Chapter Five

I didn’t have a dreamless sleep.

In my sleep, I was dreaming of the night Kionno proposed to me.

Although I used to like having people’s attention, he knew I wanted occasions like that to be intimate. He also knew I liked the sea so we got into one of their family-owned yachts dressed in our matching clothings. I was wearing a champagne-colored long dress that was sitting at the top of my ankles. It sparkled just as how the sea sparkled under the moon that night. Meanwhile, Kionno was wearing a champagne-colored suit, his hair combed neatly. 

It was one of my most magical memories. We had the area all by ourselves, our favorite song—Through the Years by Kenny Rogers playing in the background, good food cooked by Kionno himself, and of course, an intimate proposal. 

There were tears in the corners of his eyes as he asked the question. “Danielle West…my Dani…will you marry me?”

I remembered not having to think about my answer, the sensation of the cold ring around my finger, and the sensation of his lips as he kissed me under the moonlight.

We danced slowly after, as if nothing can ever ruin us, as if I won’t despise him a few months after I found out he was cheating on me.

The thing about being born privileged, you’d almost always see and experience the better parts of the world—better food, better education, better standard of living, better connections—for a moment, you’d think that you’re invincible…until you aren’t.

When I woke up, I was catching my breath. My throat feels dry, and it feels like I have been sleeping on a rock.

I looked around, and saw that I was in my room. For some reason, I cannot clearly remember what happened the night prior.

I was at the bar, and met Kionno before getting dragged out of the establishment.

“Stop being too hard, woman!” I remember him telling me when I kept refusing to let him take me home. There was no way I’d let him take me home, and owe him anything. I don’t want to give him satisfaction.

However, the more I ran and jumped away from him, the more I felt the alcohol’s effects in my body, and not even five minutes later did I black out. I can barely recover any more memories after that. Seeing that I am here in my own apartment, it looks like I really allowed him to take me home. 

I really can’t control myself whenever I drink! That’s why I now avoid drinking, especially when I’m alone. I wouldn’t have been alone if it weren’t for Michaela who disappeared out of nowhere.

When I checked my phone, I saw that there were messages from her, apologizing for leaving without telling me. Apparently, a friend of Hans informed him about her whereabouts, and he went there last night to escort her home. She also mentioned that she would no longer be staying in the apartment. 

As much as I wanted to feel bad for her leaving me, I also know that I’m not really her responsibility, and she was also probably drunk last night. I didn’t bother replying, and just stood from my bed. 

I am rubbing my temples as I walk towards the kitchen to fetch myself a glass of water. I am trying hard to remember details of last night that I just can’t remember, feeling the hard thudding of my heart against my chest. It is probably fear that I am feeling now. I am afraid that I could’ve said something I shouldn’t have said last night.

When I reached the kitchen, I was startled, my eyes wide, when I realized that there was someone in my apartment.

Speaking of the devil! 

“What are you doing here?!” 

“You’re welcome,” he replied, not answering my question. He is wearing a plain white shirt, and is drinking a cup of coffee in the kitchen island. 

How I hate that response of his! Why can’t he just leave me alone?! 

“I’m not here because I want to. Don’t be so full of yourself,” he said, as if reading my mind. He pushed a glass of water towards my direction. There is also a tablet for hangovers. I stared at it for a couple of seconds before walking towards the direction of the kitchen island, eyebrows furrowed. Meanwhile, Kionno’s eyes followed my every move, making me swallow the lump formed inside my throat. 

I sat on the chair opposite his, and took the medicine to drink it. 

When I looked at him, his gaze towards me was intense and unfaltering. I did my best to remain composed, and not let him affect me. “You’re being weird,” I said. “You know you could’ve just left me here last night, right?” 

Now it feels awkward having him sit in my kitchen. It feels uncomfortable, especially when it seems like he doesn’t belong in places like this. I could barely afford this apartment’s rent, and yet this guy could easily buy this property without even having to think about it.

He is looking at me as if there are a lot of things he wants to say.I wonder if he’s thinking why I am living this way. After all, even when we didn’t end on good terms, we still knew each other like the back of our hands.

“Did you know that someone’s following you last night?” There was no hint of emotion in his voice when he said that, and the moment what he said registered in my brain, I felt my body hair standing, sending shivers down to his spine.

What does he mean? 

My brows furrowed as my hands subconsciously held on the kitchen island. “What?” 

“There was a car that was following us last night,” he answered before picking the cup of coffee to take a sip. “I drove all around the city to confirm that he was indeed following…” 

I looked away, feeling the beat of my heart racing. “A-And how do you know it’s following me, and not you?” 

“Haven’t you been feeling that you’re being stalked lately?”

I felt my blood leaving my face when he asked that. Memories flashed between my eyes, that random feeling of someone following and watching me… I didn’t want to think much about it because maybe it was just because of the stress that I have been feeling these days. Maybe I was just overreacting, but now that he’s talking about it… I think it’s not just a figment of my imagination.

I don’t know what to feel about that. 

“H-How…How do you know that?” 

He didn’t say anything, and just stood up. He pushed his phone towards my direction, allowing me to see screenshots of cctv footage from different locations. He wasn’t lying because there really was a Honda Civic with an identical plate number following us around. For a second, I wondered how he was able to easily get access to this footage, but upon remembering that he is literally a billionaire who can easily make things happen if he wants to, I didn’t bother asking.

It took me a whole minute to just stare at those screenshots, feeling Kionno’s gaze on me. I can feel the racing of my heart the more I stare at those images, trying to recover little details in my memory. The car looks familiar to me, but knowing that a lot of people have Honda Civic as their cars, I thought that it was just normal to see it almost everywhere I go.

I swallowed the lump in my throat before clasping both of my hands together in an attempt to stop them from shaking. 

He saw that, which made me feel nervous. I felt like I was being judged. If I only had the money to move to a different and more comfortable location, I would’ve done it, but I couldn’t afford it for now. I have only been living through the money that I have, and I’d need to work by then to support myself. I have also been thinking of looking for Vivi myself, and I would need a decent amount of money for that.

“Work for me.”

My brows furrowed upon hearing his suggestion. “What?” 

His unfaltering gaze remained. “I said work for me. There are vacant positions in my company, which you can fill. I also have a condominium unit nearby, which you can live in. It has better security, and you’d feel safe there. It’s only a walking distance from the place you’ll be working on–” 

“Wait…wait,” I cut him off. “Why would I do that? Why are you doing this to me? What’s the catch?” 

“There’s no catch, Danielle. Don’t you remember the last time I had to save you from that animal? We both don’t want that to happen again. I’m going to find out the identity of the one who’s been stalking you, but who knows what would happen if you continue to live like this? How many more stalkers would follow you every single day?”

Live like this?

I don’t want to act like a child, but he makes it sound like I am living the worst life possible. Sure, I don’t have the security that I used to enjoy before, but it’s not that bad! 

It’s easy for him to say that because he can easily live the life that he wants without working as hard as I do! Why is he acting as if he cares? I wouldn’t even be here if he didn’t become one of the people who fucked up my life. 

My lips pursed. “Why do you care, anyway? 

I saw his eyebrows furrowed when he heard that, and for a moment, I felt fear. I knew he would scold me. I knew he could easily discern me like the genius that he is. I can be lying all I want, but he can easily dissect my lies, read my from inside out.

That alone is enough to spark fear inside me. Before I met him after years, I thought I could face him with nothing but indifference inside me, but now, that isn’t the case.

And I hate it.

He stood before taking something from his wallet. It is a business card. He put it on the table, and grabbed his coat that was placed nearby.

“Don’t be so hard headed and take my advice. You might be thinking that you can handle anyone who would attempt to hurt you, but we both know you won’t be able to handle everyone,” he said. His voice is more serious now, as if bearing a warning. “And I’m not speaking about this as your ex-boyfriend or someone who knows you. I’m speaking about this because I know…and you probably have already known by now how dangerous the world is. If you don’t want to do it for yourself, at least think about your sister…” 

Shit. 

He really knows how to get inside my brain.