A heavy silence blanketed the room as Daniel sat behind his mahogany desk, motionless, his face carved into that unreadable expression he was known for. The morning sun spilled faintly through the tall windows of his office, but even the light seed hesitant to reach him.
His original plan of staying ho to keep close to Anna, to perhaps understand her. But it had gone down the drain the mont she confessed the truth that left him hollow and confused.
’Because you don’t love , Daniel. You love Kathrine.’
Her voice echoed in his head like a haunting lody, sharp and sorrowful, refusing to fade.
Daniel’s jaw tightened, his eyes darkening at the thought. Yes, it was true that he had intended to marry Kathrine first. That had been the plan to make the Bennett pay. But then Kathrine had vanished. And when she did, he had been forced to marry Anna instead.
At first, he’d thought she was no different from her family—greedy, manipulative, a pawn in Hugo Bennett’s sches. He assud she accepted the marriage to protect their na, their wealth, their influence.
But when Anna had stood before him just few hours after their wedding and demanded a divorce, his perception of her shattered.
’Who in their right mind would risk divorcing him when their family business was under his control?’
And yet she had done exactly that. Boldly and fearlessly. Not for her family but for herself. And it was only now that he finally understood why.
’Love.’
That word again—the one that kept circling in his head like a foreign concept he couldn’t grasp.
Anna might have born as a Bennett, but she was deprived from the love she ought from her parents. While Kathrine was cherished, she just stood there barely anyone noticing her.
Anna thought love was the foundation of a marriage. And since there was none between them, she wanted out.
It was simple. Logical. Inevitable.
And yet...
"Why did she sound so sad when she said that?" he muttered under his breath, his fingers tapping against the armrest. "And how could she believe I love her sister?"
His head tilted slightly, frowning. "I never said I love Kathrine."
’But you acted like that’ his subconcious corrected him making his mood sour.
"Boss?"
The sudden voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
Daniel glanced up, noticing Henry standing awkwardly near the door his hair disheveled, his tie crooked, and the dark circles under his eyes forming enough depth to store small secrets.
Henry had been standing there for nearly ten minutes, completely ignored and the mont Daniel’s cold gaze landed on him, he stiffened.
’Why am I even here? I could’ve been ho, eating breakfast... with my wife,’ Henry lanted silently. ’Instead, I’m being slowly murdered by silence.’
"Boss," he tried again hesitantly, "about today’s schedu—"
"Henry," Daniel cut in suddenly, his tone sharp yet oddly thoughtful, "do you love your wife?"
Henry blinked. "W-What?"
Daniel looked at him expectantly, his elbows resting on the desk. "You heard ."
The question caught Henry so off-guard that for a mont he just stood there, mouth agape, trying to process what he’d just heard.
"Boss..." he said slowly, eyes narrowing in disbelief. "Are you in love with your wife?"
Daniel’s expression didn’t change, but the faint twitch at the corner of his mouth betrayed him.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" he said too quickly and Henry almost smiled.
’Got you.’
He’d worked under Daniel for years knowing the man better than most.
Daniel Clafford never stuttered, never hesitated, never blushed at a question. Yet here he was, fumbling like a lovesick teenager caught with a secret.
"I’m just saying," Henry continued carefully, "it’s a bit unusual for you to ask about love unless it’s... personal."
"Don’t overthink it," Daniel snapped, but even he didn’t sound convincing. "I just want to know if love is really the only thing that keeps a marriage together or if there’s more to it."
He leaned back, his brows furrowed deeply.
"Oh is that so" Henry watched him closely, noticing the faint exhaustion behind the sharpness of his gaze.
Daniel Clafford the man who could calculate a multi-million-dollar rger in minutes was struggling to comprehend sothing as basic as emotion.
’He’s ssed up badly,’ Henry thought, sighing inwardly. ’And he doesn’t even realize it yet.’
He debated how to answer. If he said sothing wrong, Daniel might throw him out the window. But if he didn’t answer at all, the silence might kill him first.
Finally, Henry spoke, his voice quieter now. "The answer is yes, Boss. I do love my wife—a lot."
Daniel’s eyes flicked toward him, unreadable.
Henry smiled faintly, shrugging. "We argue sotis, sure. She drives crazy, I make her furious but that’s part of it. Love doesn’t an peace every day. It ans staying, even when it’s hard."
He chuckled. "She gives hell sotis, but I wouldn’t trade her for the world."
Daniel studied him, silent. The sincerity in Henry’s voice struck sothing deep inside him, sothing uncomfortably close to longing.
He’d never thought of marriage that way. For him, it was always about structure, duty, control. Love was too volatile, too uncertain to rely on.
And yet... every ti Anna smiled, his heart reacted in ways logic couldn’t explain. Every ti she glared at him, he found himself amused instead of angry.
Every ti he kissed her, he forgot how to breathe.
Daniel’s hand clenched into a fist on the desk as his thoughts spiraled.
’Did she ever feel that way too... when we kissed?’ Because he did. Every single ti.
He rembered the way her breath hitched, how her fingers trembled against his chest, the soft sound she made when their lips t. It wasn’t just attraction, it was sothing deeper, sothing dangerous.
Sothing he wasn’t supposed to feel.
"Boss?" Henry’s voice snapped him back again.
Daniel blinked once, twice, then cleared his throat. "Get back to work."
Henry sighed, muttering as he turned to leave, "Yeah, sure. Love crisis at nine, reports at ten. Perfect day."
As the door shut behind him, Daniel leaned back once more, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"So does that ans she wants to love her" his eyes were blank but soon the corner of his lips curled up.
***
Argh!!!
Anna flopped back on her bed with a frustrated groan, her face buried deep in the pillow.
"Why would you say that, Anna?!" she squealed into the fabric before rolling over and flailing her legs helplessly. "Now he’ll think I want him to love !"
The embarrassnt hit her like a wave all over again. The way Daniel had looked at her with his intense gaze and the quiet confusion on his face was enough to make her want to dig a hole and hide in it forever.
Her plan had been simple- end things quietly, walk out of his life without drama, and move on. But now, after that confrontation, she doubted it would be that easy.
She groaned again, clutching the pillow to her chest. "Great. Just perfect. Now he probably thinks I’m heartbroken over him."
Her mind raced, replaying their conversation in painful detail. She hadn’t ant to sound hurt when she said it—"You don’t love , Daniel. You love Kathrine." She’d wanted it to sound calm, logical... but instead, it ca out cracked, heavy with emotions she didn’t even want to na.
And the way he looked at her afterward silent, almost stunned it only made things worse.
Anna dragged her hands down her face and sighed, finally sitting up. "Ugh, I should’ve just stayed quiet. Why can’t I ever keep my mouth shut around him?"
Her thoughts wandered for a mont before landing on the one thing that brought her a sliver of comfort—Kira.
"Well... at least that snake is finally out of the house before she caused more trouble" she muttered, crossing her arms with a satisfied nod.
Just rembering the way Kira’s face had crumbled under pressure made Anna’s lips curl into a smirk.
After everything her sly smiles, her manipulative tone, her attempts to get close to Daniel it was almost satisfying to see her get caught in her own trap.
"I still can’t believe she actually thought drugging Daniel would make him like her," Anna scoffed, shaking her head. She had already seen through her intension since day one.
"Delusional doesn’t even begin to cover it."
Anna laid back against the headboard, her expression softening slightly.But beneath her relief, a quiet thought lingered.
"What if she had blad ? What if Daniel hadn’t believed ?" she murmured, tracing invisible lines on her blanket.
That possibility had haunted her briefly last night but for once, things had gone right. Daniel hadn’t trusted her. He’d seen the truth for himself.
The mory made her chest tighten unexpectedly.
She didn’t know what that ant whether it was gratitude, or sothing more dangerous but she pushed the thought away before it could root deeper.
"Whatever," she muttered, stretching her arms before grabbing her phone. "He can think whatever he wants. I’m just glad that whole ss is over."
But little did she knew Daniel had other plan in his mind.
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