Astrid had woken up at midnight with a completely parched throat. The bedside table had no glass of water. Maybe Mary didn't feel the need to do it as Astrid had never woken up thirsty before. She got off the bed, a dry cough escaping her throat. She made her way through the dimly lit hallway and into the kitchen, which she didn't have the opportunity to look at since she started her stay in the house. It was dim, but Astrid had no problem with finding a glass and water. She revelled at the coolness of the water travelling down her throat. She walked out of the kitchen and stopped abruptly when she heard footsteps close by. For a brief moment, she thought it was just her imagination bringing forth sounds to scare her, but the footsteps continued. They seemed to be coming from upstairs. She slowly made her way up the stairs, attempting to make it into her room before someone would see her out there. Especially if it was someone she didn't know. The footsteps seemed to be getting cl

Astrid stood awkwardly still, staring at the man in front of her. Darius had a look of horror on his face. “You don't want us to start over? I don't get it.” He shook his head in disbelief. “You don't get it?” Astrid laughed bitterly. “Do you know how many times I've trusted you? How many times you've given me reasons not to? It's not as easy as you think, Darius.” “I'll make it easy this time. I just... I promise.” He said, desperately hoping that she would be willing to give him one more chance. Astrid sighed, looking out through the glass door. She didn't have a strong enough reason to agree to his proposal and actually start over, but she badly wanted to see what would happen if she did. If I don't want to act like his real fiancée, Nikoleta won't be coming back anytime soon and I'll be stuck here. She thought. “You promise?” She asked, making sure he was ready. His face brightened as he heard that, knowing that she would give in soon enough. “I promise, Astrid.” He gave her

After breakfast, it was time to head back home. Nina had showered each of them with warm hugs, face kisses and warm cookies. Getting on the boat, Darius finally realised how distant Astrid was. To confirm his doubts, he decided to start up a slight conversation. “Hey.” He started, sitting beside her. Her uncomfortable shift didn't go unnoticed by him. “Is there something you want to talk about?” He asked, frowning. “No.” Astrid replied, her tone sharp. “If something's bothering you, you can always talk to me.” His form of encouragement was replied to with a scoff. Astrid looked away from him, staring out at the long stretch of water before her. “Sure.” She said, but Darius could tell that it was sarcastic. Just when Darius thought that Astrid would never tell her anything more, she turned back to him. “Do you ever plan to fall in love, get married and have children?” The unexpected question threw Darius off course for a moment. “I'm not sure.” He answered honestly. He saw her ey

       After a whole night of turning restlessly in her bed after the incident with Darius and her mother, Astrid got out of bed exhausted the next morning.       The only thing on her mind was explaining the situation to Rose. Just one thing bothered her – How to explain.       She spent about five minutes pacing in her room, wondering what exactly she would say that would justify what Rose had seen. As far as she knew, Rose didn't like Darius, and she thought Astrid had fallen into one of his tricks.       Astrid knew that there was a possibility of Rose being right. She had probably fallen into Darius's trick, but a part of her wanted to remain in the fairy tale that maybe it wasn't a trick.       Heading down the stairs for breakfast, Astrid found Nikoleta and two women entering the living room. “Ah! Just the person I wanted to see.&rdqu

By noon, Darius could barely look at Astrid without guilt tearing away at him. He already knew the answer to Astrid's question, if he could stay committed to one person.He couldn't.He didn't know how to control himself. He didn't know how to pick up his phone, call Cassia and tell her not to bother about meeting him later.He was too caught up in his thoughts to realize that he had been acting different enough for Astrid to notice. “Darius.” She called, slightly tapping him.“Yes?” He answered, refusing to meet her gaze.“Is something wrong?” She questioned.“Why do you think something is wrong?” He frowned, losing his appetite.“You've been acting quite strange.” She replied.“Don't worry about me, I’m fine.” He stood up, deciding to head to the office and bury himself in work until Cassia would meet him.“Are you sure?” He almost flinched when her hand covered his.“Absolutely.” He murmured. He hated that she cared about him and he was rep