anwhile inside the café, Anna choked on her drink so abruptly that the couple at the next table flinched.
’Why do I feel like soone is missing ?’ she wondered, dabbing the remnants of juice from her lips with a napkin. Her gaze drifted to Shawn, and the realization finally clicked.
"Did Mariam reach ho safely?" she asked, because their et-up wasn’t really about drinks—it was about serious business disguised as casual sipping.
"Yes, I made sure of it," he replied, recalling how he’d followed the lady all the way to her old ho and waited like a silent neighborhood watchdog to ensure she was safe and sound.
Anna’s eyes softened. She could imagine how helpless Mariam must have felt—yet a part of her also wanted to drag Kira across a floor full of Legos for daring to hurt soone who still cared about her despite all her mistakes.
"Are you thinking what I’m thinking?" Shawn asked, catching Anna staring with that I’m-about-to-murder-soone-politely look.
There was no doubt. Their theory aligned perfectly: Kira might be the one who attacked Roseline.
"But we still need to wait for the forensic reports," Anna reminded, refusing to drop her guard completely.
Shawn nodded, though Anna noticed he kept glancing at his phone like it owed him money.
"You haven’t heard from them yet?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
He shook his head in sheer disappointnt.
After the threatening session Henry had received—courtesy of Anna, the honorary queen of intimidation—there was no way the man would dare cross her. The sa went for Kevin. Both n were terrified of Daniel’s temper, and Anna had shalessly used that fear as leverage.
"Relax. The job is yours. Enjoy your drink," she assured, lifting her glass again even though her brain was running a marathon of intrusive thoughts.
BUZZ—
Her eyes narrowed at the caller ID.
"Henry? Why is he calling ?" she muttered, sharing a look with Shawn.
"Don’t tell Daniel rejected you." The color drained from Shawn’s face as if soone had pulled the plug on his soul.
Anna didn’t let that nightmare scenario fester. She hit accept.
"Henry, are you tried of living-"
"M-Ma’am you need to co to the office. Boss... he-he—"
Anna didn’t wait for him to finish. She shot to her feet so fast her chair skidded back with a squeal, then marched out of the café like the floor was on fire. Shawn was left blinking at her retreating figure.
"Am... am I selected?" he whispered at the empty space where she used to be, his voice swallowed by the noise of the café.
DING. DING. DINGDINGDING—
Shawn’s phone buzzed with a flood of emails while continued to blink with every sound it made and then he frown.
"I—I indeed did!" he gasped, eyes wide as saucers. But the thrill was short-lived because his mind darted back to Anna—who had left looking like soone had just vacuud the blood out of her body.
"Great," he muttered, grabbing his coat, "I’m hired... and apparently also dood." reading the na of the person who sent the email.
***
anwhile, Anna reached Glorious International and took the private elevator straight to the executive suite where Daniel was supposed to be resting after fainting so dramatically.
But the second she stepped inside, all she was greeted with... was silence. And emptiness.
"Huh? Why is no one around? And where is Daniel?" she muttered, narrowing her eyes as she scanned the room like a detective who already suspected nonsense.
Just then, a soft click echoed behind her.
Thud
Anna spun around—and froze watching Daniel stand by the door perfectly healthy upright and not fainted as she was inford.
Her lips parted in disbelief while her eyes widened with the fury only a wife betrayed by an unnecessarily dramatic husband could feel.
But then her expression darkened. Without hesitation, she yanked her phone out and called Henry.
Oh, she swore on the drink she left behind that she’d get them both for this little prank. Daniel pulling stunts was expected. Henry joining the circus? Unforgivable.
But no matter how many tis she called, Henry refused to answer.
Of course he did. Coward.
"Don’t call Henry. I’m sure he’s hiding sowhere right now, praying for divine intervention," Daniel drawled, sounding far too amused for soone who had pretended to collapse two hours ago.
Anna froze mid-dial, glaring at him as he slowly walked toward her with the confidence of a man who knew he was about to get smacked but found it entertaining anyway.
But Anna didn’t flinch.
"How long have you been manipulating Henry to slip that tracker friend of yours into the company?" Daniel asked suddenly, his voice calm—but the accusation in it sharp enough to slice through her composure.
Anna’s breath caught. Her eyes blinked rapidly, trying to process his words, but Daniel’s unwavering stare didn’t budge. He wasn’t joking. He wasn’t teasing. He wanted the truth.
It wasn’t as though Anna wanted to hide anything from him, not intentionally. But she did push Henry with the threat that their secret was disclose and to stop herself from letting Daniel know it he would have to help her. And that was requesting a spot for Shawn.
Anna did have her own reasons. Reasons Daniel would not like.
But she also hadn’t wanted to waste Shawn’s talent.
When he told her he dread of working with Daniel’s team—after praising their skill, their precision, their insane standards—Anna hadn’t hesitated for even a second. She agreed imdiately.
A man Daniel had planted to keep an eye on her. And a man she placed in his company.
Even. That was the only word echoing through her mind.
She lifted her chin, refusing to let him corner her with guilt.
"The sa way you kept the truth from —about you knowing I was trying to find Kathrine for you."
The mont the words slipped out, the atmosphere snapped.
Daniel’s expression hardened instantly, like soone had flipped a switch. His jaw ticked, his eyes darkened, and the air between them grew thick with a tension that had nothing to do with Shawn anymore.
Anna didn’t back down. Daniel didn’t look away. And both knew they had just crossed into territory that wasn’t about a prank, a tracker, or a job anymore—
Instead, she had only been ssing with him—payback for all the stalking, monitoring, and husband-level espionage he had carried out on her since day one.
"So, my dear husband... we are even."
Anna stepped closer, looping her arms around his neck with slow, deliberate sweetness.
The anger Daniel had been clinging to evaporated instantly—gone like smoke in a storm.
Whatever hint of betrayal he’d felt a mont ago lted into sothing far more dangerous... pure, helpless devotion.
His voice ca out lower, softer, but still stubborn.
"Still, I’m the boss here. You can’t instruct him."
Anna raised a brow. Ah yes—there it was. The Daniel-special.
The mix of possessiveness and insecurity that only surfaced when other n existed in her general vicinity.
Anna opened her mouth to argue— But then she paused.
His skin under her fingertips felt... warm. Too warm.
"Daniel," she murmured, narrowing her eyes as she pressed her palm firmly against his forehead, "do you have a fever?"
He didn’t answer, because the answer was obvious.
He did. A real one. And yet this man had the energy to fake a dramatic fainting spell, prank her, interrogate her, and still posture like he wasn’t seconds from collapsing again.
Anna sighed.
"Unbelievable," she muttered. "You’re burning up and still pulling stunts."
Daniel pursed his lips but didn’t resist when Anna grabbed his wrist and dragged him toward the bed like he was a disobedient toddler.
"Sit. Here." She pushed him down lightly, yet firmly enough to make her point.
Daniel sat obediently, watching as Anna stepped back with her hands planted on her hips. She looked exactly like the kind of wife who could scold her husband into repentance with just one raised eyebrow.
How I wish Mom were here to see this.She would’ve liked Anna... just like I do.
A soft warmth flickered through him, and his lips curved into a gentle, almost dreamy smile.
Anna blinked. "Daniel, where’s the first-aid kit?"
Instead of answering like a normal human, he just kept smiling at her. Full teeth. Full sunshine. Full weirdness.
She paused, eyes narrowing suspiciously. Slowly, the realization dawned.
Oh no. Don’t tell the fever has reached his brain cells.
Anna knew herself—when she had a fever, her logic disappeared, she babbled nonsense, and occasionally declared war on inanimate objects. So seeing Daniel smiling like that... well, she assud the worst.
"It’s in the drawer," he finally said.
"..."
Why is he STILL smiling? God, now he looks creepy.
Anna shook her head quickly, refusing to let her imagination spiral into horror-movie territory. She marched to the drawer.
She needed to check his temperature now before he started doing anything that would make her question his ntal stability.
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