Mistaken Night With My Paper Husband

d on the thick carpet. Her heart hammered against

rom the shocking discovery s

ught the welcome letter on the nightstand. I

wrong room and slept with a complete stranger-a man whose astoni

e door she'd just fled: 8801. The go

he reservation confirmation provided by her foster father had been clear.

hallway light. Her hand trembled as she dug into her purse,

t. The light

e, untouched. The bed was perfectly made, the air still and ste

absurd cold. She had really, truly, gone to the wrong room. Six doors down. The differen

d into the bathroom and stared at her reflection in the mirror. The woman looking back w

d a pen from the Veridia Hotel. Her handwriting was swift

ake, I apologize. Thi

er fingers found the familiar

ompensation. But then, a flush of indignation mixed with the vivid

himself, taking the lea

e removed only the left one. She

ave to be enough to settle this absurd debt. She qui

he note, and laid it on top. Taking a deep breath, she walked back

knocking, of facing him again, sent a jol

tissue packet under the door. It slid across the smooth

ck. She didn't run. She walked with a measured pace, as if le

She slipped in through a side entrance, avoiding the main part of the house

801,persistent buzzing of priva

ed for the device. He glanced at the caller ID:

ackling with authority down the line. "Did you m

movements

m and secure his lineage during his weakest moments, his grandmother had created the

ely unaware that the sickly Cameron Hayes and th

d gone abroad to recuperate, never once

eet in room 8807, but out of defiance and a desire for privacy, he had

ter last night." He instinctively concealed the fact that there had been a woman

of the line, a sound he knew well. "This is for your own good. For

the lingering aftermath of the toxins from four years ago, a chronic pain that struck unpredictably. He

on a corner of white tissue peeking out from under the door. He h

her skin with a rough washcloth, over and over, trying to wash away the feeling of his to

eyes, a startling ice-blue, stared back. They were her most defining feature, a stark contrast to t

y, as if to physically disl

ve communications, vibrated on the small dress

answ

e other end. "Dr. Ross," the voice