Thud!
The door slamd shut behind Anna, but her legs refused to move. They trembled beneath her until they finally gave out.
"Ah—"
She clutched the handle to steady herself, her breath ragged. Her knees had gone weak, her lungs emptied, as if Daniel’s kiss had stolen every ounce of oxygen from her body.
"What in the world just happened..." she muttered hoarsely, staggering toward the bed. She half-collapsed, half-sank onto it, her body heavy and her mind whirling like a broken compass.
How about you kiss every night before sleep.
His words echoed rcilessly in her head, a taunting reminder. No matter how hard she tried to shove them aside, her body betrayed her—her lips still tingled, her heart still raced, her skin still burned where he had held her.
The way he had claid her... like she belonged to him. The way he refused to let her go until her lips were swollen and her lungs scread for air.
And instead of pushing him away, she had fled—shaken to her core, as if her entire world had gone still.
anwhile, Daniel hadn’t moved an inch. He stood frozen in the sa spot where he had devoured her mouth, his chest rising and falling unevenly. Almost instinctively, his hand pressed against his heart.
It was pounding wildly, thundering against his ribs. The heat still coursed through him, an intoxicating fire he couldn’t douse.
It wasn’t the first ti he had kissed Anna. He’d stolen one before—when she’d been fast asleep, oblivious. But this... this was different. This was alive. Raw. Consuming.
Every ti their lips t, a new, dangerous urge surged through him. And now, it refused to leave.
"Why is my heart racing so damn fast?" he muttered under his breath, his tongue darting to his lower lip. The taste of her still lingered there, maddeningly sweet.
Anna Clafford was dangerous to him. He knew it. He had always known it.
And yet, the more he tried to resist... the more he found himself craving her.
"What is wrong with ?" Daniel muttered under his breath, but the empty room gave him no answer.
***
[Next Day – Outside Hill Valley Academy]
"That sneaky devil. How dare he ask to kiss him," Anna grumbled, stuffing the last piece of sandwich into her mouth.
Even with her cheeks puffed out, she kept cursing Daniel, every word muffled but dripping with venom.
Across from her, Betty watched with wide, anxious eyes.
Last night, when Anna had finally picked up her call, Betty had reassured her she was fine. But Anna’s thoughts hadn’t stayed on Betty for long—they had spiraled back to Daniel.
The mont she returned to her room, her mind had gone haywire. She’d been so shaken she double-locked her door, burrowed into the duvet like a terrified rabbit, and prayed Daniel wouldn’t sneak in again.
The result? Zero sleep.
"Big Sis, are you... alright?" Betty finally asked, her voice tentative. "Why are you talking to yourself?"
Anna stopped mid-bite and snapped her gaze toward Betty. The poor girl flinched. With the massive dark circles shadowing Anna’s eyes, she looked less like the glamorous woman Betty admired and more like a sleep-deprived ghost.
Swallowing the last bite, Anna snatched up her water bottle and downed it in one go.
"Soone out there clearly wants to choke him to death," she sneered, crushing the plastic in her grip until it crinkled loudly.
Betty: "..."
Anna huffed, waving the thought away. "Anyway, enough about unwanted faces. I’ve had breakfast, so I’m not letting him ruin my mood." She turned sharply to Betty, her expression softening ever so slightly.
"Now, you tell , Betty—what took you so long to call back? Do you have any idea how worried I was when you didn’t reply to my texts?"
Her tone shifted from sharp to scolding, like an older sister. Anna may have pushed the question aside last night, but now that they were alone, she needed to know.
Betty had no one else—no family, no anchor. And whether Anna admitted it out loud or not, she had already decided she’d step into that role for her if she had to.
Betty chewed the inside of her cheek, her eyes flicking nervously toward Anna. "Haha... Big Sis, you’re too worriso. Didn’t I tell you I slept the entire day?"
Anna narrowed her eyes, tilting her head slightly as if scrutinizing her. "Is that so?" She tried to recall their call, but her mories of it were foggy at best. She’d been too distracted—Daniel’s words and his kiss had consud her thoughts.
Betty nodded quickly, her smile stiff. Relief washed over her when Anna finally exhaled a long sigh.
"Maybe I was too preoccupied to hear what you said," Anna admitted, rubbing her temple.
Betty’s shoulders loosened, and she leaned back against the bench, trying to play it casual. "By the way, Big Sis, I must say—you’re amazing at drinking. I’m impressed." She gave Anna a dramatic thumbs-up, her eyes gleaming with mock admiration. "Your alcohol tolerance is on another level."
Anna groaned, covering her face with her palm. "Don’t even remind . You have no idea what happened after I got ho."
That devil almost saw naked.
The fragnted mories from her drunken night still haunted her. She rembered stumbling, Daniel’s hands steadying her, his piercing eyes, and his maddening presence. She had been only one reckless step away from stripping before him. Thankfully, she hadn’t.
But there was sothing else—sothing far worse—that gnawed at her.
A mory she couldn’t fully piece together.
’Had she... asked him for a divorce?’
"When did I ever say that..." Anna whispered, pressing her temples as the dull ache blood into a headache.
She didn’t want to recall any more of that night. Not because she was afraid of the truth—but because deep down, she knew Daniel hadn’t lied this ti.
And that was what unsettled her most.
’Why is he so unbearable in this life? she thought bitterly. All he has to do is bury himself in his office and wait for to return his ladylove. Was that too much to ask? No! Yet instead, he insists on driving insane.’
Ding!
Her spiral of frustration was cut short by a sharp notification. Anna glanced down at her phone.
"Ethan?" The na slipped past her lips as she opened the text.
et at the Plaza Studio.
Anna read it out loud, her brows furrowing—but the na alone had Betty snapping to attention.
"Oh my god, Big Sis! Was that the Ethan Helmsworth who just texted you?" Betty squealed, practically bouncing in her seat.
She was a fan through and through, and the thought that Anna was about to work alongside him lit her up with excitent.
"Big Sis, please—please—get his autograph!" She begged, clasping her hands together, her wide, dewy eyes shimring like a child pleading for cotton candy.
"Huh?" Anna blinked at her, still half-stuck on the ssage. But one look at Betty’s hopeful face had her sighing.
"Fine, I’ll try," she relented, rising from the bench.
Betty clapped her hands together with a squeal, while Anna tucked her phone away. She wrapped up her little eting with Betty, then turned on her heel, her thoughts already occupied by Ethan’s unexpected summons as she made her way toward Plaza Studio.
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