The Hunter s Accidental Bride

The neon lights outside Luna's Mirage, a very quiet Las Vegas bar flickered softly.

Unlike other busy bars on the streets, this place was very calm and private, a hidden spot where people could escape their worries while avoiding the eyes of the public.

The dim lighting and warm atmosphere made it a safe space for those seeking solitude, a place to soothe their headaches without judgement.

Eleanor leaned against the mahogany bar table, her fingers drawing random patterns on her empty shot glass of tequila.

Eleanor was not here to gamble or be mesmerized by the beauty of the tranquility which the bar pose to its visitors.

She came here to drink away her sorrows and numb her pains with the burn of the alcohol.

With a sigh, she signaled the bartender for another shot of tequila.

"Another," she murmured, pushing the shot glass towards the bartender.

The bartender, an older gentleman with grayish hair and weary eyes, paused before getting another bottle.

He had seen his own share of troubled people always coming to  the bar, and he could see the pain in Eleanor's eyes. "Are you sure you want another drink, ma'am?" he asked gently.

Eleanor barely glanced up. "Strongest tequila you've got."

The bartender sighed but poured anyway, the amber liquid filling the small glass like a promise of temporary relief.

The bartender sighed, but still filled up her glass with whiskey.

Eleanor raised the shot glass, gazing as the dim light passed through the liquid. Then she tilted her head backwards and swallowed.

The tequila burnt down as it went down her throat, numbing the pain that almost ruined her career.

It seemed as if the drink was washing away her old life, leaving her empty and vulnerable.

Today, her biggest client had walked out, taking with them her years of effort and hard work.

The loss of this client has put her job at risk, and she was now on the brink of unemployment.

Despite every effort to persuade them to stay, nothing worked.

The corporate world does not need failures, and based on he boss's reaction, Eleanor felt she might really lose her job and become a warning for others.

She signaled for another shot. Then another. And another.

By the fourth drink, Eleanor thoughts began to dull, becoming dizzy and numb. Her mind was turning cloudy as the weight of her worries began to fade.

"You okay?" the bartender asked, sounding a bit worried.

Eleanor blinked slowly, her eyes a bit blurry. She nodded absently. "I'm fine."

Eleanor quickly reached for her drink before he could ask any more questions.

The last thing she wanted was explaining how she had gone from being one of the promising designers to a lonely woman getting drunk in a bar on a Wednesday night.

Across the room, someone was watching her.

For the past twenty minutes, Jack Sinclair has been taking a sip from his whiskey glass, but his focus was in the woman at the end of bar.

She has been drinking tequila shots one after another, like she was trying to erase herself from the world.

Jack could not help but push his interest on who this woman was.

She was not like other women who usually wandered into Luna's Mirage, looking for an easy life or someone to latch themselves for the night and escape their loneliness.

She was different.

She seemed like she was on the brink of losing herself.