All Chapters of Don’t Make Me Love You: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

41 Chapters

Caught In-between

Lily’s POV Previously…The waiting room had been half full when I first sat down, chairs lined against the wall, a television playing something with the sound turned too low to make out. I kept my eyes on my phone, scrolling without really reading anything, trying to keep my mind off the appointment ahead of me.That was when I noticed him. A man a few seats down, plainly dressed, nothing about him that should have caught my attention except that I had already seen him once that day, outside the company building. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a lighter, turning it over once in his fingers before flipping the cap open with his thumb, an old habit more than an actual attempt to smoke indoors.It was a Zippo. Simple, a little worn at the edges, the kind of thing a person carries around for years without really thinking about it anymore.A nurse walking past caught sight of it and stopped in front of him. “Sir, you can't do that in here.”He looked up at her, irritation flash

IMAGERY

Adrian’s POVTwo Days Later…The drive to work was slow and quiet, maybe because I had zoned out for most of the two-hour drive, thinking about the possible positive feedback I could get from the tech and legal teams today. Liam’s eyes fought to stay glued to the road, and that was because he kept darting them from the road back to me. I had noticed.After a few more minutes, we finally arrived at the company. The car parked by the side as I got out, grabbing my patterned leather briefcase from the backseat where I had been sitting. My phone vibrated in my pocket, making me halt in my tracks.“Hello, sir,” Ellyn said.“I’ll be in the office shortly. Bring whatever reports you have to my table,” I said before hanging up.My phone vibrated again in my pocket, but this time I didn’t halt in my tracks. I simply scrolled through the email I had received while walking down the company’s lobby, ignoring every greeting that came my way. I wasn’t obviously angry this morning, but I wasn’t happ

WORSE OF ALL

Adrian’s POVMy fingers almost turned white as they tightened around the pulpit at hearing the last question. Those questions were exactly what I expected, but I had thought the tech team did a good job keeping away those kinds of questions that could make the company trend again for the wrong reasons.At this point I was getting more irritated. The cycle of fixing everything about the stock, watching it drop again, and working to sort it out again, the dread of that loomed and made me more irritated and angrier. Ellyn noticed this because she walked up to me, whispering in my ear that I didn't have to answer. But I had to. I needed to. Especially because Lily, who had been deeply immersed in her phone earlier on, now had her full attention on me.“What a way to get your attention,” I said to myself mentally, weirdly grateful to the journalists who had asked those questions. It was like they were seeing me falter in front of everyone around the globe just because some twenty-two-year-

ALMOST

Lily’s POVMy legs lost balance as soon as Adrian left my office. I felt my fingers go cold as I grabbed at my neck, gasping for air. This was the second time in five years I'd run into trouble with the allergy that runs deep in my family. Lingonberry juice was the drink that had nearly wiped all of us out one Sunday, long before Adrian did what he did.Damian rushed over to me, his eyes carrying so much fear. I couldn't speak. I was wheezing. The drink had already started circulating through my body, threatening to drain the life out of me, but I managed to point at my bag, hanging on the coat stand.He lowered my head gently and bolted for it.After what felt like hours, he came back to where I lay on the ground, helping me sit up, his arm supporting my neck as my body sank against his. He pulled out the prescribed auto-injector and pressed it into my outer thigh. I gasped at the sting, drawing in air before I collapsed back into his arms.A few seconds later, my eyes snapped open,

REWIND

Previously, before chapter 24…The security footage from that morning told the story in pieces, and it took some time before all the pieces fit together, enough to make sense.A little after nine o'clock, Damian had walked into the company lobby, majestically, like he owned the place. He came to a halt abruptly, turning back. Within five minutes, he was back. He walked into Lily’s office, dropping his leather bag on her long desk. Then he opened her refrigerator in the other corner of the office, finding it empty. He rubbed his temples, shut the fridge, and left.After a few minutes, Damian walked into Lily’s office. He was carrying a small, sealed catering tray. Inside it was a glass bottle filled with a deep red drink as well as two glasses. His face showed nothing out of the ordinary as he set them in the middle of her desk. Then he opened the door and pulled it shut behind him, walking down the quiet hallway outside the executive offices. He stepped into the media room across the

Terrific As It Sounds

Adrian’s POV I had sighed for what seemed like a million times while I thought about how stupid I must have looked, right in front of her, and even Damian. How stupid of me to think there might be some connection between her and Gary, or even Kathryna. They died five years ago. I knew about it. I saw their bodies with my own eyes, so there wasn’t supposed to be any possibility of someone suddenly appearing who could spike my memories and make me want to think they were them. “Might be some kind of mix-up, or even a coincidence,” I thought out loud, pacing around my office. I felt suffocated enough that all I could think of was going outside for fresh air. I hadn’t been sleeping well lately, and somehow, I still hadn’t made peace with Damian’s involvement with Lily. I didn’t know which bothered me more, the fact that he was dating Lily, or the fact that he came from Gary’s family, and I knew how much he cherished that family, and Kathryna. He could easily be planning to get back at

FOR THE LOVE OF LILY

Damian’s POV“You can speak now,” I said, my voice tightening. He had almost gotten me into trouble, and that was nothing to overlook.“I have…”“Do I need to have your brains hit hard before it lets you figure out what to do right now?” I gritted my teeth, opening the car door and getting into the back seat.“Black & White Entertainment and Co. Limited, please,” I told the driver, adjusting the tie around my neck. He nodded before setting the car in motion immediately.“I’m so sorry, sir,” he responded. “I will be careful next time.”“There might be no next time because it looks like you would mess things up before then.”He didn’t say a word.“What’s the update with the order I gave you?” I asked.“Everything is set. You can start acting on it now.”I ended the call, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. I couldn’t wait. I literally couldn’t wait to see her face afterward.I ran my fingers through my hair, reminding myself that I needed to do this. Because somehow, I had been f

IN THE ARMS THAT SAVED ME

Lily’s POVThe steady, rhythmic beep... beep... beep... of a heart monitor was the first thing that anchored me back to reality. I forced my eyes open, the chandelier hanging from the stark white ceiling blurry at first, before the terrifying memory of the crash rushed back into my mind.Beside my bed, a man in a lab coat adjusted a drip. It was Dr. Evans, the chief physician from the hospital partnered with Adrian Atelier.“Ah, you're awake,” Dr. Evans said softly, checking my vitals. “You're a very lucky woman, Miss Lily.”Lucky? It didn't feel like luck, not with the clots of blood I could see on my hands and clothes.I looked at him in disbelief, almost annoyed at how relaxed he seemed.He continued anyway. “I hope you don't mind that your call was picked up on your behalf. You were deep in sleep.”I didn't say a word. I only let my eyes drift around the room. I could come back to that question later, but right now, the room itself looked too familiar to ignore. Like it belonged t

THE MISTAKE

Adrian’s POVI woke a little earlier than Lily did. My eyes rested on her, lying beside me. She was asleep, her face turned slightly toward the other side of the bed. Her hair spread across the pillow, one hand resting close to her face. She looked peaceful in a way I hadn't seen since I met her, and for some reason, that gave me a small, quiet sense of ease.But that ease came to a stop the moment yesterday’s evening came crashing back into my mind. The way she'd looked at me. The way she'd pulled me closer and asked me to hold her. I had tried to stop. I genuinely had tried. But I had also known exactly what I was doing the moment I stopped trying.I looked away from her and rubbed a hand over my face.This was far more than what had happened between us on that first night. It was gentler. Deeper. Wanted, in a way that made it worse, not better. All shades of wrong, and we shouldn't have wanted it in the first place.Lily was sixteen years younger than me, and my employee. On top of

FELT LIKE SHIT

Lily’s POVWhile I ran toward the road, my phone was pressed tightly against my ear. “Charles?”He gasped. “Ma'am, I've been so worried all night.”I tried to respond, but he cut in immediately. "What happened to you?"“Charles, we can talk about this later, but right now I need you to do something urgently.”I paused, the accident flashing back to me. “Fuck, forgive my manners. The doctor told me what happened. How are you?”“No need to fuss, ma'am. I'm better,” he responded. “Tell me, what do you need urgently?”I let out a sigh of relief, finally spotting a cab. I needed to leave immediately, I didn't know if Adrian was following behind me. I waved at the driver, hoping it wasn't already booked for someone else.“Jim Palombo,” I said, as the cab pulled up in front of me.“Give me a second,” I told Charles, the phone still against my ear.“Wellington Estate,” I told the driver, who nodded and unlocked the door for me.I put the seatbelt on, uneasiness washing over me. The memory of t

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