《Daniel Nicholas Castello》

When I want things, I get them without giving a fuck about the consequences. Most of the time, the consequences are people's lives, but it was worse last night- I nearly lost all my self-control. I don't usually lose control, even when I am at my worst, which means I don't have any regrets- a necessity in the Cosa Nostra. Regret can kill more than anything or anyone else. This is why I hate the loss of self-control I experience when I am around a certain brunette. When we are alone, everything else ceases to exist, and I do things I regret later. It pisses me off.

I regret every time I smiled at her. I regret every moment I allowed myself to care for her and let her see I did. But mostly, I regret sleeping with her because she asked me to. I should have said no as soon as she asked- but something about how she asked me made it impossible for me to do so. At that moment, she looked like the girl I knew years ago- vulnerable and scared. I still cannot help but be protective of that girl. I did not regret it when I did it, but when we woke up in the morning, I knew I had made a mistake because suddenly I wanted that. I wanted everything to return to how it was- when she chose to be mine. That was when I remembered everything she did and how things ended, and I realised things could never be the same again. I may be possessive, even protective of her, but everything about her pisses me off. 

When I saw her wrapped around Chevalier, fuck, I wanted to kill him in front of her, just to show her the consequences of letting anyone touch what's mine. But I fucking couldn't. If I had, she would always think of him when she saw me and always see me as the villain. I have no problem with the latter, but I would kill her and myself if the former happened.

I have found a way around that little problem, though. I can make his death look like an accident and fuck Selena into forgetting him- that way, she won't think of him whenever she is with me. I just need to figure out the logistics of it all now. 

"Whose murder are you planning?" Rafael asks me, his voice sounding bored, but his grey eyes are shining with excitement.

"Chevalier," I reply in an equally bored tone. 

Raf frowns. "I'm doing business with his father, Ace. You can't kill him yet."

I narrow my eyes at him. "The fuck I can't."

He sighs in exasperation, running his hand through his hair. "I said you can't yet, motherfucker. The deal with be closed in four months, and after that, you can do whatever the fuck you want to. Hell, I will help you kill the fucker."

I am tempted to say no, but Raf has rarely asked me for anything, and I owe him a lot of favours, so I know I should not. 

"And what if he tries something with Selena in the meanwhile?"

Raf raises his shoulders. "Kidnap him, torture him, do whatever the fuck you can to make his life a living hell but keep him alive."

"Four months, Moretti, not a day longer," I tell him coolly, and he nods.

"I have a question," Rafael says after a moment of silence. I narrow my eyes at the amused expression on his face.

"What?"

He grins slyly.  "Was Selena's reaction that bad?" 

My jaw clenches in annoyance. If I wasn't so attached to the motherfucker I might have killed him for looking so smug.

"Why the fuck do you care?" 

"Might be because of your awfully chipper mood today," he mutters sarcastically.

"My chipper mood is because someone killed my fucking supplier."

I am not being completely honest. My bad mood is because of Selena and Chevalier, the dead supplier was just the cherry on top.

Rafael's carefree attitude vanishes, and he sits up in his chair, suddenly serious and alert. "When?"

"Last night," I reply, raising a questioning eyebrow. Does he know anything about it?

"Some shit went down at Alessandro's club last night too. He did not tell me exactly what happened, just that he dealt with it but could not figure out who was responsible." Rafael explains, then glances at me warily. "You think it could be Alessi acting out?"

"Not if he knows what's good for him. I'll check on him regardless- it's been a while."

-

"If I find out anything about who it was, I will let you know," Alessi tells me as I open the door to his office to leave. I nod in acknowledgement before walking out. Alessi tried his best to convince me he had nothing to do with my supplier's murder, but I do not believe him. The more he tried to convince me, the more I suspected him. I cannot do anything about my suspicions until I have proof because that would cause unnecessary problems.

"I want to go out, Mamma!" I hear a little girl whine just beyond the doors to what I assume is the kitchen.

"Maybe another day, amore mio," I hear a woman reply, and I freeze mid-step, recognising the voice- Stella. I have not seen her in years, not since she married Alessi.

"But I want to go today, Mamma."

"Mamma is not feeling well today," Stella replies calmly, but I can tell she is on the verge of snapping. I push open the doors to the kitchen, and Stella's eyes snap to mine. She looks at me blankly for a moment but then inhales sharply, and her eyes widen. She looks like she just crawled out of a grave- which can only mean she has been doing drugs and drinking too much. "Daniel," she whispers, her tone suggesting that she cannot tell if I am real or a figment of her imagination.

"Who is this, Mamma?" The girl asks, and my eyes shift to her. No fucking way is this Alessi's daughter. She looks nothing like him. She looks exactly like... fuck, it can't be.

"Papà's friend," Stella replies before I recover from the shock. "Go play in your room, amore mio."

Stella's daughter looks between her mother and me before running out of the room.

I look at Stella, trying to get over my shock. "She's not-"

"Not here, Ace," Stella interrupts, grabbing my arm and dragging me out of the room.

"Does Antonio know?" I ask Stella as soon as we step into a storage closet.

"That Viviana isn't his daughter? I don't know," Stella whispers, her voice sounding haunted. "If he does, he does not show it."

I run my fingers through my hair. Fuck. "She looks exactly like Val, Ella. If Rafael ever saw her, he'd immediately know."

"I know," Stella says, her lips quivering. "You cannot tell him about her, Daniel. He'd burn the world if he found out Antonio's been around his daughter."

I wrap my arms around her and pull her against my chest. I cannot believe the strong, confident woman I once knew has been reduced to this. Everyone who had anything to do with her state right now will fucking pay.

"I cannot hide this from him, Ella," I tell her, running my fingers through her hair.

She starts shaking in my arms, so I hold her tighter, knowing it always calms her down. "You need to. Please. I can't deal with his reaction. It has already been hard enough. You don't know, Ace, you don't know how much it hurts when I look at her. It makes me think about what my life could have been, what her life could have been like."

"Is that why you are doing drugs?" I ask her, trying to keep my anger in check, and she doesn't reply- probably because I am right. "You promised me you would not, Ella."

She looks at me as the tears start streaming down her face. "I know, I am so sorry, but I cannot deal with everything anymore. It's so fucking hard."

I kiss the top of her head, then rest my forehead against hers. She should not be crying. She does not cry. She does not give up. Fuck. I want to end everyone who did this to her. 

"I wish you had let me kill him before you had gotten married."

"I wish I had let you too," Stella sniffles, wiping her tears as she pulls away from me. "What's going on with you?"

I narrow my eyes at her for trying to change the topic. "We're not done with you yet."

"Yes, we are," she says with finality. "I want to talk about something happy."

I do not want to let the conversation turn to me, but I cannot deny her when she's in this condition. "Do you really think we can have a happy conversation about my life?" She shoots me a disappointed look, and I smile. "Fine... happy things, hmm. I am getting married."

"To Selena?" She almost screams, then covers her mouth, looking at the door in fear. What has Alessi done to her to make her this afraid of him? Whatever it is, I will do twice as much to him before I kill him.

When nothing happens, she relaxes and looks back at me with a raised eyebrow. "Well?"

"Yes, to Selena."

Stella shrieks with delight and throws her arms around me. "I knew the two of you would work out! See, this is what happens when you open up to people."

I do not have the heart to tell her that my marriage to Selena is purely a marriage of convenience, not love. I do not have the heart to tell her I regret opening up to Selena because of all she did and what I did in return. And so I just hold on to Stella and try to make sure she does not give up on life before I kill her husband.

-

《Selena Arabella Calos》

"... and as soon as I have the contracts for the new suppliers, I will send them to you. The lookbooks for the new collection are also ready and have been approved by all relevant authorities. They are with Emma right now; I can have them over to you by the evening. I contacted Mr Calos's secretary for a copy of the contract you requested, and he told me he could deliver it soon. Should I bring it along with the lookbook?" My assistant, Claire, asks me as she types something on her iPad.

"Yes. Natalie's coming in a while; please inform me when she arrives," I tell her as I close my laptop and relax in my chair.

"Of course," Claire says, then looks at me and bites her lip.

"What is it?"

"Are you okay?"

I look at her unsurely. Do I look unwell? "Yes?"

"You don't look okay. You look exhausted."

I smile at her, although I cannot tell how genuine my smile looks. Daniel has made me feel more vulnerable in a day than I have felt for years. And that terrifies me. "I have had meetings all day, Claire; of course, I look exhausted."

"It is not that, Selena. I have known you for years, and no matter how bad it gets, I haven't seen you look like this," Claire says, then pauses and looks at me again. "Whatever is going on in your life- I hope it gets better."

I grin playfully. "Don't worry; I won't die on you."

She rolls her eyes and smiles. "Good. It's hard to find a good boss these days."

I raise an eyebrow. "Good, huh?"

She shrugs. "Eh. Seriously, though, Selena. Please take care of yourself."

"I will. Thank you."

Claire looks at her phone and then back at me. "Natalie is here."

I pick up my bag. "We will be at Meridy for a while; have everything delivered to me there."

"Of course! Have a great weekend."

"I am working tomorrow."

She looks worried, knowing how sick I sometimes get when I overwork myself. "Do you want me to come in?"

"No, I will be at CI. James will take care of everything. Enjoy your day off."

Claire's jaw clenches at the mention of his name, and I raise my eyebrow questioningly. What's going on between her and James now? James is my other assistant who helps me out at CI. Since Claire and James first met, they decided they hated each other. They have been at each other's throats for one reason or another since. 

"He thinks he is a better assistant than me."

"Don't tell him I said this, but you are definitely better."

"Have you ever said that to him?"

I smile at her as I open the door. "If I had, don't you think he would have thrown it to your face by now?"

-

"You look tired," I tell Alessandro as I hug him.

"I was at the club all night," Alessandro tells me. After we graduated, Alessandro opened a nightclub to keep himself busy. "There was a problem with the booze shipment."

"What happened?" I ask him, worried.

Alessandro glances at the people sitting close to us and lowers his voice. "Someone is trying to mess with me, but I cannot figure out who."

I bite my lip to keep myself from asking more, knowing talking publicly about his other life is dangerous.

"Where is Nat?" He asks me.

"She's outside. She just got a call from her agent," I tell him. "How are things between you two?"

"Good. I think we have cleared many of our misunderstandings."

I smile, but before I can say anything, Nat comes in.

"Hey," Nat says, gazing at Alessandro with adoration. I bite my lip to suppress a smile; they're such a cute couple. "Did you guys already order?"

Alessandro's eyes twinkle as he smiles at her. "Yeah, we did. No sense in waiting, right? It's not like we'll get anything different."

Nat rolls her eyes before turning to me. "So, how was dinner?"

"It was good," I reply, absentmindedly toying with a napkin. I could easily lie to Nat, but Alessandro would see right through me and call me out on it. Ugh.

"And?"

"And what?" I ask casually.

She narrows her eyes at me. "I don't know, Lena. And who killed JFK?"

"I don't-"

"Who is your fiancé, Selena? What is he like?" Alessandro interrupts before I can continue and make Nat angrier.

"More importantly, is he hot?" Nat asks eagerly. Alessandro frowns, unamused by her enthusiasm. "What? It's a valid question," Nat protests.

"It does not-"

"Yes," I reply, cutting in before they start arguing. I swear, half the time we are together, we are trying to avoid each other's arguments.

"Why did you answer her question first?" Alessandro demands, prompting me to stick my tongue out at him as he rolls his eyes in response.

I look back at Nat. "As for what he's like... he is an asshole- rude and arrogant."

"Who is it?" Nat asks, her eyes widening.

I glance at Alessandro, then back at my napkin, tearing it into smaller pieces.

"Shit," Alessandro mutters, realisation dawning on him.

"Yeah, that was my reaction, too," I mutter, looking back at him. He looks worried as if I just told him I have a terminal illness.

Nat looks between us and frowns. "Bitch, tell me who it is right now or-"

"It's Daniel," Alessandro cuts in.

"Holy shit," Nat breathes.

"Did you know?" I ask Alessandro, but he shakes his head.

"I would have told you if I had. I asked Raf, but he wouldn't tell me. My guess is your fiancé threatened him with bodily harm if he did."

"Don't call him that," I mutter, and Alessandro scoffs.

"That won't make it any less true."

"But it makes it more real," I counter, and he reaches across the table to squeeze my hand reassuringly. 

"I do not care who he is, Lena. If he hurts you, I am going to kill him," Alessandro says with determination, and I smile at him.

"I love you," I say, then look at Nat, who is staring at our joined hands. Shit. I immediately withdraw my hand. "I love both of you."

"I know," Nat replies, smirking. But her expression quickly turns serious. "Finding out must have been difficult."

"It was overwhelming, to say the least," I sigh, still coming to terms with the situation.

"Did you talk to him after finding out?" Nat presses.

The memory of what happened next sends a flush creeping up my neck. "We, uh, yes, we did."

"Well?" Nat asks when I don't elaborate.

Alessandro narrows his eyes at me, then sighs. Why does he know me so well? "They did much more than that. Well, that explains Lex's pissy attitude this morning."

"You saw him?" I gasp, sitting up in my chair.

Alessandro nods. "He only gets like that when it comes to you, which means he either found out you're engaged, caught you and the asshole in the act, or both."

Nat raises her eyebrow. "So, which was it?"

"Kind of both," I mumble, feeling a sense of shame.

Nat squeals with excitement while Alessandro narrows his eyes at me. "How?"

I tell them what happened last night and this morning, holding nothing back. As expected, Nat listens intently, acting like a fangirl the whole time, while Alessandro looks like he's holding back a lecture.

"So, you're still attracted to him?" Nat asks, unable to contain her curiosity.

"Yes," I groan, feeling like a complete mess. "I hate it. How do you stop being attracted to someone you hate and know is going to rip you to shreds?"

Alessandro speaks up; his voice tinged with regret. "You cannot. And with you two living together and getting married, it is only going to get worse. But maybe you could try for a purely physical relationship. That way, you can act on your attraction without risking getting hurt since there will be no emotional involvement."

Nat looks at Alessandro with a pained expression, clearly disappointed by his suggestion. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

"I don't even know if he will go for that," I mutter, biting my lip in apprehension.

"Of course, he will. Why do you think he proposed marriage?" Alessandro retorts.

I narrow my eyes at Alessandro, trying to seem offended. "Thanks, Sandy."

"I am serious. After everything that happened, the only reason he would do that is because he can't stop thinking about you- or well, your body, because according to you, he utterly despises you."

"What if he isn't good in bed?" Nat asks, causing Alessandro to snort.

"If he weren't, she would not be this attracted to him," he responds.

Nat's eyes widen as she looks at me. "Have you guys-"

"No!" I exclaim a little too loudly, glancing around the room to make sure no one overheard. "We've done... stuff but not that. Not until we get married."

"And he agrees with that?" Nat asks incredulously.

"No. He insists on it," I say, as my cheeks start heating up as I start thinking about last night. I cannot be thinking about this right now. "Enough about this. Have either of you spoken to Abby or Blake?"

"Hmm. I spoke to Blake for like a minute yesterday- they are thoroughly enjoying their honeymoon. They will be back in Lithern by next weekend," Nat answers.

Alessandro smirks at me knowingly, then looks at Nat. "So soon?"

"Yeah. Blake has some important work shit. His boss is not giving him more time off."

Alessandro shakes his head in disappointment. "And that is why I can never work for anyone."

"I'm used to things like that," I chime in. "My mother used to do the same thing to me."

"What about your father?" Nat asks me, raising her eyebrow.

I shrug. "He is better than her. He tries to give me time off when he sees I am overworked."

"Father of the year," Nat mutters sarcastically. Alessandro and I share a look, wondering what she would say if she knew everything their fathers have done.

-

"I don't understand why I have to move in with you so soon," I say, looking at Daniel, who is leaning against my bedroom door. He completely ignores me as if he did not hear me say anything. "Do you realise I am going to keep on talking until you answer me?"

He narrows his eyes at me. "You're a headache."

"A headache you decided to marry and spend the rest of your life with," I retort. He stares at me blankly. "Also, that didn't answer my question."

Instead of replying, he turns on his heels and starts walking away from me. What the actual hell? Why is he being so rude?

I grab my bag and run after him, grabbing his arm to stop him. "It's rude to walk away from someone when they're talking to you."

He looks at my hand like it's disgusting, and I feel a pang of pain in my chest at his expression. I quickly withdraw my hand. "For fuck's sake," he says, annoyed, then looks at the pained expression on my face and mutters something under his breath. "I want my fiancée to live with me."

"Okay," I say simply, trying hard not to cry. I do not know why I feel so hurt by his reaction to me touching him, but there is nothing I can do about it. So the best I can do is not cry in front of him. I push past him and start walking to the elevator, but he wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me against himself before I can get very far. "Let me go, Castello."

"Don't you want to know the real reason why I want you to live with me?" He whispers against my ear. I look at the elevator doors in front of me and try to blink the tears away. I hate him for how weak he makes me feel.

"I changed my mind."

He forces me to turn around and look at him. For a fleeting moment, I detect a hint of guilt in normally blank eyes. However, he blinks, and the expression vanishes so quickly that I begin to question whether I had imagined it.

"Don't touch me," I seethe as I push him away.

Daniel's jaw tightens, and he gives me a dark look, but before he can speak, the elevator doors open, and Stefan and Leonardo step in.

"You have a meeting with-" Stefan begins, but Daniel cuts him off.

"I know," Daniel says sharply, shooting a glare at Stefan. "Leonardo, take Selena home and keep her under your supervision."

"I don't need a bodyguard," I mutter, and Daniel's glare intensifies.

"Don't fucking argue with me," he snaps, nudging me towards the door. "If you try to slip away from Leonardo, I will make good on my threat from this morning. I'm assuming you remember it."

"I do," I grit out and stomp away from him towards the elevator.

If he continues to act this way, I will have no problem hating him- as long as he does not touch me.

-

I pace around my room, trying to decide if I should go and see Daniel. I have not seen him since I moved to his house, but that's not what bothers me. The part that bothers me is thinking about him spending his nights with other women- specifically Layla Snow.

I have been working on a project with her for the last few months, and since that dinner a week ago, when she found out about my and Daniel's engagement, she has been very rude to me. I ignore her most of the time because I have dealt with her bitchiness before, but she said something today that I cannot stop thinking about. She was talking to one of the other models about Daniel. I did not hear much, but what I did hear made me want to leave immediately, but of course, I could not because that would be highly unprofessional, and Mother would kill me. Layla said that she has been sleeping with Daniel almost every night this week and that he is such a good boyfriend and makes her breakfast every morning. Nothing about that should bother me, but if I am not allowed to be alone with my best friend, he should not be allowed to sleep with Layla and cook her breakfast in the morning. I also do not know what part bothers me more- that he has been sleeping with her while being engaged to me or that he makes her breakfast because there was a time when he only ever made breakfast for me.

For the first time this week, he is at home, so I have the chance to talk him into some sort of agreement about not seeing Layla Snow- however difficult that might be.

I can do this. I try to convince myself as I open my bedroom door and run downstairs. I stop outside Daniel's home office. I can do this. I repeat in my head as I muster the courage to reach for the handle. My heart races as I reach for the handle and push the door open, but I regret it when I see someone else in the room with Daniel.

Both of them look at me, and the man with Daniel, who seems vaguely familiar, seems angry to see me.

"We're having a meeting," the man says patronisingly, annoyed by my presence.

"I'm sorry," I mutter, but Daniel stands up before I can close the door and run away. I look at him, fully expecting him to be glaring at me, but he isn't. Instead, Daniel has his eyes narrowed at the rude man.

"Our meeting is over, Lorenzo," Daniel says, his voice controlled but laced with anger.

"But, Ace-" Lorenzo starts to protest, but he changes his mind when he notices Daniel's expression. "We'll discuss everything else later."

Daniel turns to me and beckons me over. I glance cautiously at Lorenzo, who is hurriedly gathering his things, then walk towards Daniel. As soon as I am within arm's length, Daniel wraps his arms around me and pulls me close.

"You will never speak to or look at my fiancée in that way again if you wish to continue breathing," Daniel says calmly, but his voice is sharp and lethal. Lorenzo's jaw clenches as he looks from me to Daniel and nods vigorously. "Apologize," Daniel orders, his tone holding a clear threat.

A sour look crosses Lorenzo's face as he scrambles to gather the last of his things. "I'm sorry," he mutters through a clenched jaw, avoiding eye contact. "It won't happen again. I hope you can forgive me."

I nod, feeling a sense of relief as Lorenzo makes his exit, and the tension in the room dies down. I turn to Daniel. "I am so sorry. I did not know anyone else was-"

"You do not need to apologise, Selena. This is your house. You do not need anyone's permission to enter any room in this house," Daniel says as he sits down on his chair and pulls me into his lap.

"What about your room?" I ask him, chewing at my lip.

He presses his thumb against my lips, forcing me to release it. "It's not my room, Bellissima. It's our room. You are welcome in it any time."

I look into his eyes but don't see anything that would indicate that he is being insincere, but then I remember Layla's words, and my mouth turns sour. "Do you spend any time in it at all?"

"What do you mean?" Daniel raises his eyebrow, noticing the change in my mood.

"Nothing," I mutter, trying to get up from his lap. But he doesn't let me.

"Why did you come here?" he asks, pressing me to explain.

I take a deep breath and confess, "I wanted to talk to you about us."

Daniel furrows his eyebrows. "What about us?"

"I do not know where to start anymore," I admit, feeling overwhelmed by the number of emotions I have felt in the past minute. I see a brief smile appear on Daniel's face, making him look even more handsome than usual.

Focus, Selena!

"How about starting with why you decided to come to see me?" he suggests, looking straight into my eyes.

I look down at my hands, feeling anxious. I'm scared to ask him to stop seeing Layla, fearing he'll refuse, leaving me to deal with my husband being in love with the one person I can't stand. So I start with something easier. "Our relationship, marriage, whatever this is, I want it to be just physical."

Daniel tilts my chin up to look at him. He looks amused. "And what does that mean?"

"It means I want our relationship to be just like yours was with Stella."

He narrows his eyes at me. "Stella wasn't my wife."

I don't understand why he seems so angry about this. I thought this was my most agreeable request, given our past.

"You didn't hate Stella either," is the only thing I can think of saying.

He stares at me for a moment before nodding. "Good point. What else?"

"You can't kiss me on the lips, which I do not even think you want to do since you did not do it that night."

He looks surprised, probably because he did not expect me to notice, and then nods. "And?"

I bite my lip and look down at my hands again. I know he won't agree with my next three requests, but I have to try. "I know you will sleep with other women, and I know I have to deal with it, but can you not sleep with any woman I have to interact with a lot?"

"Such as?" he asks, still calm and amused.

"Layla Snow," I mutter, bracing myself for his refusal.

He doesn't get angry, but he looks confused. "Okay," he says after a moment, and my eyes widen in surprise.

"Okay?" I repeat in surprise.

"Yes. I will not sleep with any woman you have to interact with, including Layla Snow."

I am so relieved he agreed to my condition that I do not ask him why he agreed without any arguments.

"And the women you do sleep with, please do not bring them here while I am here."

Daniel nods again, and I blink. Have I stepped into an alternate dimension where Daniel is compliant?

Or maybe, just maybe, he does not love Layla as she claims.

I am hoping it's the latter instead of the former.

"What else do you want, Selena?" Daniel asks.

My voice is barely a whisper when I reply, "Can I please be allowed to see Alessandro?" I immediately regret my request as Daniel's amused expression shifts to a stony one. Shit, I've gone too far.

"I have conditions, too," he replies, too calmly for my liking.

I'm relieved that he's willing to discuss it, at least. "Okay."

"Do you still have the necklace I gave you?" Daniel asks, and I nod. "You will wear it 24/7 without any arguments."

I agree with his first condition; it doesn't sound too bad. "Okay."

"You will have a bodyguard who will drive you everywhere and keep you safe. And you will not try to escape from him."

"Will he report everything I do to you?" I ask, knowing there must be a catch.

"Yes, if I ask him."

That's okay. I can do all that if that means I can see Alessandro again. "Okay. Anything else?"

"You will not see Alexander again," Daniel says, his voice dripping with disgust as he mentions Alex's name.

I knew this was coming. I had a feeling that once I met my fiancé, I would never be able to see Alex again. I reluctantly agree to that condition too.

Daniel seems satisfied with my response. "And lastly, if you break any rules, you will be punished."

My eyes widen as I process his words. "What do you mean by punished?"

"When you break my rules, you will not be doing something that I want you to do, and so I will not do something you want to do." My eyebrows furrow in confusion. "I will not let you come that night. I will leave you on edge several times, and I do not care if you beg me to let you come- I won't until I am satisfied."

I should have known he'd choose that as a punishment. When we were together, he did it multiple times after we had an argument. But he would only edge me three times before letting me come, I had always known he was not satisfied with that, but he did not let it go further because he loved me. I guess he does not anymore- what a shocker.

"Okay," I tell him, even though I know I am going to regret it. I could barely handle three times without almost breaking down- more than that will be hell. He looks surprised I did not take more time to consider his offer.

"Then I agree to all of your conditions," Daniel says as his thumb traces the bare skin beneath the band of my shorts. He leans in and rests his face in the crook of my neck. "Bedroom or office?"

I'm confused by his question, but before I can respond, he starts pressing kisses along my collarbone. "Oh, the office is fine," I manage to say.

Daniel looks up at me, a smirk on his lips. I see a hint of pride in his eyes before he presses his lips against my neck again.

-

A/N

I have to be honest- I don't like what I am writing again, nor am I feeling it. I still want to finish this book and will, but after that, I will HEAVILY edit both this book and the first one. I think during the writing process, I don't know exactly what I will write in the next chapter (in terms of the character's feelings), so they may come off as confused/mixed. I really want to change that- I may also make some changes while writing this book because otherwise, I will fixate on that, and this book will not get written, and I do not want that. 

I am working on re-writing Falling for The Devil, too, on the side, and I finally feel like I am getting that right. It may be because I have the whole book in front of me, so I can change multiple parts at the same time, move things around, and add some clarity and more substance to the book and characters. 

I don't know why I am writing this here right now. There is literally no point, but I have been so frustrated because of this I keep on fixating on it. Ngl chapters 5 and 6 were my least favourite chapters I wrote for this book (I have written 13 so far)- they just felt off, and I hated that. So maybe for this week, this will be the only update, and I will try and tweak the past few chapters. I might end up changing things from all the chapters (so they reflect what I want the characters to feel in a consistent way). 

I don't know. 

I think I am just tired and overwhelmed because of all the work I have to do, and the perfectionist in me is coming out:/

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Thank you for continuing to read this book. You do not know how much that means to me, especially with how I feel about it right now.

See you next week.

Ashley x