I watched as Dahlia swiped my black card to make yet another purchase. I could hardly believe how much she was enjoying this shopping spree. Her usual routine—home to school and back—had been broken, and she seemed to be relishing every moment of this newfound freedom.We wandered through the bustling market, Dahlia flitting from one stall to another with a lightness I hadn't seen in her before. She was actually smiling, her face alight with excitement."Look at these," Dahlia said, holding up a pair of earrings. "Aren't they pretty?"I nodded. "They're nice."She laughed and added them to the growing pile of purchases. "I've never had so much fun shopping before.""I can tell," I replied, watching her with a mix of curiosity and amusement.We continued through the market, Dahlia eagerly tasting various street foods and occasionally offering me a bite."Here, try this," she said, holding out a skewer of grilled meat.I shook my head. "I'm fine, thanks.""You don't know what you're mis
Dahlia lay in bed, her face turned towards the window, the light playing over her features. I watched her from my seat in the corner, scrolling through my phone more out of habit than interest. The past three days had been long, each one stretching out interminably as she rested from her near-drowning incident. The doctor had ordered two weeks of bed rest, and I had volunteered to stay with her, despite her obvious resentment.She shifted, glancing at me with a mix of curiosity and irritation. I could feel her gaze even though I didn’t look up from my phone. She was always trying to figure me out, trying to find a way to push me away. I knew she didn’t trust me, and I couldn’t blame her. But I had my reasons for staying, reasons she couldn’t understand.“I want to bake,” she announced suddenly, her voice challenging.I raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond immediately. Instead, I set my phone aside and stood up. Without a word, I walked out of the room, leaving her to wonder what I was
After Ares kissed me, I ran to my room, the door slamming shut behind me. My heart pounded in my chest as I locked the door, needing the barrier between us, needing a moment to think. My hands were shaking, the adrenaline from our encounter still coursing through my veins. I leaned against the door, my breath coming in short, sharp gasps. The taste of his kiss lingered on my lips, and I could still feel the heat of his touch. My thoughts swirled in a chaotic dance, and I found it hard to focus on any one thing. How had it come to this? How had I let my walls down so quickly? Ares had barged into my life, breaking through the barriers I had so carefully constructed. At first, I had hated him for it. I hated the way he sauntered in with that arrogant smile, acting as if he belonged in my world. I remembered the first time I saw him, his presence dominating the room, his confidence infuriating yet magnetic. His very being seemed to challenge everything I stood for.But there was someth
Dahlia's POVDay Five of Bed Rest.I woke up before dawn, my mind tangled in the confusion of Ares’s kiss. The memory kept replaying, making me feel both warm and uncertain.I went through my morning routine in a fog, moving deliberately but feeling detached. I stayed in the bath longer than usual, the hot water a brief escape from the storm inside me. I dressed in an elegant outfit, trying to present my best self, but it felt like a mask hiding my real feelings.The perfume I put on was meant to protect me from my emotions, but it only made them more intense.Why was I doing this? Why did I care if Ares might show up today? I had convinced myself that I didn’t care about him, that I hated him and didn’t want him in my life. But now, the walls I had built were crumbling. I wasn’t supposed to feel this way. My plan was simple: keep my distance, control my emotions. Yet here I was, waiting for someone who had no reason to come, dressed up like I was going to a big event.I found myself
Ares' POVDay six of bed rest.I arrived at Dahlia's door a few minutes past eight in the morning. The air was still, heavy with an unspoken tension. I pushed the door open, the creak of the hinges breaking the silence. Dahlia lay in bed, her back to me. She didn’t bother to look my way."Morning," I said, my voice cold and detached. I waited for a response, but none came. She stayed silent, eyes fixed on the wall. I didn't expect much; I knew how she felt about me. I approached her bed, my footsteps barely making a sound on the carpeted floor."How are you feeling?" I asked, keeping my tone neutral. Again, silence. She was giving me the silent treatment, making it clear she wanted nothing to do with me. My patience, already thin, began to wear down.I left the room and headed to the kitchen. I wasn't doing this out of kindness but out of obligation. I prepared a simple breakfast—toast, eggs, and a cup of tea. Carrying the tray back to her room, I set it down on the bedside table."Ea
Ares' Pov.The room was a mess. Papers and books were scattered everywhere, and clothes were thrown haphazardly on the bed and floor. I paced back and forth, clenching and unclenching my fists. I couldn’t believe how things had gone wrong. Just when I thought I was making progress with Dahlia, she started putting her walls back up. This wasn’t part of my plan. She was crucial to my revenge. Without her trust, my whole scheme would fall apart.I kicked a chair in frustration. I had worked so hard to get her to start opening up, to be free with me. I needed her to trust me completely, to let her guard down. Only then could I use her to get back at those who had wronged me and my family. I couldn’t let her slip through my fingers now. Not when I was so close.I slumped down on the edge of the bed, trying to think. Why was she acting like this? I replayed our interactions in my mind, searching for a clue. She had been indifferent, cold even. What had changed?It hit me suddenly. Yesterday
Dahlia's POV.Day eight of bed rest.The days of bed rest were wearing me down. It had been eight days since the incident, and I was tired. Tired of staying indoors, tired of replaying that fateful day in my head. They said I almost drowned, but it felt like more. I didn’t want to remember it, didn’t want to recall how my own mother had pulled me into the pool. They called it a hallucination, but I thought something else had gone wrong.I tried to let it go, to focus on something else. Like the movie in front of me. Who did that to me? Dorothy was my first guess. Ares was my second. He hated me, but he wasn’t there when I started hallucinating. He did show up when I almost drowned. Was that a warning? Payback for not meeting him at the cafeteria? But I’d gone to school with him that morning.Ares was a devil. No question. Yet, despite everything, I found myself wanting him to come and save me. It was a bitter realization, one that gnawed at my insides.Night had fallen, and I couldn’t
Dahlia's POVDay nine of bed restI closed the door behind me, locking myself inside my room. The silence wrapped around me like a thick blanket, providing an odd sense of comfort. My eyes landed on the bouquet of roses on my nightstand. The dark red petals appeared soft, their fragrance barely noticeable but still lingering. Ares had given them to me. Not too long ago, such a gift would have felt like a cruel reminder of how much he despised me.But something had shifted. He had changed.I gently touched one of the petals, feeling its softness—so different from the harshness of the man who had given them to me. Ares, who had once taken pleasure in my suffering with his cold, calculated ways, was now the same person offering these flowers. The same person who, somehow, had started to show signs of care.I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. How could someone who had once been so determined to break me now be the one giving me roses? My heart ached with confusion as I got lost in my thoug
Ares’ POVI had been caught up in the moment, kissing Dahlia with a passion that surprised even me. We were in the pool, and I was reveling in the way she responded to my touch. Her initial reluctance had faded, replaced by a tentative willingness to engage. I caressed her back through the thin material of her swimsuit and gently pressed my lips against hers, feeling her start to open up to me. Her body relaxed against mine, and for a moment, it seemed like she was beginning to truly let go.But then, as she started to match my intensity, something shifted inside me. I suddenly became aware of what I was doing and froze. My mind raced with confusion and realization. What am I doing? I thought. This wasn’t part of the plan.Dahlia’s eyes fluttered open, her face reflecting a mix of confusion and surprise. I pulled away abruptly, the suddenness of my action leaving her stunned. "I'm sorry," I said quickly, trying to cover up my disorientation. "That wasn’t supposed to happen."I saw th
Dahlia’s POV I was still trying to wrap my head around everything that had just happened when Ares gently turned me toward the pool, his hands resting on my shoulders. My back pressed against his chest, and I could feel the warmth of his body against mine. The closeness, the intimacy, was almost overwhelming. My heart raced, a mix of nerves and anticipation causing my breath to come in quick, shallow bursts.As his fingers lightly traced along my arm, a shiver ran through me. His touch was gentle, almost soothing, yet it set my nerves on edge. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck as his hands moved down to my waist, the sensation both thrilling and terrifying. His touch was slow and deliberate, as if he was savoring the moment, and I became increasingly aware of every inch of my body.When he reached the knot on my shorts, I tensed, emotions swirling inside me. Before I could react, he loosened the tie, and my shorts fell to the ground, leaving me in just my swimsuit. I fel
Dahlia’s POV"Why would I be jealous," I said quickly, trying to put some distance between us. My voice came out sharper than I intended, and I immediately regretted it. I took a step back, hoping to escape the tension building between us, but he didn’t let go. Instead, his grip on my arm tightened just enough to make me pause, and I felt a shiver run down my spine as I realized how close he was. My back was against his chest, and his arms wrapped around my waist, holding me in place.I was caught off guard by the sudden intimacy, feeling a mix of shyness and irritation that made it hard to think straight. He leaned in, his breath warm against my ear as he whispered in a voice that sent another shiver through me, "Did I do something wrong?"His tone was almost seductive, laced with a teasing edge that made my heart race. I tried to keep my composure, but it was hard to ignore how close he was, how his voice seemed to wrap around me like a soft, tempting whisper. I could feel my resolv
Dahlia’s POVAfter grabbing the first swimsuit that caught my eye, I didn’t even bother to look at it. My mind was too clouded with anger and jealousy to care. I just needed to get out of his room. I clutched the swimsuit in my hand and stormed off to my room, my thoughts racing. I didn’t even notice Aris giggling softly behind me, likely amused that I had picked something so revealing without even realizing it.As I reached my room and slammed the door shut, I could feel the tension in my chest. What was I doing, feeling this way? It wasn’t like Ares and I were anything more than neighbors. Maybe we flirted a little, but that didn’t give me the right to be angry about what I saw in his wardrobe. But the thought of another girl being in his room, trying on those clothes, left a bitter taste in my mouth. I hated how much it bothered me.I threw the swimsuit onto my bed and finally took a good look at it. My heart sank as I realized just how sexy it was. The fabric was a deep, rich shad
Dahlia’s POVAfter breakfast, the uneasy feeling from my conversation with Aris still lingered. I tried to brush it off, but when Aris asked, “Do you want to go swimming with me?” it completely threw me off. Out of all the things he could have suggested, why swimming?“I don’t know how to swim,” I admitted, hoping that would be the end of it.“Okay,” he replied, “but you can still change into a swimsuit and join me. You don’t have to swim.”His persistence caught me off guard. “I’m not comfortable with that,” I said, trying to convey how much the idea unsettled me.“I’ll walk you to your room,” he said, completely ignoring my discomfort.I followed him reluctantly, my mind racing for a way out. When we reached my door, he stopped and waited outside while I went in to change. As soon as I stepped into my room, I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe I could use this time to figure out how to get out of this situation without making things awkward.But then I realized I didn’t have a swimsui
Dahlia's POV I sat by Ares' door, leaning against the cold wood as the night dragged on. The house was quiet, with only the occasional creak or the soft sound of the wind outside. I lost track of time, my mind spinning with feelings I couldn’t quite understand. The longer I sat there, the more tired I became, my thoughts drifting into a haze.Finally, as dawn began to break and light crept through the windows, I forced myself to stand up, my legs stiff from sitting too long. I let out a deep sigh and made my way to my room. Being close to Ares, even just outside his door, had felt necessary, like something I couldn’t ignore.Once I was in my room, I collapsed onto the bed, not even bothering to pull the covers over me. Exhaustion hit me hard, pulling me into sleep before I could resist. My eyes closed, and I was quickly lost to the dark world of dreams.But sleep didn’t bring any comfort. Instead, I found myself in a strange place, surrounded by thick fog. I called out, but my voice
Dahlia's POVI had never encountered a place as grand as Ares' mansion. From the moment we crossed the threshold, it felt as though we had stepped into another realm—one filled with elegance, mystery, and untold stories. The entrance hall alone was awe-inspiring, with its towering ceilings and grand chandeliers casting a gentle light over the polished marble floors. Excitement bubbled within me as Ares began the tour."Follow me," he said, his deep voice echoing slightly in the vast space. I trailed behind him down a long corridor, wide-eyed as I absorbed every detail. The walls were adorned with intricate moldings, and the floors gleamed with an almost mirror-like finish. Everything was meticulously designed, exuding a sense of perfection.Ares guided me through several rooms, each more impressive than the last. There was a grand sitting room with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked a sprawling garden, and a library brimming with more books than I had ever seen. But amidst the g
Ares' POVI could barely contain my excitement as I prepared for the day. Today was a crucial juncture in the elaborate plan I had been meticulously crafting for months. The thought of finally taking Dahlia to my mansion was exhilarating, almost overwhelming. Every detail of my outfit was chosen with precision; I wanted to be flawless. This wasn’t just about spending time with Dahlia; it was about seizing control and setting the stage for the final act of my scheme.Driving towards Dahlia’s house, I replayed the journey I had taken to break through her defenses. She had been a fortress of defiance and pain, completely closed off from the world. Yet, I had managed to see through her tough exterior and uncover the softer, more vulnerable side she had been so careful to hide. I had always viewed her as a caged bird, and now that I had unlocked that cage, I was beginning to see the real Dahlia—a tender, beautiful girl who had learned to protect herself behind a façade of strength.As I in
Dahlia's POVDay eleven of bed restI paused, my hand trembling slightly on the door handle as I opened it. The soft creak of the hinges was the only sound in the quiet space between us. As the door swung open fully, I saw Ares standing there just a few steps away. His tall figure nearly blocked out the sunlight, casting a gentle shadow over me. He was holding a large, fluffy teddy bear and several gift bags. My heart leapt at the sight, excitement bubbling inside me.I gasped in surprise and delight. The gifts were unexpected, and seeing him there waiting for me made my heart swell. Without thinking, I grabbed the teddy bear and hugged it tightly against my chest. Looking up at Ares, I couldn’t hide the gratitude in my eyes.“Thank you!” I said, my voice brimming with genuine happiness. My smile spread wide across my face.Ares stood there, his usual stoic expression softening slightly. He seemed taken aback by my reaction, his eyes studying me as if he couldn’t quite believe what he