Chapter Four

Daphne 

Evening drew near but the preparations in the mansion still dragged on. The feeling of my room walls caving in, trying to suffocate me made me jerk upright from the bed I had been laying in all day. I pushed myself into the bathroom and took a shower, to cool my head, wore fitted jeans and a white T-shirt that hung loosely around me. Then I looked out my window, the sun had gone down and the moon began to glow in the sky. 

If I would be able to get through till tomorrow, I needed a break, air, comfort, whatever. I needed something. I was not one to smoke but damn, I needed a stick of cigarette. Eyeing myself in my vanity mirror, I noticed the dark eye bags underneath my eyes and sighed.  

No cigarettes, no comfort, no break all I was left with was air. So I slipped out of the house, thankful that everyone was occupied. The cold night breeze blew my hair up and touched the back of my neck, I shivered. Nice. 

Walking out of the estate a few of the neighbours spotted me and tried to exchange greetings, I pretended not to see. I wasn't in the mood for fake smiles. 

I walked for a long time, out of the estate and into the bustling nightlife of the city, then I walked more. Soon I was where I wanted to be, the seaside. My mum had brought me here several times when I was 10 and this was my stress relief location. I slumped on a rock and quietly watched the breeze lift the water to form little tides. Therapeutic. 

I let out a long breath and closed my eyes. I didn't want to think of anything other than my mum's hand ruffling my hair, and maybe search for seashells later. 

“Do you come here often?.” A familiar hypnotizing baritone voice reached my ears. I sprang up like a cat keeping a safe distance from the voice and turned to see the one person who had been haunting my mind in both the dream world and reality- Salvador.

His face was not so visible under the soft glow of the moon but I knew him as though I've known him for longer than a decade. 

I had been too engrossed in trying to empty my head, I hadn't noticed him sitting on a rock beside mine. 

“Do not worry, I’m not here to harm you.” He said easily. But that did nothing to soothe the ache in my chest. This man was dangerous. Energy doesn’t lie.

“Who are you? What did you do to Kilian, my boyfriend? How did you know where I stay? How did you know I was here? What relationship do you have with my parents? What…” I trailed off realising I had emptied my brain out to him yet he hadn't said a word because I hadn't let him. 

“Sorry, I was carried away.” why was I apologizing?

“Daphne,” The way my name rolled off his mouth gave me tingles and something akin to butterflies in my belly. I ignored it. How did he know my name? “You talk too much. Don’t you?” That sounded more like an insult than a question.

“How did you know I was here?” I asked instead. He shrugged and looked at the mini waves from the sea. 

“Coincidence.” He answered, his voice too calm to be true. I wasn't buying that but I didn't press further. If I wanted to get the truth out from him, I needed to play his game. 

I sat back down on the rock close to him and sighed. That was risky… I knew. But something about the way he spoke to me and treated me made me feel strangely safe around him. This person was protective of me, saved me from Kilian. I could at least give him some benefit of doubt till I figured him out entirely.

“You do not want to answer my questions.” I said, matter-of-factly. “You can at least answer this one…” I looked towards him only to realise he had been looking at me. His gaze looked empty, yet- so stern like he could see through my soul.

I swallowed nervously, waiting for a reaction from him. He finally gave a small nod. 

“Wha… What do you want from me?” I asked, my voice low, defeated. 

“Your happiness.” I was a bit taken aback by his unexpected response. I didn’t dwell on it.

“Well, I'm not happy.” 

“I know.” He replied curtly, his tone gloomy. It made me feel as though he was the unhappy one and not me. 

“You still haven’t said anything to ease my curiosity. I want details. Who are you…Salvador?” I couldn't see his expression in the dim light, but I saw the way his hand turned into fist as I mentioned his name.

Then surprisingly, something that looked like a smirk appeared on his face. “My name had never sounded better on anyone’s lips.” I shivered. Why does his words have so much effect on me? He wasn’t even bothered that I knew his name.

And just like that, a fleeting thought crossed my mind. Fleeting as it was, I held onto it. A hope. 

What if he helped me escape this sad reality of mine? What if he could help stop the wedding?

It was too late though but I held onto the possibility as though my life depended on it. It actually did. 

I opened my mouth to speak,

“You said you want my happiness. How do you plan to achieve that?” My question was met with silence.

“And if it’s true that you want my happiness, someone like you would surely want something in exchange. What do you want?”

“Nothing I can’t take by myself. I don’t have to make a request. I make none.” he answered rather quickly, and his response? bothered me a lot.

I narrowed my eyes at him and turned to look at the water again. 

He didn't say more afterwards and I enjoyed the silence. The steady slap of a small wave onto the sea surface, the tap of his fingers against a rock, the steady beat of my heart in my chest and the scent of lavender from him helped erase my mind of my problems…temporarily. 

Maybe I should tell him about the wedding. Maybe this man could save me somehow- because in truth, I would rather owe a dangerous man who had once saved me than marry Dante.

I swallowed, as I readied myself to spill. Without turning to him, I summoned courage and asked- “Can you help…stop a wedding?” I shut my eyes, awaiting his response. None came.

That was when I decided to look his way. Disappointment hit me hard. Salvador was no longer there. He had left, and I hadn’t felt it. 

He surely did move like a cat. 

But what I didn’t understand was why I was suddenly missing the presence of a dangerous man that I hadn’t even seen clearly. That shouldn’t be normal.

I eased into the rock, relaxing my tensed shoulders. 

“Thanks again for saving me.” I said. I wish you could save me tomorrow as well. 

Little did I know at the moment that, it was about to be a nightmare.