Norma stepped out of the building and slipped into the waiting car. The door closed with a muted thud, sealing her inside the quiet luxury. Almost instinctively, her gaze lifted to the towering glass structure behind her, and the corner of her lips twitched ever so slightly.
She hadn’t expected to run into Anna. That encounter had not been part of the plan.
Yet, seeing her there confird sothing Norma had already begun to suspect.
Daniel was losing his footing.
The woman had already managed to sway him, to pull him away from the path he was supposed to follow. Motives blurred when emotions crept in, and Norma had never tolerated weakness, especially not in him.
"Where to, madam?" the driver asked, his voice respectful as he glanced at her through the rearview mirror.
Norma t his eyes briefly, her expression unreadable. "Rosewood Mansion," she said calmly. "We’ll be staying there as planned."
The driver nodded and eased the car into motion.
Norma reached into her bag and pulled out her phone, her fingers moving with practiced precision as she dialed a number she knew by heart. The call connected almost instantly.
"It’s ti," she said simply.
She ended the call without waiting for a reply.
As the car moved forward, her gaze drifted back to the building one last ti, the companies na reflecting faintly in her eyes.
***
[Back inside Daniel’s office]
"Boss, what are we going to do now?" Henry asked, his concern barely masked. "Madam Norma arrived before schedule."
He had managed, until now, to keep Norma busy with overseas engagents and delayed etings, diverting her attention whenever she tried to interfere in Daniel’s personal affairs. But her sudden appearance ant one thing. The buffer was gone.
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
"I don’t know why she showed up all of a sudden," he said slowly. "But Henry, we need to be careful. I don’t want Anna coming across anything. Not yet."
Henry nodded imdiately. He understood the weight behind those words.
They both knew the real reason Daniel had agreed to marry Kathrine. It had never been about love. It had been about vengeance for the family he had lost in the blink of an eye. Cold, calculated revenge had driven every step he took back then.
But things changed the mont he saw Anna for who she truly was.
She wasn’t like the people he despised. She wasn’t sheltered or manipulative.
She was fighting her own silent war within the walls of her own house, neglected, underestimated, and used by those who were supposed to protect her. And sowhere along the way, without him realizing it, his heart had chosen her.
After that, there was no turning back.
She was no longer just a Bennett. She was his wife. And anyone daring to harm her would be declaring war on him.
Daniel leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, the weight of everything pressing down on him at once. Exhaustion seeped into his bones, but rest refused to co. The mont his eyes shut, Anna’s face surfaced in his mind, sharp and vivid, her defiance, her warmth, her quiet strength all blending together.
Then Norma’s voice followed.
’I would like to et your wife.’
Daniel’s eyes flew open.
A chill crept through his chest as dread wrapped itself tightly around his heart. He stared ahead, jaw clenched, the resolve hardening in his gaze.
Click~
The door shut behind Anna as she walked in, still unsettled.
"Who was that woman?" she asked imdiately. "She... she recognized ."
Daniel’s brows knitted together, tension flashing across his face before he could hide it. Beside him, Henry froze, looking like he had just seen a ghost.
"Y You saw her?" Henry blurted out before clapping a hand over his mouth.
Anna caught the hesitation instantly. Her gaze shifted from Henry to Daniel, sharp and questioning.
"Am I busted?" she asked half joking, half uneasy. She didn’t even know why her chest felt tight, only that the woman’s presence had left her unsettled in a way she couldn’t explain.
"Henry," Daniel said quietly.
The single word was enough.
Henry nodded at lightning speed. "I’ll just... give you two so privacy," he said, already backing toward the door. "A lot of privacy." And with that, he slipped out, shutting the door behind him.
Silence settled.
Daniel stood from his chair and walked toward Anna, his movents controlled but deliberate. "Co," he said gently. "Sit here."
He guided her toward the couch, his hand warm at her back. Once they were seated facing each other, he studied her expression carefully before asking, his voice low,
"What did she say to you?"
Anna blinked, caught off guard by his tone. It felt strange being looked at like this, as if she were a variable he hadn’t accounted for. The cold, unreadable businessman was gone. In his place was soone guarded, alert.
"She didn’t say much," Anna admitted slowly. "At first, nothing at all. Just... stared at like she was dissecting ."
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
"Then, as she was leaving," Anna continued, "she turned and said, ’Let’s et soon, Anna.’"
She searched his face. "Daniel... how did she know my na?"
For a mont, he said nothing.
Then he reached out, his hand covering hers, grounding and firm. "Because," he said quietly, "she is soone who never walks into a room without already knowing everyone in it."
Anna swallowed. "That doesn’t make feel better."
A faint, humorless smile tugged at Daniel’s lips. "I know."
He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping. "Her na is Norma. She’s my aunt."
Anna stiffened. "Your... aunt?"
"Yes," he said. "And she doesn’t do coincidences."
The room felt smaller suddenly.
Daniel squeezed her hand gently. "I should have warned you sooner," he said quietly. "But after my parents died... it was Aunt Norma who raised ."
He didn’t want to keep Anna in the dark anymore. Bit by bit, he was opening the doors to parts of his life he rarely spoke about. And now that Anna had already crossed paths with Norma, hiding the truth felt pointless.
Anna nodded slowly, so of the tension easing from her shoulders. Still, the lingering hostility she had felt under Norma’s gaze refused to fade.
She didn’t like .
The thought settled uncomfortably in her chest.
Daniel watched her closely, noting the slight crease between her brows, the way her lips pressed together as her mind wandered. Before she could sink deeper into those thoughts, he suddenly reached out, caught her wrist, and pulled her onto his lap.
"Ah—Daniel!" Anna gasped, eyes widening in surprise.
She steadied herself, then frowned, planting a hand on his chest. "You need to warn before doing that," she scolded, narrowing her eyes. "And for your kind information, I am still very angry with you."
Her gaze sharpened as her earlier resolve resurfaced. "I ca here with a punishnt plan, rember?"
Daniel’s lips curved faintly, amusent flickering in his eyes despite the tension lingering beneath. He tightened his hold just enough to keep her there.
"Is that so?" he murmured. "Then I suppose I should be worried."
Anna crossed her arms, even while sitting on his lap. "You should be terrified," she said firmly. "I was already in the middle of deciding how long you’re getting demoted."
Daniel raised a brow. "Demoted?"
"Yes," she replied seriously. "To the other room. For hours."
A soft chuckle escaped him before he could stop it. He leaned in, his forehead brushing hers. "If I’m guilty," he said quietly, "then I’ll accept my punishnt."
Anna huffed, trying very hard not to smile. "You say that now."
But even as she protested, Daniel could feel the tension in her body easing, her presence grounding him in a way nothing else could.
For a mont, with Norma temporarily out of the room and the world held at bay, he allowed himself to breathe.
"Will I be forgiven if I apologize?" Daniel murmured, his thumb tracing the soft curve of her cheek.
His gaze lingered on her sharp features before inevitably drifting to her lips. He knew this wasn’t the ti to get distracted. But Anna had always been his weakness, even more so when she was angry and trying very hard not to show it.
"No," Anna replied firmly, though she didn’t move away. "You lied. And now you have to pay for it."
Her tone was strict, but her breath hitched slightly when she felt his eyes on her, intense and unapologetic. She reminded herself why she was upset in the first place.
She had handled Fiona, yes. But that didn’t erase the fact that Fiona had drugged Daniel to carry out her twisted plan. If Daniel hadn’t sensed sothing was wrong in ti, if he hadn’t been alert—
The thought made her chest tighten.
Daniel noticed the brief shadow that crossed her eyes. Instead of apologizing again, a slow smirk curved his lips.
That smirk.
Anna sulked instantly. "Don’t look at like that."
"Like what?" he asked innocently, clearly enjoying this far too much.
"Like you’re about to win," she snapped.
His hands tightened at her waist, steady and warm. "Then make pay, wifey," Daniel said softly, his voice dropping just enough to send a shiver down her spine. "I’m all yours."
Anna narrowed her eyes, trying to hold onto her anger, but the corners of her lips betrayed her.
Reviews
All reviews (0)