DANIELLE'S P.O.V.The doors to the Penthouse eased open with an electronic beep as I typed in the pass code. I walked into the house, the sole of my sneakers pounding noiselessly as I made my way through the hall way into the open living room and kitchen. The air conditioner in the living room blew cool air into the room from its vents, giving the house a chilly but homely ambience."You're home. Welcome." I heard Adrian greet as I stepped into the living room's thresholds.I turned to see that he was in the kitchen, strings of an apron tied around his neck and waist. His hands were busy with chopping carrots on a wooden chopping board, the sound of the knife hitting the wood reverberating in the room."Good evening. I see that you're busy." I greeted.Adrian looked up at me, a sweet smile gracing his face as his eyes found mine. Meanwhile, his hands did not for a moment, stop their movements, chopping away at the big orange vegetable without a break."You're going to hurt yourself. Y
DANIELLE'S P.O.V.From deep within the abyss of my dreamless slumber, I heard the distant and muffled ringing of an alarm. The consistent beeping sound continued for a few more seconds before it finally stopped and restored the silence once more.I tossed around on the bed, the sheets rustling noisily as I wriggled restlessly on them, the alarm's beeping having broke the silence that enveloped me- allowing me to have a peaceful sleep ,and left me conscious of my environment. After trying and failing, severally, to fall back into the abyss from which I had been rudely pulled out from, I slowly pried my eyes open, but I closed them immediately as they caught the rays of the morning sun light that slipped through the curtains.I attempted to open my eyes once more, prying them open slowly and blinking rapidly until my eyes finally adjusted to the bright light.As I looked around the unfamiliar room, memories from the night before filtered through my mind, causing a blush to paint my chee
DANIELLE'S P.O.V."And with that last teaching, we end today's orientation program titled 'Navigating The World of Business'. I hope you all have learned a few things from the speaker, the one and only CEO and Founder of MacTech, the biggest electronic shop in New York, Mark Denver. On that note, I announce the end of today's orientation program. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day. I am, and will remain Doris Covington, the Dean of Students of this prestigious school, Leonard N.Stern School of Business. Goodbye and have a nice day."The sound of skin clapping against skin reverberated in the large room as my colleagues and I started a round of applause to usher the Dean of Students off the podium. Once she had exited the hall's large open doors, the hall broke into a turmoil as students, male and female alike, rushed to meet their friends and exit the hall. I, as per usual, remained sited in my seat until the uproar had receded and the hall was sparse with only a few students remai
DANIELLE'S P.O.V."Danielle Dawson is nothing more than a business venture to me."Adrian's voice echoed in my head."You don't have to worry about anything happening between the both of us."His statement kept on replaying in my head like a broken record, the memory bothering me, and fueling the fire of my anger the more that I recalled it.What the actual fuck?I was speechless, baffled, gobsmacked- At that moment, I was feeling every synonym of the emotion 'surprise'. I was utterly astounded by the demeaning statement that I had heard Adrian Valentino say.What the hell?Just who exactly, did he think he was?I, Danielle Dawson, was merely a business venture to him?So, marrying me benefited the Valentinos?But how?How did my marriage to Adrian benefit the Valentino empire?I had no idea that they, the most powerful conglomerate in New York City, would be positively affected or impacted by a marriage alliance with my less prominent family. I never for once debated the idea, the th
DANIELLE'S P.O.V.It is said that when we, as humans, mind wander, we take all the attention away from the atmosphere we are in and emphasize that attention entirely on our own inner thoughts. While we mind wander, we shift all our attention from one particular task to internal, personally relevant thoughts.It is also said that our minds do not wander randomly to what doesn't worry us. On the contrary, it usually wanders due to having numerous concerns and these concerns, in turn, distract us from our activities at hand, and instead force our minds to think about those concerns in any instant.Mind wandering occurs when thoughts unrelated to the task at hand and at a particular moment in time, are brought to the forefront of our attention. This stimuli induced phenomena can hinder what information is comprehended at a moment in time, and often we are not even aware that we have let our minds wander until we catch ourselves.Mind wandering also occurs with and in every individual, but
DANIELLE'S P.O.V.There are moments when time just stops. In those moments, it halts abruptly, and then, it lulls and slows down. It becomes a void in which one's emotions and senses are heightened while things and activities are diminished.For a short moment, as Doris Covington, the Dean of Students, invited him up to the podium in front of the hall in which I was sited with roughly two hundred other intending MBA students, time stilled. At least for me, it did.As I watched him walk into the room, my breath caught in my throat and my stomach started to clench painfully. I had no idea why my body was reacting the way it did, and I was terrified that I would forget how to breathe and die a sad death caused by the anxiety at seeing my husband.Even my wandering mind had stilled on my seeing Adrian step on to the podium, his strides proud and sure.Soon, the wheels in my brain started to unclog and roll.How was he here, in that hall?How was it possible that Adrian fucking Valentino w
DANIELLE'S P.O.V.The reception was held on a yacht named Illusion. It was a 290 footed ship with impressive exterior areas that included two Jacuzzi pools, a touch and go helipad, and incredible social areas. From the main deck, the stunning double height atrium gave off the feeling of space on board. This feeling was further enhanced by the fifteen metre long plaque of its name 'Illusion' written in bold letters that beamed brightly.Azra and I, upon our arrival on the deck, collected flutes of champagne from neatly dressed waiters who carried trays in their hands and moved about the yacht's deck in search of empty handed guests. The aim of the reception, according to the Dean of Students, was to socialize with the various notable guests and impress them in hopes of getting connections with them for future purposes, however, impressing socialites was the last thing on my mind. So, when Azra excitedly requested I followed her on a tour of the luxurious boat, I followed without hesita
DANIELLE'S P.O.V.One, Two, Three minutes. The seconds of the black metal clock ticked into minutes, stretching the silence until it was long, uncomfortable, and stifling. My breath hitched in my throat, my hands trembled lightly, and my heart beat irregularly and fastly- so fast, that I thought it would go into overdrive and make me go into a cardiac arrest, or maybe that it would jump out of my chest.I had no idea why I was so scared, so terrified of Azra finding out about my relationship with Adrian Valentino. After all, I had committed no crime by being married to Adrian. The only crime I could agree that I was guilty of committing was keeping the truth about my identity a secret from my one and only friend in school. The fact that I had kept it a secret could be justified because I had not meant to keep it from her, it had just happened the way it did and I hadn't exactly had any chance to tell her about it.Although my brain had justified my keeping my identity a secret from Az