CHAPTER TWO

Arielle's POV

The guy had a phone pressed to his ear but I didn't hear what he was saying. I just didn't care. I was too focused on his piercing blue eyes and his biceps standing out through the shirt he wore. He had that look that could make even the toughest pussy drip. I even had to squeeze my thighs together just to put myself in check.

I was just taking a morning stroll around the service apartment complex I rented and seeing this hunk in human form was intoxicating.

The sun was barely up and he was already out here looking like that. He walked towards the apartment which was about a stone's throw from mine and that was when it clicked. This man was my actual neighbour.

Oh gosh. My eyes would never get bored as long as I lived here.

I preened myself, ran a hand through my hair and walked towards him just as he slid his phone into his pocket. He turned and fixed those sexy eyes on me. That look he gave me just then. I would have stripped out completely if he'd asked me to.

I let out a sharp breath. "Hi. My name is Arielle. I just moved in recently." I stretched out my hand.

He looked me over for an awkward moment. Like I was mildly interesting at best.

"Okay."

Was that it? Just okay?

He hadn't even taken my hand. I put it down slowly. "You haven't told me your name. We're neighbours."

"Victor." He was already turning away. "If you'll excuse me, I have something important to attend to."

He brushed past me. I stood there, taking in the scent of his icy cold cologne as he walked off without a single look back.

Who the hell is that guy. So rude. It was just day one and he was already acting like he would drop dead if he shook my hand. I watched his broad shoulders disappear around the corner.

Fine. Have it that way, pretty boy. I'd keep as much distance from him as possible.

I turned around and walked back to my apartment.

Three days later my cash had run dry faster than I expected.

I thought I could handle the rent but it was more expensive than I'd calculated. Taking care of myself wasn't as easy as I'd imagined when I was standing in my father's house telling myself I didn't need him.

I couldn't eat the stuff I loved, couldn't shop for my makeup and accessories, I  couldn't even afford to replace the dry shampoo I'd finished on day two. Every small thing cost money and I had been bleeding through what little I had without even noticing.

And then David called.

"Arielle, your dad will unfreeze your account. Just come home. Stop being stubborn."

I stared at the wall for a second.

He hadn't called to check on me. Not once in three days. Not a single text asking if I okay. And now he was calling because my father had sent him to deliver a message. Again. Just like last time.

"Tell him I said no." I ended the call.

My phone buzzed again immediately. Then again. I declined the first, the second, then on the third I picked up just to say "Stop calling me, David". And he had the nerve to say, in that calm unbothered voice of his, "You're being irrational."

Something snapped.

I flung the phone at the wall. It hit the corner and cracked down the middle, screen going black. I sat there breathing hard, staring at it on the floor.

Fine. Great. Now I had no working phone.

And worse, Stella was abroad. It would have been bad to bother her for money again so soon. I just had to manage what I had left and hope something changed.

My landlord called the next morning.

"Hello, Miss Arielle." His voice was pleasant in the careful way that meant it wasn't.

"Hello, sir."

"I want to inform you that you missed your payment. You have to pay up your debt."

"I know. If you could just give me some more time…"

"You've had enough time. If you're not able to pay before the day runs out, you have to evacuate the apartment."

The call ended.

I sighed and lay face up on the bed, staring at the ceiling. I wasn't working. Going home meant admitting defeat.I couldn't do that. Not yet.

The day ran out faster than I wanted it to. I spent most of it going back and forth on my cracked phone, sending messages to people who couldn't help quickly enough. I called two people who promised to get back to me and never did. I checked my bank balance three times like the number would change.

By evening I'd gone out just to get some air, hoping movement would shake something loose in my brain.

At night I came back to find all my things outside. Dumped on the pavement like they meant nothing. An eviction notice was pasted on my front door.

And it was raining.

Not a light drizzle. The kind that soaked through your jacket in seconds and kept going. I stood there gripping my suitcase with both hands, water running down my face, staring at my own front door that was no longer my front door.

I had nowhere to go. 

I stood there long enough for the cold to really settle in.

And then slowly I looked at the door next to mine.

Victor's POV

I was in the middle of something when the knock came.

I crossed the room and looked through the peephole. The rain was falling hard outside and it was dark. I couldn't make out much. Just a small figure, soaked through.

Something made me reach for the handle anyway.

I opened the door.

She was standing there, drenched completely, red hair plastered to her face, water dripping off her chin onto my doorstep. Clutching her suitcase with both hands.