All Chapters of A Hot Daddy For Christmas: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

In Ariana's small apartment was a quiet atmosphere, the kind of quiet that made Ariana feel both safe and painfully aware of how loud her own thoughts could be. She dropped her bag by the door and tugged off her shoes, letting out a long, shaky breath. The day had been relentless: the fluorescent lights of Hospital del Sol, the shuffle of monitors, the hum of respirators, and most of all, Mateo.She leaned against the counter, letting her head fall into her hands. The memory of his presence stalked her still—the way he had hovered over her in the recovery wing, his voice low, intimate, commanding. She had told herself all day to focus on her job, to act professional, to bury that heat he ignited beneath a veneer of calm. But even now, in the solitude of her apartment, it clung to her skin like a second pulse.Her fingers unconsciously brushed the gold chain under her blouse, the one Mateo had insisted she keep. She stared at the glint of it in the dim light and whispered, “One day at

The corridor felt like it had been vacuum-sealed.Ariana’s pulse thudded so violently in her ears she almost didn’t hear the subtle shift of footsteps behind her. Slow. Measured. Controlled.Tyler swallowed, his earlier charm evaporating like mist under a blade.“Excuse me?” Tyler said, attempting a smile that didn’t quite hold. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize this was—”“I don’t care what you realized.”Mateo’s voice was closer now. Not shouted. Not frantic. Worse.Calm.Ariana felt it before she saw him — the change in air pressure, the way nurses at the station suddenly became very interested in their clipboards, the way conversation two corridors down lowered in volume.Authority moved differently.Mateo stepped into her peripheral vision at last. Not rushing. Not dramatic. Simply there.Dark suit beneath his white coat. Hands in his pockets. Expression carved from stone.He didn’t look at Ariana first.He looked at Tyler.“Visitors require clearance,” Mateo said evenly. “And they do

Madrid woke up under a pale silver sky.The kind of morning that felt undecided — not quite cold enough to frost the pavement, not warm enough to be kind. A thin mist clung to the streets, curling around lampposts and drifting lazily above parked cars. The city wasn’t loud yet. It stretched slowly, yawning into consciousness.Inside her apartment, Ariana stood barefoot in the kitchen, staring at the steam rising from her untouched coffee.She hadn’t slept much.Every time she closed her eyes, she saw two things:Tyler’s face when she said she didn’t miss him.And Mateo’s when he said, You embarrassed me.Her jaw tightened slightly.The words still irritated her. Embarrassed him? As if she had been the one staking territory in a public corridor.She lifted the mug but didn’t drink.The apartment felt smaller this morning. The walls closer. The air heavier.Outside, a car passed, tires whispering over damp asphalt.She set the coffee down untouched and walked back into her bedroom.The

Ariana didn’t go back to her floor immediately.She stopped in the empty stairwell between levels, pressing her palm lightly against the cool concrete wall.Her breathing was steady.Too steady.She hated that.Because inside, she was anything but.An internal review.In her first months.Because Mateo couldn’t stay detached.She closed her eyes briefly.This was what proximity to him cost.Not kisses.Not heated whispers.Reputation.She straightened and returned to work.By the time her shift ended, exhaustion sat heavy behind her eyes.Not physical exhaustion.Mental.The kind that comes from holding yourself upright all day.When she stepped out of the hospital, her phone buzzed.Cami.Ariana smiled despite herself and answered immediately.“Hi.”“Hi? That’s it?” Cami’s voice burst through the speaker, dramatic as always. “I haven’t seen you in two days and all I get is hi?”Ariana laughed softly. “I’ve been working.”“You live at that hospital. I’m starting to think you love it m

Ariana barely slept after that.Even back in Cami’s room, under the safety of blankets and steady breathing beside her, her heart refused to settle. Every small sound in the mansion felt amplified. Every shift of air carried consequence.That is how easily everything ends.Mateo’s words replayed in her head long after the fire downstairs had died.By morning, sunlight spilled through the tall windows in pale gold ribbons. Cami stretched dramatically beside her.“You’re awake already?” Cami mumbled. “Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”Ariana forced a smile. “I’ve always been a morning person.”“You used to drool until ten.”“Growth.”Cami squinted at her. “You’re weird.”Ariana laughed softly and sat up. “You’re dramatic.”Cami rolled onto her stomach, chin propped on her hands. “Dad was downstairs late. I heard him walking around.”Ariana’s fingers tightened slightly in the bedsheet.“He does that sometimes,” she said evenly.“Yeah. He thinks I don’t notice, but