All Chapters of THE POPSTAR’S BODYGUARD : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

70 Chapters

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

Where You Go, I GONEOThe door slammed before I even realized Daniel was moving. One second he was standing there, jaw clenched, eyes cutting through me like he was trying to hold himself together, and the next… he was gone. Just gone.The echo of it rippled through the house and straight through my chest.For a moment I couldn’t move.Couldn’t breathe.I clutched the fork so hard it almost broke. Anne said something about posting the pictures she took on Instagram, but I didn’t care. My head was a mess. All I could hear was my own pulse thundering in my ears and the ghost of his voice when he muttered that stiff, broken “I’ll be back.”He left because of me. Probably because of what almost happened in the kitchen last night.I swallowed and pushed back from the table. My throat felt tight, like someone’s hand was still around it—his hand—and the memory hit so hard my breath stuttered.“You can carry on. I have something to work on in my room,” I said to Anne as I wiped my lips with

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

BreachedDANIEL’S POVThe headline didn’t bother me.The look on Neo’s face did.His hand trembled when he passed me the phone. Barely there, a flicker in his fingers, but I felt it like a punch under my ribs.Neo and His Bodyguard: Why Do They Look So Close?Close.If they knew how close I wanted him—I shut that thought down before it could finish.My jaw ticked once as I scrolled through the photos. The angle wasn’t from across the street. It wasn’t a paparazzi hidden in a bush. It was someone inside. Someone who knew exactly where he’d be standing. Not a fan.Fans didn’t move like this.I lifted my head, found Neo watching me like he expected me to explode. I didn’t give him that satisfaction. I never give him chaos—he has enough of it inside his head.“We’re leaving,” I said quietly.He nodded before he realized he’d done it. He always listened when I use that tone. He hates it, but he listens.I placed a hand on his back to guide him. I didn’t need to. I shouldn’t have. But he

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

Don’t Tempt MeNEOI couldn’t breathe.The second Anne’s door shut behind her, silence flooded the penthouse—tightening around my lungs. My head was still stuck on those photos. The angle. The comments. The way the entire internet somehow saw something I’ve been clawing at myself not to see..Close to my bodyguard.Why do they look like that?Some of the comments kept replaying in my head. People said Daniel and I looked like lovers while others said we seemed close.I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes, trying to crush the thoughts out of my skull. Stupid. All of it was stupid. Just photos. Just rumors. Just people projecting.Except my hands were still shaking. It wasn't about the photos in general. It was about me. The thought of Daniel and me becoming that close scared me. And every time I blinked, all I saw was Daniel’s face when he took the phone from me. Calm. Cold. Controlled. Like he was swallowing a storm whole.I hated how safe that made me feel.I pushed up from t

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

Kisses and ChaosNEOThe air between us felt impossibly heavy. My chest slammed against my ribs, my hands trembling as if I’d just run a marathon. Every part of me screamed to step back, to run, to do anything literally besides what I was about to do.But I couldn’t.Daniel’s eyes—dark, sharp, and so impossibly close—held me in place. My throat went dry, and all I could hear was the sound of my own ragged breathing. His towel clung low, his skin glistening, and it took everything in me not to reach out, to brush my fingers along the edge of that dangerous line he was daring me to cross.“Neo…” His voice was low, rough, a warning I wanted to ignore.I swallowed, words failing me. My feet moved before my brain caught up, closing the last inches between us. Heat radiated from him, and my body betrayed me, leaning forward, drawn to him as if gravity had changed its rules.His hand hovered near my cheek, just brushing, teasing, stopping short of contact. My heartbeat thundered against my r

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

The Side He HidesDANIELKissing Neo was the last thing I had expected to happen. I didn’t even know how it had happened. One second I was warning him, the next my body had already decided for me.Now I stood there, staring at the door after the way he had looked at me, those eyes.Regret slammed into my chest. He probably hated me, right?It felt like a dream, except I didn’t want it to be. And he was gone. Just gone. The sound echoed in my chest, bouncing around my ribs like it was trying to break something. My hand lingered near the knob. Part of me wanted to reach out, while the other part of me wanted to stay back.I stepped back, pressing my palm against the bedpost, trying to breathe. My chest pounded, my hands shook. I could still feel him, his heat, his weight, the ghost of his lips on mine. Every nerve ending still lit, every muscle remembered.I wanted him. There was no denial now. Not because it was wrong. It wasn’t. That’s what made it worse. I had spent my life in contro

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

LilianNEO’S POVThe conference room smelled faintly of coffee and marker ink. I took the seat at the head of the table, making myself comfortable. The coordinators filed in around me, laptops opening, folders sliding across polished wood.Daniel stood near the door, arms crossed loosely, eyes scanning out of habit. He stayed quiet. Letting me run things.“Okay,” I said, glancing at the agenda on my tablet. “Let’s start with staffing.”Miriam cleared her throat. She was one of the first people we hired when I started the foundation.“We’re short two night volunteers this month. One quit, one’s on leave.”I nodded, jotting it down on my notepad. “Temporary or permanent?”“Undetermined.”“Post the opening anyway,” I said. “If it becomes permanent, we’ll already have candidates.” “Yes Sir”, she responded, while typing quickly.“And the medication delays?” I asked, shifting my focus to the man across from her. He handled everything medication. “Supplier issues. Customs held the shipment

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

HopeNEODaniel took the next turn without a word, the street narrower than the last, unfamiliar. My stomach clenched. I glanced at the rearview mirror, half-expecting the blue car to reappear. But it had disappeared as we went further. The unfamiliar route made my chest tighten more, every sense sharp, every muscle on edge.He drove deliberately, hands firm on the wheel, jaw set. I watched the way his eyes scanned intersections, how his fingers flexed subtly with the turns, how quiet control radiated from him. It was so fucking attractive, and I knew I shouldn’t be thinking like that right now, but I couldn’t help it. Each movement was precise, almost rehearsed, and I couldn’t stop the panic fluttering in my chest.“Just… calm,” I muttered under my breath, more to myself than to him.Daniel’s hand rested lightly near mine on the console, almost brushing it, and my pulse jumped. I tried to steady my breathing, but the tremor in my fingers wouldn’t quit. My chest ached under the weight

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

Bleeding LinesDANIELThe silence after the nickname stretched too long.Neo’s fingers tightened around the stem of the glass, knuckles going pale for half a second. I noticed everything about him when we were alone like this how his breathing changed, how the muscle in his jaw flexed when he was trying not to react.I’d spent months training myself not to catalog those details and failed spectacularly.He lifted the glass again, slower this time, and took a sip without breaking eye contact. A challenge. Or an invitation. With him, the line was razor-thin and I was bleeding on both sides of it.The memory of my hand on his knee in the car flashed hot behind my eyes, how easily he’d calmed under the touch, how wrong it had felt, and how right at the same time.I shifted my weight, folding my arms tighter across my chest like armor.Distance. Professionalism. Control.All of it was crumbling in real time while he stood three feet away, waiting for me to say something else stupid.The ai

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

The EnvelopeDANIELI got back to the penthouse around four in the morning. Everything was dark and quiet. I checked the locks, the windows, the feeds. Habit. Then I stopped outside Neo’s door. It was open just a crack. I could hear him breathing, deep and steady. Safe. I stood there longer than I should have, then made myself walk away.I didn’t sleep much. Maybe two hours on the couch.When the light started coming through the windows, I got up and headed to the kitchen. The refrigerator was always stocked, so I pulled out eggs, bacon, and some vegetables. I tied on an apron, black, plain, nothing special, and started cooking. The sizzle of bacon filled the quiet. It felt normal. I needed that after last night.Neo came in around eight. He was rubbing sleep from his eyes, hair sticking up in every direction, wearing loose gray sweats and a faded band tee that hung off one shoulder. He stopped in the doorway when he saw me.“Morning,” I said, keeping my voice even.He blinked. “You’r

CHAPTER FOURTY

Moving InDANIELThe photo trembled in my hand, and I had to force my fingers still.Seven minutes. That’s all it had taken. I’d stepped onto the balcony to take Justin’s call about the partial plate, told Neo I’d be right back, and left him asleep on the couch. Seven goddamn minutes, and Derek Harlan had been inside the room. Close enough to count the freckles on Neo’s throat if he’d wanted to.I stared at the image until the edges burned into my retinas—Neo’s head tilted back, lips slightly parted, one arm dangling like he didn’t have a care in the world. Peaceful. Vulnerable. Mine to protect.I’d failed.The rage came hot and sudden, a red haze behind my eyes. My nostrils flared. I wanted to put my fist through the wall. Instead, I folded the photo once, twice, creasing it right across Derek’s handwritten note, and shoved it into my pocket like evidence I couldn’t bear to look at anymore.I left my room without a sound and started sweeping the penthouse.Every lock. Every window.

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