Chapter 7- DARNELL'S POV
771 Words
There were things I tried not to think about while at work—and things I couldn’t get out of my head.
One of those things was sitting in the café across from where I was parked, sipping her coffee while reading a book.
The café lights shone brightly on her face, illuminating her striking features—high cheekbones that caught the glow just right, smooth skin untouched by effort, and eyes lowered in quiet focus, framed by long lashes. A loose strand of hair had fallen across her face, but she didn’t seem to notice, too absorbed in the world inside her book.
Ever since that night—ever since I saw her—
I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her.
She was so perfect in every way that I thought she was a hooker. Imagine my surprise when I found out she was Elliot’s daughter.
I would never have guessed.
She was nothing like him.
She picked up her coffee and brought it to her lips, and a slow smile formed on my face.
Those lips—the same ones that had moaned for me without even knowing my name.
I chuckled, remembering the look on her face when she saw me.
To think that someone so rich, yet so simple, shared the same blood as that devil… it amazed me.
Rhea Bennett.
My latest obsession.
I had offered her an internship at my company during dinner with her family. The look on her face told me she didn’t want it—but one thing was obvious: she couldn’t deny wanting me.
I had seen it in her eyes.
She was definitely not as innocent as she thought.
Tuesday night had proven that.
She just needed me.
The ringing in my AirPod pulled me out of my thoughts. I checked the name on my phone, and it instantly ruined my mood.
“Hey, baby,” Vanessa’s voice came through.
I dropped my head against the headrest, rubbing my face in frustration. “How was your day?” I asked—not that I gave the slightest f**k.
“It was great. So you know how I was telling you about that reporter who kept following me around, asking if the rumors about our engagement were true?”
I sighed. “Yeah. What about her?”
“She just published an article saying we’re not really engaged—that it’s just a rumor.”
I didn’t know what the point of this was, but… “Okay?” I replied, trying not to sound as uninterested as I felt.
“Okay??? We’re literally getting married soon. Doesn’t the world deserve to know?”
I rubbed my forehead harder. My other hand reached for the painkillers in the glove box, and I swallowed a few. The migraines kept coming back every few hours—and Vanessa only made them worse.
The rumors about me getting engaged is already uncomfortable enough. Every time I spoke at a conference, the reporters kept asking about it and my replies remained "No comment."
The world knowing about our engagement would make things worse for me. I was glad the reporter took the money and debunked the rumors.
“You’re not going to say anything?” she asked, agitation rising through the phone.
I pulled the AirPod out of my ear, fighting the urge to end the call. I let out an exhausted breath before putting it back in.
“It’s been a really long day. Can we discuss this another time?”
My eyes drifted back to Rhea in the café. I picked up my phone, zoomed in on her, and took a photo.
“You don’t ever have time for me. It’s always work this and work that. Darnell, we’re getting married, for goodness’ sake!”
I ignored the screeching voice in my ear as I pulled up Rhea’s number—saved from the internship form—and sent the photo to her.
For some reason, I enjoyed taunting her.
There was a thrill in it—a satisfaction I couldn’t quite explain.
And it made me hard.
She made me hard.
I watched her through the windshield, waiting for her to see the message.
I didn’t even realize the call had already disconnected—Vanessa must have hung up.
Rhea finally picked up her phone. Her eyes scanned the screen, and just as I expected, her calm façade shattered into fear. She quickly looked around the café, searching for whoever had taken the picture.
A slow smile spread across my face.
She was beautiful.
Too f*****g beautiful to belong to anyone else.
- Writer
