Chapter 16- RHEA'S POV
1039 Words
What was his problem with this question?
“Why would I miss you?”
Darnell tilted his head, studying me. I tried to even my heartbeat, but it wasn’t working—and he smiled, knowing fully well I was lying.
“You don’t have to lie.”
My teeth clenched. “Why are you following me? Why can’t you just leave me alone?” I yelled.
He started walking, coming over the counter. Slowly, he moved toward me, and I forced myself to stand still even though everything in me was screaming to move back.
He stopped in front of me. I didn’t break eye contact. Neither did he.
“You’re the one…” His hand reached for a strand of hair on my face. “…who’s following me.”
An electric wave passed through me when his finger brushed my skin. He tucked the strand behind my ear.
I didn’t know why I was still standing there. I could’ve moved back. I could’ve left. But my legs didn’t move.
“Why can’t you leave me alone?” he asked, his fingers tracing my jawline.
My heart raced, and my eyes shut when his other hand moved from my shoulder down my arm.
“You should stop,” I managed, though it came out weaker than I meant.
“Do you want me to?”
No.
But I didn’t say it.
He shifted, guiding me back until I felt the edge of the counter behind me.
His lips brushed my ear, and my body leaned into him.
“Why can’t I stop thinking of you,” he whispered, kissing the skin of my ear.
I tried to fight it, but my body betrayed me. My lips found his, and he responded immediately, biting my lower lip, earning a soft moan from me.
I was already losing control.
His lips moved to my neck, trailing slow, deliberate kisses.
I threw my head back, letting him go deeper.
“What are you doing to me?” he murmured against my collarbone.
My eyes were shut tight as I gave in.
Then suddenly—
The image of him without a shirt in front of Vanessa’s apartment flashed through my mind.
My eyes snapped open.
Reality crashed back in.
I pushed him away quickly, my heart pounding violently in my chest.
“Stay… stay away from me,” I forced out, trying to steady my breathing.
He straightened slowly, staring at me as if nothing about this was wrong.
“What happened?”
“What happened?” I repeated, incredulous. “What happened is that you’re engaged to my sister!”
He didn’t respond. Just stared. That empty, unreadable stare that only made my anger rise higher.
“What is it you really want from me?” I asked, exhaustion bleeding into my voice now. I felt it in my bones—tired in a way sleep couldn’t fix.
Tired of him.
Tired of this.
Tired of the way he made me feel like I mattered when I shouldn’t.
“Vanessa and my engagement has nothing to do with you and me,” he said flatly.
I blinked. Once. Twice. Hoping I had misheard him.
“It has everything to do with us. She’s my sister!”
Still nothing. Still that same stare.
“Don’t you love her?”
My breathing grew heavier as I waited for an answer that never seemed to come. It was like he didn’t even register the question the way I meant it.
Then, quietly—too calmly—he said, “I want you.”
My brows pulled together sharply. “Please, stop. Just stop…”
“Why did you stop coming to Blackridge?”
I dragged a hand over my face. “Because I didn’t want to see you,” I snapped, then scoffed bitterly. “But you found a way anyway.”
A pause.
“Well,” he said at last, “I bought the café so I could see you.”
My mind stopped. Completely.
For a second, I genuinely thought I had misheard him.
“You… what?” My voice came out smaller than I expected.
He didn’t react. Didn’t blink. Nothing.
A short, disbelieving laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “You’re joking…” I searched his face for anything—humor, irony, a crack—but there was nothing. “You’re serious?”
The laugh died slowly in my throat.
He was serious.
A strange mix of disbelief and unease tightened in my chest. “You bought the café… just so you could see me?” I repeated, quieter now.
“Yes.”
I stepped back instinctively, as if distance could reset whatever reality this was. “Do you even hear yourself?”
A faint smile touched his lips. “Look what you’re doing to me.”
I turned my head sharply away. “You’re f*****g crazy… you need help.”
“You can help me.”
“Does Vanessa know you’re nuts?”
“You were going to tell her that night, weren’t you?”
I froze.
“I was going to tell her everything,” I said slowly, anger returning like a shield. “Because she deserves to know.”
He started walking toward me again.
“So why did you stop?”
I inhaled sharply.
“Why did you leave?”
“You know why.”
“You couldn’t stand seeing me with her,” he said, stopping just a few feet away.
“That’s not true.”
He gave a quiet chuckle, like he enjoyed how easily I reacted. “You love lying, don’t you?”
My hands curled into fists so tightly they ached. My face burned with frustration.
“Admit it,” he said softly. “You want me as much as I want you.”
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.
“I’m leaving.”
I turned sharply and walked past him.
This time, he grabbed my arm.
“You’re expected at Blackridge next week,” he said calmly. “Your father asked to be kept in the loop about your attendance.”
I yanked my arm free. “I decided whether or not I'm going, not my father.”
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