All Chapters of Daddy's Bargain: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Azrael’s POVI pulled Celeste out of the pool, water dripping off both of us. She was still laughing, her wet hair sticking to her face. I shook my head, trying not to smile. “You’re a mess,” I said, grabbing a towel from the lounger and wrapping it around her shoulders.She looked up at me, eyes bright. “Good. Now kiss me,” she repeated, like it was the most normal thing.I paused, then leaned down and kissed her. It was slow this time, not rushed like before. Her lips were cold from the water, and so was mine. I felt her hand on my wet chest, fingers curling into my skin. When I pulled back, she smiled. “See? That wasn’t so hard.”“Don’t push it,” I muttered, but I didn’t let go of her hand as we walked inside. The guards nodded at us, pretending not to notice our soaked clothes. I led her upstairs to change her bandage, like I promised. She sat on the bed while I grabbed the supplies. Her shoulder looked red, but not bad. I worked carefully, taping a fresh one on.“Thanks,” she sa

Celeste’s POVThe day started out like a bribe.Still, the Sicilian countryside was hard to stay mad at. Rolling green hills, vineyards stretching to the horizon, small stone houses with red-tiled roofs. The sky looked like someone had painted it fresh that morning.I sat in the passenger seat, sunglasses on, pretending not to be impressed.“This is your idea of a date?” I asked.He kept his eyes on the road, one hand resting on the steering wheel, the other drumming against his thigh. “Who said it’s a date?”“The part where you made me wear a dress,” I said.“You chose that.”“You told me to ‘look decent.’”He smiled faintly. “And you listened.”I wanted to roll my eyes, but I ended up smiling too. “You really don’t know how to compliment a woman, do you?”“I told you that you looked decent,” he said. “That’s better than I give most people.”“Wow. I feel so special.”He chuckled under his breath, the sound rare enough that I noticed. The car turned down a narrow coastal road, sunligh

Celeste’s POVThe woman who entered was…. extremely…. beautiful.She was tall and flawless. She wore black heels that didn’t even click against the floor and her coat hung off her shoulders like an afterthought.Azrael went still. “Alessia.”She smiled slowly, her red lips curving like she’d been waiting years to hear her name on his tongue again. “Still remember me, amore mio.”I hated the way she said it like a claim. He didn’t move closer, but he didn’t push her back either. “What are you doing here?”She tilted her head. “You never did like surprises.”“I like unannounced visits even less.”Her eyes swept the room and finally landed on me. The polite kind of surprise touched her face. “And who’s this?”“Celeste,” I said before he could answer. “I live here.”That earned me a faint, amused look. “Do you, now?”“She does,” Azrael said.That simple statement shouldn’t have made my chest warm, but it did.Alessia’s smile didn’t fade. She took a slow step toward him. “I needed to see y

Azrael’s POVCeleste hadn’t looked at me once since that day, two days ago.She moved through the house like she was a ghost. She avoided my eyes, answering only when she had to. Every attempt I made to talk to her ended the same way with a nod, a stiff smile, and a door closing between us.I’d rather she yelled, anything but this silence.The last time I’d seen her, she was sitting on the balcony, staring out at the sea, still wearing one of my shirts. The wind had her hair in her face, but she didn’t brush it away. Just… sat there. I stood at the doorway, trying to find something to say.“Celeste. I didn’t know Alessia would show up.”“I’m sure you didn’t,” she said softly.“She’s lying.”“Maybe.” She didn’t even turn around. “Maybe not.”Her calm voice hit harder than shouting would have. I’d wanted to tell her everything about how Alessia had left me when I was bleeding out on a hospital bed a year ago, how I’d sworn never to look at her again. But the words felt useless now.So

Celeste’s POVI didn’t sleep that night.I washed the cut on my hand until the sting dulled and wrapped it with shaking fingers. Then I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at nothing. I wanted to be angry. I wanted to stay angry. But the more I tried, the more I just felt tired. When morning came, I still hadn’t moved from that spot.There was a knock at my door. “Celeste?” it was Azrael but I didn't answer. What I'd seen was truly horrible.The door creaked a little, but he didn’t enter. “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said.“You said that last night.”“I’ll keep saying it until you believe me.”I let out a quiet breath. “You can’t keep fixing everything with apologies.”“I’m not trying to fix it,” he said. “I just need you to understand.”“Understand what?”“That I don’t enjoy any of this,” he said after a pause. “But I don’t get to choose peace. Not in my world.”Something in his voice made me falter, but stll, I stayed silent.He waited for a while before saying softly, “You shou