Chapter 11
1502 Words
Daniel closed the door quietly behind him.
The soft click echoed through the room, followed by silence.
For a moment, he stood still, listening.
Nothing.
No footsteps.
No voices.
No interruptions.
Good.
“About time,” Amelia said from across the room.
She was leaning casually against the dresser, arms folded, her expression laced with amusement as she watched him.
“You took longer than expected.”
Daniel loosened his tie slightly, his movements calm, unhurried.
“I had to make sure I wasn’t followed,” he replied.
Amelia smirked.
“Oh, please,” she said lightly. “Maisie wouldn’t notice if you walked past her holding my hand.”
Daniel didn’t react to that.
Not because it wasn’t true.
But because it didn’t matter.
“She’s distracted,” he said instead.
“Good,” Amelia replied, pushing herself off the dresser and walking toward him. “She needs to stay that way.” She frowned, not even trying to hide the fact that she hated Daniel being with her stepsister. Everything they Maisie had should belong to Amelia, that is what she strongly believed.
Daniel’s gaze followed her, steady, assessing.
“She will,” he said. “Everything will fall into place.”
Amelia stopped in front of him, close enough now that her voice dropped slightly.
“You’re sure about tomorrow?” she asked.
It wasn’t doubt.
Not really.
But there was something underneath it.
Impatience.
Expectation.
Daniel didn’t hesitate.
“Yes.”
His tone was certain.
Controlled.
The kind of certainty that left no room for questions.
Amelia searched his face for a moment, then nodded slightly, she was relieved.
“Good,” she said softly. “Because I’m done waiting. I want you all to myself. Why should she get any part of you?” Amelia pouted.
Her hand moved lightly over his chest, her touch deliberate.
“I’m tired of pretending,” she continued. “Watching you play the perfect fiancé while she looks at you like you’re everything.”
Daniel’s expression didn’t change.
“It was necessary.”
“I know,” she said quickly. “I’m not saying it wasn’t. But after tomorrow…”
Her lips curved into a slow smile.
“…we don’t have to hide anymore.”
Daniel reached up, catching her wrist gently, stilling her movement.
“No,” he agreed. “We don’t.”
The words settled easily between them.
Too easily.
Amelia relaxed slightly, stepping closer into his space.
“And everything is in place?” she asked.
Daniel released her wrist slowly.
“Yes, Amelia. We have been over this many times now.” he sighed.
Her eyes sharpened.
“The documents?”
“Prepared.”
“The witnesses?”
“Confirmed.”
“And her?” Amelia asked, her tone lowering slightly. “She’ll sign without questioning it?”
A faint, almost amused smile touched Daniel’s lips.
“She trusts me.”
Amelia let out a quiet laugh.
“Of course she does,” she said. “She always has, the gullible b***h and she's such a pathetic loser.”
There was no guilt in her voice.
No hesitation.
Just certainty.
“Once we’re married,” Daniel continued, “everything shifts.”
Amelia tilted her head slightly, an amused smile on her lips.
“Explain it again.”
He watched her for a moment.
Then—
“Marriage gives me legal access,” he said. “Authority I don’t have now.”
“And the company?” she pressed.
Daniel’s gaze darkened slightly.
“Transfers begin immediately.”
A flicker of satisfaction crossed her face.
“And she won’t realise?”
“Not until it’s too late.”
Amelia smiled.
Slow.
Satisfied.
“I almost feel sorry for her,” she said lightly.
Daniel didn’t respond.
Because he didn’t.
“Almost,” she added.
Her hand slid back up his arm, more relaxed now, more confident.
“And after that?” she asked.
Daniel’s expression remained unreadable.
“After that,” he said, “She dies in the accident and then everything is mine and nothing left tying us to her.”
The words hung in the air.
Clear.
Final.
Amelia’s smile widened slightly.
“So she just… what? Disappears from our lives?”
Daniel met her gaze.
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
No emotion.
Just fact.
Amelia studied him for a moment, then nodded.
“Good,” she said quietly.
Because that was all she wanted.
Him.
The power.
The outcome.
“I’m glad we did this properly,” she added. “Dragging it out would’ve been messy.”
Daniel adjusted his cuff slightly, his movements precise.
“This way was cleaner.”
“Smarter,” Amelia corrected.
Daniel didn’t argue.
Because she was right.
They had planned this carefully.
Every step.
Every detail.
There was no room for mistakes.
No room for failure.
“Tomorrow changes everything,” Amelia said softly, almost to herself.
Daniel’s gaze remained steady.
“Yes.”
She stepped closer again, her voice lowering.
“And after tomorrow…”
Her eyes held his.
“…we finally get what we wanted.”
Daniel didn’t answer straight away.
Because the truth was—
they already had.
They just hadn’t taken it yet.
A faint smile touched his lips.
“Yes,” he said.
Amelia smiled back.
Completely convinced.
Completely certain.
That everything was going exactly as planned.
“Now, where were we?” Daniel pulled Amelia close to his chest and kissed the top of her head.
Amelia tilted her head up slightly, her body relaxing against his as if everything was already theirs.
“For a man planning a wedding tomorrow,” she murmured, her voice low and teasing, “you don’t seem very nervous.”
Daniel let out a quiet breath, his hand resting lightly against her back.
“I don’t get nervous,” he replied calmly.
Amelia huffed a soft laugh against his chest.
“No,” she agreed. “You don’t. That’s why this works.”
Her fingers traced slow, absent patterns against his shirt, her thoughts clearly elsewhere—already in the future they had built together.
“By this time tomorrow,” she continued, “she’ll be walking down the aisle thinking she’s won.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened slightly at that.
“She’ll believe everything is exactly how she imagined,” he said.
Amelia smiled, but there was something sharper beneath it.
“And then it all disappears.”
Silence settled between them again—but this time, it wasn’t empty.
It was heavy.
Full of everything they weren’t saying.
Daniel’s gaze drifted past Amelia for a moment, unfocused, calculating.
Timelines.
Steps.
Outcomes.
Every piece had been placed exactly where it needed to be.
There was no room for error now.
No turning back.
Amelia noticed the shift, her fingers stilling against him.
“What is it?” she asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Daniel looked back at her.
“Nothing.”
She didn’t believe that.
“You don’t go quiet for no reason,” she said. “Not tonight of all nights.”
He studied her for a second—then exhaled softly.
“It’s just the final stage,” he said. “Once it starts, everything moves quickly.”
Amelia’s lips curved.
“That’s what we want.”
“Yes,” Daniel replied. “But speed leaves less room to adjust.”
She stepped back slightly, folding her arms again, watching him more closely now.
“You’re not doubting this, are you?” she asked, her tone cooling just a fraction.
Daniel’s expression hardened instantly.
“No.”
The answer came too fast to question.
Too sharp to challenge.
Amelia held his gaze for a moment longer—then relaxed again, satisfied.
“Good,” she said. “Because I’m not.”
She moved toward the window, glancing out into the darkness beyond it.
“She never deserved any of this,” Amelia added, almost casually. “Not the life. Not the company. And definitely not you.”
Daniel didn’t respond straight away.
Because somewhere, buried deep beneath the plan, beneath the strategy—
there was a flicker.
Not guilt.
Not regret.
Just…
something.
But it disappeared as quickly as it came.
“She was useful,” he said instead.
Amelia turned back to him, smiling again.
“And now she’s not.”
Daniel met her gaze.
“No.”
The word felt final.
Like a door closing.
Amelia walked back toward him slowly, her confidence fully restored.
“Then stop thinking about it,” she said. “By tomorrow night, none of this matters anymore.”
She reached for his hand, lacing her fingers through his.
“It’ll just be us.”
Daniel looked down at their joined hands for a brief second.
Then back at her.
“Yes,” he said quietly.
Just us.
Amelia squeezed his hand lightly, completely assured.
“Come on,” she added, her tone shifting back to something softer. “You should get some rest. Big day tomorrow.”
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