07| His shirt

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And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't, so here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road.

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A mix of dread and apprehension trickled through Miliani's spine, knowing she would have to face Daniel's displeasure again. She quietly stood beside Claudia like a guilty child who was about to get exposed, her eyes downcast, nervously fidgeting with the hem of her dress and gently stomping a foot on the floor.

"My sincere apologies, sir but I do think I can not continue with the classes anymore. She is extremely negligent and has always got her head in the clouds. Even though today's lessons were basic, actually -" Claudia went on stating everything, exaggerating a bit more than required. Mili counted sheep in her mind to hold herself stable still Claudia was finally over.

But Daniel occupied with the documents did not spare her any of his attention. "You'll be paid triple of the prior," he offered in his indifferent tone making Claudia gleam with a wide smile.

"Thank you, sir. I'll definitely not disappoint you," she accepted almost immediately shocking Miliani as she saw her very strict teacher smile for the first time in the whole day.

Miliani decided to leave after Claudia before Daniel would shift his attention from his work, but just as she stepped a little distance, his commanding voice halted her actions.

"Sit here, Mili," Daniel demanded. Miliani turned back softly to see Daniel still indulged with the papers in his hand, on his table. She silently got near and took a seat on the farthest couch from his table.

Even though his voice did not provide her with any assumptions like always, she feared if he would again lock her in the bathroom tonight. She spent some time fearing and then some more worrying but eventually dropped those apprehensions as she observed the huge room was decorated with a humongous number of books and like most of the rooms at the Romanos estate it also had one glass wall revealing the serene view of dense greenery outside. It was bigger than any library Miliani could imagine. It had always been her dream to read her favourite books sitting in a library but little did she have any opportunities like that in her past. But now, she felt like she could spend the rest of her life reading novels here in this serene room only.

Eventually, time ticked by and Daniel kept working on his own. Mili, quietly seated in his study like she was told, was battling with her patience.

Daniel, finishing his initial scrutiny, looked at Miliani while stretching his arms to which she quickly moved her gaze from. It had come to Daniel's notice how Miliani always avoids direct eye contact with him impairing his enjoyment to savour into her flustered orbs.

Daniel towered over her small seating frame and he was about to say something when Mili's stomach growled making her cheeks flush in hot red. She clutched her stomach immediately being extremely embarrassed but she could not help with the fact that she had been starving since the morning and then he made her sit still in his study only God knows for many hours. It was way past dinner time. Daniel observed she was in the same dress as yesterday, also, there was a tiny puff of tiredness beneath her eyes.

"Go freshen up quickly and come down to the kitchen," he ordered to which Miliani did not take any immediate action. She discreetly kept looking down, being nervous.

"Are we having any problem, Mili?" Daniel questioned cocking a brow at her delay.

Miliani had gone through the luggage in the morning when she was still at Lorenzo's place. The girl could not take a bath in the morning as she found no other clothes for herself apart from her fluffy wedding dress and a pair of fresh undergarments.

"I-I have nothing to wear," Miliani complained in her soft voice still not looking at him. Daniel gripped onto her upper arm and pulled her up, gesturing for her to follow him. He led her to his bedroom and handed her one of his white shirts. Miliani quickly glanced at his closet space which was quite monotonous, everything that came into her view was either black or white.

Hunger is the only thing Mili can not deal with. So, she hesitantly but quickly took the shirt and went to her room which was just opposite Daniel's. In her huge wardrobe, there was only a pair of mismatched intimates dangling in the name of clothes, embarrassing.

After a quick refreshing shower, Mili slipped into Daniel's shirt and advanced towards the kitchen. As the mansion was enormous and the maids were already dismissed by Daniel, Mili had to walk through the sprawling mansion and ended up going on the wrong side of the hall. She had to walk double what was needed before finally finding her way to the kitchen.

As she stepped in, Miliani noticed Daniel against the kitchen counter, his muscular bare back was glistening under the low kitchen lights. Mili stood there extremely stunned as she never imagined witnessing him cook on his own. The mouthwatering aroma of sizzling olive oil and garlic filled the air. Daniel was completely absorbed in tossing the spaghetti, his focus unwavering. Once he had added the final touches and turned off the flame, he turned around to find Miliani watching him with wide eyes.

His eyes flamed with something unspoken as he watched Mili in his shirt. The shirt was so huge and oversized for her small figure that it covered most of her thighs, the sleeves being extra long that they had to be rolled up and overall it was loosely hanging over her lithe body making her look irresistibly cute. He did not even know why he allowed her to wear that in the first place as he hated when people touched his things; he has a tendency to discard them if anyone corrupts anything of his possession. But looking at Miliani now, he could not help but wonder how she would look in his other collections, especially his favourite ones.

A dark smile tugged at his lips as he gestured for Mili to come nearer. As Miliani approached, he uninformedly lifted her up and set her on the kitchen counter beside the place he was cooking. Miliani felt inferior to herself, thinking about how he always moved her around and placed her here and there like some weightless object.