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Chapter Fourteen
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2024-10-29 19:42:56“Can we talk?” Darius said as he found Astrid alone in the garden. It was some minutes past midnight. She had found it hard to sleep, so she decided to watch the stars while enjoying the fireflies in the garden.
“Sure.” She replied, her concentration still on the moon. He cleared his throat, and she turned to look at him. “You wanted to talk?” She reminded him.
“Yes. About what happened today. We can’t let this cause a misunderstanding between us.” He started.
“I believe it already has.” She replied, surprisingly calm.
“Well we have to clear it up. I can't keep living in a house where I have issues with someone, and we can’t hash it out like the two adults we are.” He spoke sternly, almost taking his tone to his business meeting level.
“What’s there to talk about, exactly? We already cleared this up. What’s left is for us to carry on with the act and break it off as soon as we can.” She shrugged.
“I was thi
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“Say, Joaquin?” Astrid called out. “Yes?” He asked, taking a short sip of his coffee. “Let's say, hypothetically, you're engaged to someone and—” “No. We're not doing that today.” Joaquin stopped her from going further, shaking his head. “Doing what?” She asked, confused. “The hypothetical thing. We both know it's about you and Darius. Just tell me what's going on. I won't tell him anything you're not comfortable with.” His smile after those assuring words were enough for her to pour her heart out. She took a bite out of her warm toast and sighed. “I don't like how he talks to me, sometimes.” She didn't know what to say after that. Even to someone she could trust, she still couldn't explain everything. How could she tell him the things Darius had said and done to her without feeling judged? Besides, Joaquin and Darius were best friends. It was awkward enough that he thought she was truly engaged to Darius. “And
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Astrid's heart deflated as she saw that it was not Darius. She started to wonder who it actually was. She had a few on-and-off friends, but she wasn't sure if they didn't know her phone number. The only person back in England who knew it was the guy that helped her get the SIM card through the back door process. Curious, she picked up the phone and pressed it against her ear. “Oh, my God! Is this the Astrid Peyton?!” The woman on the other end screamed out immediately. Astrid f
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Astrid didn't know what to feel—anger, fear, maybe even nothing at all. Darius was standing right there. He now knew that she had heard him and Ashlee in the library. “Oh, I didn't know you were back.” What a useless lie, she scolded herself in her head. He literally just got out of there with another woman. And she was going out of there minutes later. He wasn't that stupid. “You saw?” He raised his eyebrow at her. “Heard, thankfully.” Now, she allowed her disappointment show.
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Astrid and Darius shared a panicked look. Neither of them was ready to tell Nikoleta the truth yet, so Darius just settled for something quite simple—faking confusion. “I don't quite understand what you mean, mum.” He frowned, now standing beside Astrid. “There's something serious going on between you two and I want to know what it is.” Nikoleta stated. “Prenuptial stress.” Darius simply said. Astrid marvelled at how he could lie while looking straight into his mother's eyes. Nikoleta narrowed her eyes at them both. “You sure it's not a prenuptial fight?” She asked. “Did we have a fight?” Darius asked, looking at Astrid. “No.” She shook her head. Oh, he's good. She thought. “Why don't you want to go bridal shopping with me, then?” Nikoleta asked Astrid. “It's just... I'm nervous.” Astrid looked down, wondering how long she would have to keep lying. “About what? It's your wedding! And I'll be there. If y
Behind Closed Doors Chapter Twenty
“Don't let him get in! What is he doing here? Isn't he supposed to be at work?” Nikoleta stood up from her seat. “I believe he's in the elevator right now.” The woman revealed. Just then, they all heard the ding of the elevator. Astrid rushed back into the changing room, clutching the dress in her hands and breathing rapidly. . Darius stepped into the room, his eyes doing a quick sweep for any sign of Astrid. He smiled at Nikoleta and shrugged. “Why do you look like you're angry at me?” He asked, feigning innocence. “You're supposed to be at work. You knew Astrid and I were coming here. What are you doing? Showing off, trying to tell everyone just how many private jets you have?” Nikoleta frowned at him. “Oh, but I am at work, mum. I own the place.” He sat down next to her on the comfortable sofa with an air of pride. Cassia knew that Darius was engaged, but that didn't stop her from blushing at how he carried himself, and he noticed. “Leave! We were in the middle of something.”
Behind Closed Doors Chapter Twenty-One
Astrid had woken up at midnight with a completely parched throat. The bedside table had no glass of water. Maybe Mary didn't feel the need to do it as Astrid had never woken up thirsty before. She got off the bed, a dry cough escaping her throat. She made her way through the dimly lit hallway and into the kitchen, which she didn't have the opportunity to look at since she started her stay in the house. It was dim, but Astrid had no problem with finding a glass and water. She revelled at the coolness of the water travelling down her throat. She walked out of the kitchen and stopped abruptly when she heard footsteps close by. For a brief moment, she thought it was just her imagination bringing forth sounds to scare her, but the footsteps continued. They seemed to be coming from upstairs. She slowly made her way up the stairs, attempting to make it into her room before someone would see her out there. Especially if it was someone she didn't know. The footsteps seemed to be getting cl
Behind Closed Doors Chapter Twenty-Two
The drive to the beach was quiet. Darius was on his phone most of the time. Astrid and Joaquin engaged in small talk, while Derek and Ki-woo still argued about who would be the best man at the wedding. “We're here.” Darius announced as the van stopped. They all got out, Astrid looking confused. “I thought we were going to the beach?” She turned to Joaquin. “Yes. We're going to take speed boats to get to the private island.” Joaquin explained to her. “Private island?” Astrid asked as they walked down the concrete stairs leading to the sea before them. “Private island.” Joaquin nodded to confirm it. And just as Joaquin had said, they were split up in three speed boats. Astrid nervously looked out to the body of water as the boats started. She wasn't so sure about wearing a bikini anymore. She had thought that they would be out on a normal beach, where people would be. Now, she would be on a private island with just Darius and his friends. The closer they got to the island, the mor
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“Darius…” Astrid’s voice was shaky, coming out in broken bits.“Astrid, I’m not accusing you,” he pointed out.“But you asked me. There’s a part of you that believes I did this.”“Not at all, Astrid. I want you to clear any room for doubts before I even think of having them. Please, answer the question,” he pleaded.“I have nothing to do with it! You should know I would never think of doing such a thing, Darius. How could there be space for doubt? It’s terrible that we should be talking about this, Darius!” Astrid shook her head, covering her face with her hand.Darius did not say anything for a long while after that. His mind was spiralling. Yes, he had not liked the fact that Selene had taken advantage of him and had gotten pregnant in the process. Yes, he would change the outcome if he was given the chance, but he couldn’t.Because he could not change what had happened, he had decided that he would love and support his child no matter what. He would be there in ways he had re
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Astrid had gone into a frozen state as Selene cried out in pain mingled with terror, the blood trailing down her legs in bursts of extremely dark red clots.“Help me, Astrid! Please! My baby!” Selene’s voice, perhaps because this time it was directed at Astrid, brought Astrid out of her shocked state as she rushed down to get help from the security guards stationed outside.“We need help in getting to the hospital, now!” she screamed as she got out of the house, the men clad in black clothing rushing in to follow her into Selene’s room, where she was sluggishly attempting to get up through the mess that was her blood.With a little bit of hesitation and fear, the security officials managed to carry Selene down and into one of the cars. Astrid instructed Laila, the babysitter, to help look after Dahlia until she returned.Joining Selene in the car as they rushed over to the hospital, Astrid made attempts to relieve Selene as she dialled Darius’ number. Tears were streaming down her
Behind Closed Doors Chapter Forty-Five
Weeks passed by too quickly for Astrid to grasp. She maintained a steady communication with her parents back in London. As the days passed, she was slowly starting to accept that she could run away from her feelings all she wanted, but she would always circle back to Darius Titan. Even at that, she could not brush Selene aside. It was almost impossible to cut her out of the picture, especially now that she was getting more noticeable in the picture with how fast her stomach was starting to show bumps. Astrid knew for a fact that even if she made an attempt at shoving Selene out of the window and dusting her hands at the act, she would only be able to do it in the back of her mind. The bigger Selene’s stomach grew, the more time she weaned out of Darius to spend time with her. Darius, not willing to miss the chance to be the partner of a pregnant woman – like he had done with Astrid – would not pass up on the offer. Watching the slightest bit of affection Darius showed to the bump S
Behind Closed Doors Chapter Forty-Four
“Whatever you think this is, it’s not. Let me explain,” Joaquin stood up, masking his surprise at Astrid’s presence. He had not expected her to take a threat at Darius’ and Dahlia’s life so lightly. What he had miscalculated was the odds of Astrid calling Darius to ask if everything was okay.“You’re the father of Selene’s child. Y-you were in on it this whole time, Joaquin. Darius is your friend, for Christ’s sake!” Astrid was trying as hard as physically possible to stop herself from raising her voice, but it wasn’t working enough as heads turned in their direction and recognition started to brighten some people’s faces at the presence of Darius the infamous’ ex-fiancée.Astrid, noticing the not-so-subtle flashes of cameras in their direction, looked back at Joaquin. “Outside, now. We need to talk about this before I lose my mind and get Darius to come down here.”Astrid walked out of the restaurant, waiting for Joaquin. She didn’t have much to discuss with Selene. Not now, at le
Behind Closed Doors Chapter Forty-Three
“Are you all right? You look like you’ve been chased by an armed killer.” Astrid almost jumped at Darius’ voice from behind her that night. She was too ingrained in her thoughts and theories surrounding the note she had found with Selene to notice anything.“Oh, I’m fine. Just a little tired is all.” She shot him an assuring smile, trying hard to convince herself even more than she was trying to convince him.“Will you at least talk to me if you feel like talking about it?” Astrid was on the verge of breaking down at the weight of it all. It was painfully obvious that Darius was trying to be who he wasn’t the first time she was with him, but she didn’t want him to go back into his cold shell.What was it that she could possibly say? That after being taken advantage of, the child didn’t belong to him? Even if she decided to give Darius a second chance, he was still unpredictable. He could turn around and call her a liar, for all she knew. And she would understand, because she had no
Behind Closed Doors Chapter Forty-Two
“Is something wrong?” Astrid asked, my brows furrowed in a worried frown at how angry Cassia looked. Cassia headed for the bed and placed the branded Tiffany and Co. bag on the bedside table as she sat beside Astrid. “Tell me why I decided to come say hi and give you and Dahlia a little present, and the first person I see in this house is Selene.” “Oh,” Astrid said in realization as she chuckled mirthlessly. “Well, that happened. She got kicked out, or so she said. She doesn’t even want him to find her a new apartment. I guess she lives here now.” “And you’re just going to sit here and take it?” She threw her a questioning stare as Astrid shrugged, an attempt at nonchalance. Cassia turned to fully face Astrid, studying her face. Every line and every facial expression in that moment, she was determined to catch. She wanted to know what was keeping Astrid from opening her arms to Darius, for one last chance. “Do you really not care anymore, Astrid? I need you to be completely honest
Behind Closed Doors Chapter Forty-One
The first thing Astrid heard as she got to the front door of the house was the last thing Selene said.She was moving in.Astrid was torn between throwing a fit over it and accepting her fate. She knew she had to come to terms with the fact that she was never the only woman in Darius’ life, not even now when he wanted to try.“What do you mean you were evicted?” Darius broke the thick silence after he dismissed his security officials. “I made a transfer of your rent to your bank account just weeks ago. We agreed on that.”“Well, unfortunate circumstances came up. I was at the hospital for a while and I had to pay the bills with it.” Selene shrugged with an air of indifference.Astrid did not want to hear the rest of it, but she didn’t know how to leave. She couldn’t just turn on her heels and walk away like she didn’t care, because she did. She cared a lot. She wanted to know what Darius would do about it.“Are you going to let me in? It’s freezing out here. Have some sympathy.”
Behind Closed Doors Chapter Forty
Breakfast went by smoothly and Joaquin had left the house for work. For the rest of the morning, Astrid and Darius stayed out of each other’s way, awkwardness brushing through whenever they met.Astrid paced around in her room, wondering how to break the news to Darius. The last thing she wanted was for complications to arise from a conversation she thought to be simple. Things had changed. Darius had changed. She didn’t know what to expect from him as a reaction.After a long while of keeping her thoughts to herself and getting sick of it, she decided to find Darius and have a talk with him. She found him seated in the movie room. She had barely been there, if she had been there at all.He sat, fully concentrated on the show on the television. She was sure he hadn’t heard her enter the room.She sat beside him on the dark sofa which formed a semicircle facing the television. Darius turned to her and gave her a warm smile. “Is Dahlia asleep?”“Yeah.” Astrid nodded.“Do you want
Behind Closed Doors Chapter Thirty-Nine
Astrid knew trying to get Dahlia out of Darius’ hands would trigger both of them waking up at the same time, and there was only so much she could handle, so she decided to have a few minutes – possibly hours – to herself.She found herself joining the staff in the kitchen to make breakfast, pretending not to hear when any one of them told her not to worry about it.“Good morning, sir!” Her back stiffened as they all chorused loudly in unison just mere minutes after she walked around, finding something to busy herself with.She turned around and found Darius at the entrance to the kitchen, holding Dahlia who was still asleep.Darius nodded at the staff, never taking his eyes off Astrid, whose throat was in knots. She kept swallowing, even when there was nothing in her mouth to swallow.“Good morning,” she greeted, her voice cool and relaxed in its early morning state.“Good morning,” Darius replied as the staff went back to work, each one of them visibly nervous with Darius’ pres
