"Daniel! Daniel, tell us about your accident?"
"Was it an intended crash by Harvey Baltimore? What would you like to say to him?"
"Why is Liliana Garza here? Have you reconciled?"
"Who is the mystery girl next to you? Does Liliana know about her?"
"Yes, who is she to you? Girlfriend or a fling?"
"Are you getting married here?"
"To Liliana or her?"
The questions did not cease. They kept coming, wave after wave of endless humiliation. My heart thundering, I inched away from the balcony, towards the room.
Daniel was rooted to the ground, he wasn't moving. I didn't want to risk going back outside. The paparazzi were a sea of attention hungry monsters; they had spread out all over the place.
I even caught a glimpse of one determined paparazzo hiding on a tree branch.
I couldn't breathe then, I felt like the walls were closing in upon me. Cameras clicked, voices hollered, and I couldn't run. What was happening to me? If they took a picture of me, they would know I was Evelyn Kingsmith's granddaughter.
The speculations would begin. My family would be labelled outcasts, stories would be made about us, why we weren't as rich. The paparazzi could dig if they wanted to, and I had landed myself in a bad mess.
What would papa say? What would he do if a bunch of these blood thirsty creatures turned up on our humble doorstep? Would mom enjoy the attention, use it to tarnish Evelyn's name?
I had to get out of here. It didn't matter where, as long as I was tucked far away, away from prying eyes. Gossip would eventually make its rounds but being involved in social media gossip was where I drew the line.
It had upended my life once before and I had weathered through it with great difficulty. I had someone by my side then. Now? I was just some girl trying to please her mother and con her way into an inheritance she didn't even want. Pathetic.
I turned to leave, heart hammering wildly in my chest. Pushing the balcony doors open, I had almost slipped back inside when Daniel's hand snaked over mine. My eyes caught his in a whirlwind of fear, anxiety, and worry.
Unable to read the expression on his face, my breathing turned shallow. His face was creased in tension, small lines of weariness making their way along the crinkles of his cheeks. At long last, I heard his voice, cracked and scared.
"Don't leave. Please."
It was all he said and all it took for my heart to break. One please and my knees were weak. I was not going to leave him here to fight this on his own. Nodding slightly, I extended my hand towards him.
He eyed my outstretched palm and a second later we were rushing back in inside. He shut the doors behind us, pulled in the curtains, blocking the cameras. We sped out of the room, Daniel close on my heels.
I could hear his harsh breathing, the pounding of my own heart. We reached the staircase and just when we were about to go down, we heard the clamour of voices again. Above it all, Evelyn's high pitched and Madison's enraged voices could be heard.
The paparazzi had found their way inside the lobby and my family was trying to keep them back. Or at least I knew Madison was. She had seen what had happened last time. She was witness to my past failures and even though our relationship was hanging by a thread, she would not let this get to me.
A warm hand slipped into mine and I jumped, electricity crackling up my arm. Daniel's haggard eyes found mine, the anxiety popping like thunder in the silver sea of his irises. He needed an out before his ex fiancée — Liliana — got to him. I understood.
The lobby, the gardens, and the shores were cut off; we couldn't reach them without being caught by the cameras. We couldn't go back to his room or mine, in case Noah or Liliana decided to play our sweethearts. We couldn't go to any of the rooms without Evelyn hunting us down.
So, I do the next best thing I can. My eyes rush over a door in the wall labeled Staff Only. I didn't really care about signs at that moment, pulling him after me. He did not hesitate, not until after the door was shut and we were shrouded in darkness.
"Real original, Olivia," he said, taking a tentative step away from me. He bumped into something, the sound of cans clattering to the floor loud and angry.
I stifled a laugh and ran my arm along the wall trying to find the light switch. Thankfully, I found it along the empty space on my left side. Dim light flooded the small room we were closeted in. Despite the situation and the dire screaming of both of our hearts, I chuckled loudly.
Out of all the closed spaces we could have found, the one we landed up in was the cleaning supplies storage space. Daniel scrunched his nose in obvious distaste and I did not fault him. The place stank of water, detergent, and dust.
Subconsciously, I moved away from the grimy door handle, pressing against Daniel. He seemed to lean into me too because I caught a heady scent of his signature wood and coconut cologne. His breathing hitched; I heard the precise moment his chest dropped.
I wasn't faring too well either. Our faces were inches apart. I would only have to stand on my toes and there would be no distance, no space separating us. The urge to do exactly that was overwhelming but I looked away, bit down on my lip, momentarily focusing on the grimy walls and not the Greek god of a man in front of me.
Much to my dismay, Daniel did not have the same thoughts. His hands snaked up my side, sending giddy shock waves racing through me. His fingers found a loose strand of hair that had left my knot during the run. He twined it around with the gentleness of a feather and placed it back behind my ear.
I sucked in a sharp breath, closing my eyes, when his fingertips brushed against the sensitive spot below my ear. "Daniel. . ." I said, slowly, a warning, a plea to not let me be a sobbing puddle on the floor.
"Olivet," he said, drawing out the syllables with the most infinite care. "Talk to me."
My eyes snapped up to meet his. I had assumed he would be calm and silent but his silver storm eyes had taken up the dark blue of a tormented sea. I was suddenly aware of exactly how close we were, his hard chest pressing down just below my chin. It sent my heart galloping wildly and I--
"Olivia?"
"What?" I asked, completely zoning out. Could I really be blamed when his Cupid's bow like lips were so close to mine?
Daniel smiled, a throaty laugh resounding in his throat, reverberating through my body. It felt like an earthquake had swept over me but I wanted more. More of his laugh. More of him pressed against me, carefully tucking away my hair.
"What did he do to you? You paled when that guy stepped in. I saw you." When he spoke, his voice was harsh and threatening, nothing like the gentle touches of his fingers.
I flinched. I had memories of so many painful times that I had somehow boarded up walls around the good ones. Daniel must have seen the horror I was trying to mask fruitlessly because he stepped closer.
At that moment, he was flush against me. All hard planes of his body pushing the soft curves of mine. I felt him, all of him, for the first time and it caused all my thoughts to jumble into a horrid tangle of nerves.
"Olivet," he said, again, putting his arms around my shoulders. There was no hesitation; I sank into them willingly. It felt like giving up control but also like taking up a ton of space. Space that he wanted to give me in the comfort of his presence.
Daniel's chin rested over my head, a calming pressure I did not know I needed. "Don't lock me out, okay? I'd like to know, if you're comfortable with it. You owe me nothing, but I want you to know that I will try to help you. Any way I can."
His words did not feel like mere statements. They felt like oaths, made from a true place of sincerity. When had he changed from a total jerk of a stranger to someone I felt comfortable leaning against?
It didn't take long for me. I talked. "I don't. . . I'm sorry. I despise social media. It's why my university years were ruined for me."
Daniel didn't move, his hands caressed my hair, leaving me trembling. He simply hummed, an acknowledgment that he was listening. I sighed, not knowing how to get the words out.
"I studied Botany, later specialising in Plant Microbiology. My courses were all concerned with Science, even though I was always a fan of literature and arts. I barely had reason to step outside of my study circle. That was when an open to all short story competition was announced."
I felt Daniel's jaw tighten, his corded arms become stiff but his touches remained feather light. "Patricia thought it would do me good to rediscover my love for writing and signed me up. It was during the writing phase that I met Noah. He was the Assistant Professor and he was assigned as our unofficial editor.
"Everything escalated quickly. I loved how he was so well versed in all things literature. He took me out on boat rides and picnics and we talked and talked about poets and the moon. I won the competition and he arranged a whole book themed birthday for me. It was just the two of us, Pat, Robin, Mads, and Joshua.
"Someone outside found out and within hours there were terrible news articles on the school gossip websites about me. They said I was a—"
I stopped, unable to get the words out. Daniel pulled me tighter against him, his jaw clenched above my head. I sank further into him when he said, "It's okay. We'll get through this."
It was then that I couldn't stop the tide of gratitude rising in my heart. It almost forced tears out of my eyes and I wanted Daniel to know I was here for him, too.
As luck would have it — and because my luck is absolute crap — the door flew open, knocking us behind. We crashed into the shelf behind, grabbing at the wall to steady ourselves. When we did, we found Evelyn glowering at us.
Her lips stretched into a thin line. "Olivia Raine Williams, I've had enough. Is this why your mother sent you here? To lure men to closets and get a ring on your finger? For money? My money?"
You could hear a pin drop. That's how silent my surroundings were. I stood rooted to my spot, unable to take my eyes off of Evelyn's furious eyes. I felt my heart constricting in my chest. My mother might have had that intention, but I didn't.
I dared to glance at Daniel and immediately regretted it. His face was red hot, but his eyes were cold. He caught me looking, his posture rigid. "Is this true?"
I couldn't answer. I didn't want to lie to him, not after the moment we had clearly shared but I had a feeling he wasn't going to wait for an explanation. Sensing the gears in my head turning, Daniel moved past Evelyn and left.
Just like that.
"You're no longer welcome here. I got you your wedding date and I even arranged for the paparazzi to get the family impression right. But you messed it all up. Get out," Evelyn spat.
I really didn't have anything to lose and I was not going to stay where Noah was, anyway. "Gladly."