Daniel sat frozen for a mont, his thumb still resting on the phone screen, staring at Anna’s last ssage as though it were a riddle he couldn’t quite solve.
Her rudeness didn’t surprise him as it was expected. But what unsettled him was how her words had an odd way of hitting exactly where it hurt.
’Not when that person makes my life difficult for .’
He exhaled, leaning back in his seat, his jaw tightening. Yes, he had made her life difficult—unintentionally or not. The online chaos that erupted after his teasing ssage had spiraled beyond control, with her fans now obsessing over her "mystery lover." So even dragged his na into the storm, and though he had cleaned up the ss behind the scenes, the damage had been done.
Still, when he reread her ssage, the corner of his lips twitched.
She was angry. But she was talking to him.
His fingers moved before he could stop himself.
Daniel (@DarkKnight_07): I don’t know about being a foe... but if you insist, I can be friend for you.
He hit send and leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed on the screen. Within seconds, the typing dots appeared.
A small smile crept onto his lips. There you are.
Her reply ca fast, sharp, and honest.
Anna: Sorry, but I don’t take soone as my friend so easily. Not when that person makes my life difficult for .
Daniel’s smile faltered just a little. He stared at the text, his thumb hovering midair, unsure whether to reply or not. He wasn’t used to thinking twice before speaking, especially not with anyone. But this woman had the unnerving ability to make him second-guess every move.
He started typing, stopped, deleted. Typed again. Deleted again.
For a long mont, he just sat there phone in hand, eyes lost in thought.
anwhile, across the mansion, Anna’s phone screen dimd as she stared at their chat, her brows furrowing in mild irritation.
"Why isn’t he replying now?" she mumbled under her breath, pulling the phone closer as though glaring at it would make him text faster.
The irony wasn’t lost on her. A few minutes ago, she was ready to block him. Now she was waiting for him to answer.
"Maybe he finally got my warning," she muttered with a huff, tossing the phone aside. "Good. He should."
She laid back on her bed, staring at the ceiling, but her mind was far from calm.
Why was he even contacting her after that whole fiasco? Hadn’t he caused enough chaos already?
She bit her lip, her thoughts drifting back to the past few days. The online gossip, the endless ssages from strangers calling her DarkKnight’s secret lover. It was suffocating. But the strangest part was the small, quiet voice in her chest that whispered he wasn’t doing it to hurt her.
’But why... why would he reach out again?’
Her eyes lingered on the ceiling, unfocused. Then, her thoughts slipped deeper beyond Daniel, beyond the present into a mory she’d been trying to suppress.
The night she died.
Anna didn’t move but her heart clenched.
In flashes, she rembered the icy rain, the blinding headlights, and the rough shove that sent her tumbling into darkness.
Her breath hitched. "Who was that person... who pushed ?"
No matter how many tis she tried to recall the face, it stayed hidden, just a shadow in the rain.
She pressed a hand to her forehead, forcing the thought away. "Stop it, Anna. It’s over."
But her mind didn’t listen. The questions always ca crawling back, haunting her, whispering that her past wasn’t as buried as she wished.
Click.
The sound of her door creaking open snapped her out of her trance. Her head whipped toward the doorway and her eyes widened when she saw him.
Daniel stood there, his tall fra half-silhouetted by the hallway light spilling in behind him.
Her breath hitched again. "W-When did you—"
He stepped inside before she could finish, his usual composed expression unreadable, though his eyes held that familiar intensity that made her pulse skip.
’When did he even co ho?’ she thought, startled that she hadn’t heard a single footstep.
Daniel’s gaze dropped briefly to the phone lying beside her on the bed, the sa phone she had just thrown aside in frustration. Then his eyes t hers again, sharp and knowing.
For a fleeting second, Anna wondered if he was still angry about their argunt that morning — the one where she’d bluntly told him the truth about their marriage, about love, about Kathrine.
The way Daniel stood at her door now, quiet and unreadable, his gaze fixed on her, made her pulse quicken. But then she reminded herself ’she had said nothing wrong.’
Because that was the truth.
"You haven’t slept yet?" he asked at last, his deep voice breaking through the thick silence.
He stepped further into the room, his gaze never leaving her. The faint scent of his cologne lingered in the air clean, warm, and dangerously familiar. He had already changed into a fresh pair of clothes, his hair slightly tousled, as if he’d just co from the shower.
Anna blinked, realizing she wasn’t even surprised anymore by his sudden, uninvited visits.
Daniel Clafford had made it a habit barging into her room as though he owned not just the house, but her space too.
Which, technically, he did.
’This house belongs to him,’ she reminded herself bitterly. ’After all, it does.’
Still, she quickly composed herself when Daniel moved closer and sat down, not on a chair, not on the edge, but on his side of the bed.
Anna’s brows furrowed instantly. He looked too calm. Too composed. And that in itself made her uneasy.
She had expected him to be angry after this morning after she’d questioned his feelings and thrown Kathrine’s na right back at him. But instead of snapping, he’d stayed quiet. Unmoving.
And that silence had spoken louder than any denial ever could.
’Which ans,’ she thought grimly, ’everything I said was true.’
"I was about to sleep until you showed up," she muttered, rolling her eyes as she grabbed her pillow and placed it between them like a wall.
Daniel’s lips curved faintly. "You really think that’s going to make a difference?" he asked, his tone low and teasing. "You threw those pillows away last ti and hugged to sleep anyway."
Anna froze mid-motion. Her hands tightened around the pillow.
Her mind betrayed her, flashing back to the mory of last night—his warmth beside her, his arms unconsciously wrapping around her waist, the soft weight of his breath against her skin.
Her face heated instantly.
"I didn’t throw them," she muttered defensively under her breath, still avoiding his gaze. "They just... fell."
Daniel’s chuckle was quiet but unmistakable, echoing through the dimly lit room. "Yeah," he said, leaning slightly toward her, "they just fell on the floor all by themselves."
Anna’s cheeks flad red, but she refused to answer. Instead, she turned her back to him and pulled the blanket up to her shoulder, determined to ignore the smug grin she could feel radiating behind her.
’If I don’t talk, maybe he’ll finally shut up,’ she thought, closing her eyes tightly.
For a mont, she believed he had. The room went silent—too silent.
Then, click.
The lights went out.
Before she could even turn, she felt it , the warmth of his body closing in behind her, the mattress dipping under his weight, and then his arm sliding smoothly around her waist, pulling her back against him.
"D-Daniel—"
Her voice caught when his breath brushed the nape of her neck.
"I’m already doing everything beforehand," he murmured.
"..."
Her heart stuttered, her mind spinning.
Daniel had always been bold, unpredictable slipping into her room unannounced, teasing her until she blushed, stealing kisses when she least expected. But ever since that night the night he’d been drugged sothing had shifted between them.
He could’ve taken advantage of her then. She’d seen the raw desire in his eyes, felt the pull of it in every unspoken touch.
But he didn’t.
He’d held back. Chose control over impulse.
And that mont had changed sothing in her, sothing she didn’t want to na.
Now, lying there in the dark with his arm wrapped firmly around her, Anna could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against her back.
His voice, low and deliberate, brushed her ear. "Don’t worry I won’t do anything"
Those words made Anna still. Her breath catching for just a mont before a strange calmness washed over her.
There was sothing about the way he said it not commanding, not teasing but gentle. Reassuring. It made her chest tighten, made her want to believe him even when she knew she shouldn’t.
And slowly, the tension that had been gripping her all day began to lt away.
Her muscles loosened. Her heartbeat steadied.
Daniel’s arm was still around her, warm and steady, and though she knew she should’ve pushed him away, she didn’t. Not this ti.
Because, for once, his presence didn’t feel suffocating. It felt... safe letting her eyes fluttered closed, the faint rhythm of his breathing lulling her deeper into quiet.
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