behind me. I’m definitely not the type to have one-night stands with random guys and in fact, this was the first time that this has happened to me. However, I knew that I couldn’t undo what was done. I will probably never meet that man again, whoever he was. It was time to return back to reality.

...

“Did I make it?” I mumbled underneath my breath as I panted.

After getting off the cab, I literally ran as fast as I could in my high heels to the office. I placed my hands on my knees as I bent down in exhaustion. My slight hangover was giving me a headache and it was clear that I was far from being fit. Finding the time and discipline to work out was so difficult.

.....

Looking at my phone, I was right on time. Score!

...

**Around 2 Years Ago**

“I don’t know much about the business world but...this interview is supposed to be a big deal, isn’t it?” my mother said as she smiled proudly at me.

Looking down at the letter that had just been delivered to our small apartment earlier today, her eyes widened as she continued to read the words printed on the page on repeat as if she couldn’t believe her own eyes. I don’t blame her, even I couldn’t believe that I had been selected to interview at such a large and well-known company.

“I guess it is, mum...” I replied, trying to sound as calm and composed as possible.

However, on the inside, I was screaming with joy, and it was all I could do to contain myself from jumping up and down in excitement. Even if it was just the first step of getting my foot through the door of this company, I was thrilled to get a chance to interview at Jessen & Hills, the leading advertising and film production company in the country. No, in the world!

I peered over my mother’s slim shoulder to see the letter that she was holding in her hands. Slowly, my mother turned around and handed me the letter so that I could finally see it for myself. The whole event seemed more real once I felt the invitation letter in my own hand.

It was just a single piece of paper, but it felt heavy as if it was made of metal instead of just plain paper. If I can land this job, then I can unlock my life and finally become a professional full-time employee and help lift the financial burden of my family.

“I better go make dinner! Let’s celebrate!” my mother cried out excitedly as she headed towards the small kitchen at the back of the room.

I’ve been working hard my whole life towards this moment. I cannot let this opportunity slip by!

My name is Karina, Rina for short. As you’ve probably figured out by now, I come from a very poor family. More accurately, my father passed away from illness when I was just a baby leaving my mother as a single mother. My mother and I live in a small town on the outskirts of the city where she worked her whole life taking on various odd jobs around the clock just to make ends meet.

I spent my entire childhood staying home alone until I could go to a public school near where we lived while my mother went out to work to put food on the table. She worked at any job that would hire her ranging from being a waitress, a gardener, a florist, a babysitter and then progressing upwards when she finally landed a fulltime job as an assistant cook in one of the local restaurants in the small town that we lived in.

I realized earlier on in life that if we were to survive, I would have to find a way to be less of a burden to my mother as much as possible, especially financially. I learnt that we had to support each other, and I could contribute by being less demanding and doing my best to take care of myself. I hated being a kid, not because I couldn’t wait to grow up into an amazing adult and do all the things that seemed fun that adults could do, but it was because I hated how useless and helpless, I was at that time.

**knock knock knock**

Firm knocking sounds on our front door brought me back to the present as I instinctively got up from where I was sitting at our small dining table and headed towards the door. Not many people visited, let alone knew where we lived, so I had a pretty good guess already regarding who was at the door.

“Hi Auntie Jane. What a pleasant surprise. Want to join us for dinner?” I greeted the old and slightly frail looking auntie standing in front of my door wearing her signature red knitted jacket.

“Congratulations! I’m dropping by because I heard the awesome news from your mum! Congratulations!” Auntie Jane exclaimed excitedly before taking my hands into her thinner ones and squeezing them tight.

News travels extremely fast in this small town, doesn’t it? I bet my mother gave Auntie Jane a call the moment she disappeared into the kitchen. The speed that gossips and news travels in this small town should never be underestimated.

–To be continued...

“It’s a little bit too early for that. I haven’t gotten the job yet. Oh, you should come in,” I replied as I smiled back at her and motioned for her to enter.

Auntie Jane walked in carrying a bag as she patted my arm on her way in. I closed the door after her and gestured for her to take a seat on the sofa. Our apartment was small so there wasn’t much space to welcome guests which was why we hardly ever invited anyone over.

Auntie Jane was an exception because to my mother she was like an older sister in everyway and to me, she was like my second mother. She helped keep an eye on me when my mother was away working when I was younger since she only lives next door. Auntie Jane lives alone and doesn’t have children of her own, so it was quite natural that we quickly became like family to each other.

“Dinner is ready!” my mother called out from the kitchen with perfect timing.

“I’ll help!” I called back as I hurried into the kitchen to help carry out the plates.

“Is Jane here yet?” my mother asked energetically. It was clear that she was in a splendid mood.

“Yes. She just got here,” I replied smoothly as I helped my mother bring out the food.

.....

“Monica! Your food smells so good as always. I’m here to congratulate your dear daughter in person! I’m so proud! I’m so happy!” Auntie Jane said happily as she clapped her hands together.

Once we were all seated at the dining table, the three of us chatted away while we ate dinner together. It’s moments like these that I think that despite all of life’s hardship that I am actually quite lucky. We were poor but we were happy enough. I have these two wonderful women who I consider family right here with me.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Here, I brought these shoes over so that you can wear them to your interview. You don’t have formal leather shoes, right?” Auntie Jane said as she handed me the shoe box that she had extracted from the bag she was carrying earlier.

“Oh wow...thank you so much,” I replied with a genuine smile.

She was right. I haven’t figured out what to wear to the interview and I didn’t have proper shoes for the occasion. We could have afforded something but, as always, budget this month was sort of tight.

“They’re not new or anything but they’re mine and still in pretty good condition. You should try them on. I think we’re about the same size...” Auntie Jane said.

“Thank you. I’ll try them on. They should fit well, no worries. You’re a lifesaver as always!” I said with a bright smile.

Now I just need to find some appropriate work attire. Something like a simple white shirt with black skirt and a matching suit would do.

Honestly, since the news of the interview came in, I had been so happy about it that the stress of it all hadn’t really sunk in. However, now that some time had passed, I realized that there were many things I needed to do to prepare for the interview. I had to get the right clothing, shoes, and make-up on top of preparing for the interview itself.

I took in a deep breath before stuffing more of my mother’s home-cooked food into my mouth.

I can do this!

...

Later that night, I lay in my bed with the lamp on as I read the content of the interview invitation letter in detail. It wasn’t that late in the night, but my mother had already fallen asleep on her bed on the other side of the room. Tomorrow was another working day for her and getting up early was the norm. I tried to stay as silent as possible to not disturb her much-needed rest.

The clutched the invitation letter tightly in my hands as I repeated to myself that this was really happening. The opportunity that I had worked so hard for is here right in front of me. If I can just get this job, then I can provide a better life for my mother. Hopefully a life where she could retire and stop working so hard.

It clearly wasn’t an easy road lined with red rose petals for me to get here up to this point. Since we were poor, I had to work extra hard at life in general. I knew we couldn’t afford the school fees and other expenses related to me going to school which meant that the only choice I had was to study my ass off so that I could secure a scholarship. I was a scholarship student all the way through school.

Being a scholarship student meant that I had to maintain my grades and also work for the school as well to support the teachers. I did all of that willingly to lessen the burden on my mother, hoping that one day my efforts would bear fruit that would lead me to a promising career.

I hardly had time for romance during school at all because, unlike my other friends, I had to work multiple parttime jobs to make ends meet. I would work parttime jobs afterschool and during the weekends. After my parttime jobs, I would study long into the night so that I could keep my grade above the scholarship requirements. I believed that if I worked hard and dedicated my effort to it, I would one day be successful in supporting my mother.

I started dating a couple of guys during my high school years but none of those relationships ever lasted long and the same thing happened in university. I had to work many parttime jobs to make ends meet and didn’t have the time to spend with my boyfriend.

In the end most of them just broke up with me or cheated on me with another girl that had more time for them. At one point, I started believing that there must be something wrong with me. I can’t seem to keep a guy and I guess my family situation didn’t really help on that front.

By the time I was in my final year of university, I had been dating and sleeping around with so many guys without any success in a real relationship that I finally gave up on the idea of finding the right guy for me entirely. Perhaps, it was because I never had the effort or the intention to focus my utmost attention on those relationships that led to its failure. However, I couldn’t help it. I needed to put my studies and my family’s financial stability first, so until I landed a fulltime job, my love life just had to take a back seat.

I didn’t realize it when I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep. When I opened my eyes again, it was already morning. Looking towards my mother’s bed, I found it empty which meant that my mother had already left for work. I stretched and yawn before slapping my cheeks with the palms of my hand.

Focus, Rina! Today’s the day that I go out to scourge the secondhand stores for the perfect suit, skirt and blouse for my job interview. Although, the invitation letter was for an interview, the first screening of the process was a written examination. I must pass it no matter what!

Regardless, proper business clothing was required because the interview was right after the written examination. I quickly showered, got dressed and headed for the nearby shopping district. It was the weekend, so the shopping streets were busy and filled with people. I quickly headed towards the secondhand clothing store that I had in mind. I knew the owner and have bought clothes from this shop before so hopefully she could help me find what I needed and give me a little discount.

“Hey, Rina! How are things? Looking for anything specific today?” the auntie who ran the store asked me in a cheerful voice. It was amazing how she could be so full of energy at her age.

“Yes, actually. I have an interview coming up so it’d be great if I could get a suit and a skirt...a white shirt...” I replied with a smile.

–To be continued...