[Unedited]
❝How is it you never notice that you are slowly killing me?❞
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[Angel's POV]
I had just finished work and was exiting the building, keeping my head down as I saw my secretary from the corner of my eye. I still hadn't recovered from my encounter this morning with Harry, I could feel my cheeks heating up just by thinking about it. She had seen him when he left my office looking like a wild animal and I didn't know if she had suspected anything. She gave me a small wave and smiled at me before turning the other way and disappearing from my view.
What had happened earlier with Harry was still fresh in my mind and I couldn't stop thinking about it. The effect he had on me was truly unbelievable, with just one kiss, one touch, he managed to make me give in to him and forget about everything and everyone. When he asked me to break up with Daniel I immediately agreed without thinking twice about it. I almost felt guilty for doing that. I was cheating on Daniel and this had to end, Harry was right, I never loved Daniel. I tried to make myself feel something about him, but I didn't succeed. I was keeping him because I was scared to let him go, I was scared of being alone, but now I was not.
The only thing that was left to do now was to call Daniel and tell him that we needed to talk before Harry found him first. Telling Harry his name was the biggest mistake I ever made, but I didn't realised I said it until it was too late. It was clear to me that the two of them weren't in good terms, they hated each other and now that Harry knew who my boyfriend was I don't think he would let it go like that. That was what scared me. I didn't want Daniel to learn about what happened from Harry. I am the one that should talk to him.
I pushed the doors open and stepped outside. The warm breeze hit my body and I closed my eyes as I took in a deep breath before opening them again and exhaling. My aunt was waiting for me in the car, through the dark windows I could make out her figure and I could see that she was talking on the phone.
I started walking towards the car, but stopped immediately when my phone started ringing in my bag. I placed a piece of hair behind my ear and looked down, inside my bag for the phone. My hand grabbed it and when my eyes landed on the name flashing across the screen I felt dizzy. Daniel's name was causing my heart to beat fast and I licked my lips, gulping as I swiped my finger across the screen and answered the call. I was feeling scared. What if Harry had found him and told him everything?
"Daniel?" My voice was small, shaking slightly as I said his name. No one talked. I couldn't even hear his breathing, no sound was made.
I frowned.
"Daniel are you there?" I asked.
Again no one talked. I was starting to think that he had called me by accident and was about to hung up, but in the last minute a sound was heard causing me stand still, alarmed.
"I was going to search for you, but you made it easier for me by coming here." A voice said and my eyes widened. I could never mistake that voice, that same voice that sang to me over the phone when I couldn't sleep. That deep and relaxing voice that always made me feel safe. It didn't sound so reassuring at the moment. Harry sounded angry, his voice had a certain edge to it.
My lips parted as if to speak, but nothing came out. All my fears were coming true. Harry was with Daniel and his words were replaying in my head.
He will pay.
"I came here because I thought that he can talk this through. Make peace." Daniel told him. He, unlike Harry, sounded calm.
What? Daniel had gone to find Harry?
"Daniel! Harry!" I called both there names desperately, bringing the phone closer to my lips as I raised my voice. No, no, no. This wasn't good, this wouldn't end well.
"We can talk after I finish with you, if you will be able to talk after that, of course. I will fûcking kill you." It was Harry who said that, his voice was low and dangerous, and it made me believe every single thing he said. He wasn't joking, he was going to kill him. Oh my God!
"Harry stop!" I yelled in the phone, but no one heard me. What the hell was happening? My hands were shaking as I gripped the phone tighter.
Then suddenly a weird sound was heard from the other line and someone groaned. I didn't have time to say anything else because the call ended. I didn't know if it was me who did it or something else happened, I didn't care. I looked down at my phone and called again, my heart was about to burst out of my chest, but no one picked it up. Fuck!
"Answer damn it!" I cursed loudly, running my fingers through my hair in frustration. The scenarios in my mind were endless, I was scared that Harry would do something stupid, something reckless. His anger would consume him and that would cloud his judgement. If anything bad happened to Daniel I don't think I would be able to forgive him and I didn't want to lose him now that I found him.
Suddenly someone placed his hand on my shoulder and I jumped in surprise as I tirned around. My aunt was standing in front of me with a worried expression on her face, her blue eyes were narrowed as she studied my face and her eyebrows were furrowed together, lips pressed into a straight line. She tilted her head to the side and spoke.
"What happened? You look pale." She asked me with curiosity evident in her voice.
My eyes flickered one more time on the phone in my hands and I shook my head taking a step back from her.
This was my fault. I was the one that caused this mess. I should have never agreed to meet Harry when he asked me to, I should have kept my promise to Daniel and not see him again. Everything would have been so different then. No one would have been in danger and I wouldn't feel so damn guilty.
"H-Harry, he learnt a-about Daniel." I told her, my voice trembling.
Her eyes widened and she slowly started putting the pieces together. She knew.
"That's not good. Call Daniel." She told me, pointing to my phone.
"It's too late. They are together at the moment and I'm so scared that something bad will happen. I have this feeling. Harry will do something stupid." I explained to her. "I don't want to lose him again." I whispered the last part.
My aunt exhaled deeply and wrapped her arms around me, resting her head on top of mine.
"Let's hope that it doesn't happen like that." She said and I could hear the uncertainty in her voice.
Please, Harry, don't.
* * *
I was feeling extremely nervous and scared as I approached Daniel's house. Since that day that I overheard his conversation with Harry on the phone two days have passed and neither of them had contacted me. I had called Daniel many times, trying to find out if he was fine, but he never picked up his phone. I was getting tired of leaving him voicemails he would never listen. He was completely ignoring me, so I decided to come to his house and solve this out.
Harry on the other hand disappeared out of the blue. Not only didn't he answer any of my calls, but also when I called at the hotel to ask about him, they told me that he wasn't staying there anymore. The possibility of him leaving me forever crossed my mind multiple times, but I was still hoping that he would appear again.
"Angelina, you have to do this." I murmured to myself as I prepared my fist to knock on the wooden door.
I could do this. I could talk with him and solve this mess, It was simple. Simple. I was preparing my speech in my head, thinking of what to say and how to act around him, when suddenly the door in front of me opened widely and I jumped back in surprise, bringing my hand over my chest.
My eyes trailed up towards the face of the man standing in front of me, Daniel, and a soft gasp escaped my lips as I took in his appearance. He looked so broken.
His face was bruised badly, purple and yellowish spots marking his once spotless face, his bottom lip had a small cut and was swollen and his nose...well, his nose looked like it was broken badly. I felt like vomiting as I saw his injuries, I wasn't sure what to think or feel. I knew who was responsible for this.
Harry.
"Oh God, Daniel, what happened?" I asked taking a hesitant step towards him. I extented my hand out and when he didn't flinch away, I placed it on his cheek gently. The small action, though, still hurt him and he hissed, closing his eyes briefly. I knew very well what had happened, I just didn't know what else to say.
"I think you know who is responsible for this, Angelina." He stated, giving me a hard look.
I gulped.
"Daniel-" I started to say in hopes to explain myself, but he stopped me. Who knew what Harry had told him?
"No, there is nothing to explain." He pointed to his face. "This can't be changed. Look what he fûcking did to me, Angelina! I tried to be polite and make things better between us, I really wanted us to leave the past behind us, but look what he did. He is a psychopath! He started yelling at me for no reason and then attacked me." He informed me, raising his voice a bit. We were still standing by the door and I looked around me to make sure that no one was around. I didn't want anyone else listening our conversation.
Daniel understood my worry and stepped on the side, making space for me to walk inside. I did just that and he closed the door behind me before sighing deeply.
I turned around to look at him.
"Daniel, I didn't know he would do that." I told him. He shook his head, laughing dryly.
"I told you to stay away from him. I told you he was bad news, yet, you didn't listen to me and brought him in our lives. I said that I understood, but this is too much for me. Look at my fûcking face, Angelina. He fûcked me up!" Daniel yelled, throwing his accusations at my face. I looked down, biting my lip, in shame. I couldn't deny anything he said, not when he was right. It was all my fault.
"I'm sorry." I whispered softly.
"Sorry. Angelina, that word can't solve nothing, not when the damage has already been done." He walked past me and I grabbed his arm, pulling him back to me. I wasn't done talking.
"Daniel, I didn't know things would turn out like this. I never wanted to hurt you." I told him, looking into his dark eyes that were watching me intently. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, I didn't even know what I was apologising to him about. About cheating on him, about Harry hurting him... I don't know.
"He will never change, Angelina. He will always be the same controlling, violent man he always was and you can't change that. Some people are just not meant to be changed. I knew that Harry was one of them and I told you to stay away. Sylvia did the same." He run his fingers through his hair, messing it up and I looked down at my hand which was still gripping his arm.
I let him go and took a shaky breath.
"I didn't know that, Daniel. Damn it, I can't remember a thing about my past. I just was happy that I found someone that I knew before the accident, I thought that being around him would help me get my memory back. You have to believe me."
Daniel didn't respond instead he walked to the living room and sat down on a couch, talking the glass filled with liquor, that was standing on the coffee table, in his hand. He took a sip from it and I took careful steps forwards until I was standing in front of him.
It was really hurting me to watch him like that, in this pain and all bruised as he searched for comfort from the alcohol in his hand. I couldn't break him even more by telling him what really happened with Harry, I just couldn't. He didn't know, Harry hadn't told him anything. At least he didn't do that.
"Daniel." I said his name softly.
He shut his eyes as he forced himself to drink the while thing at once and slammed the empty glass back on the table. His eyes flickered up to look at me and a small, almost sarcastic, smirk appeared on his face as he leaned back on the couch defeated.
"What I don't understand is why he was so angry. Did you give him any hope that you could be back together again?" He asked me, clenching his jaw.
My throat tightened, my mouth felt dry and I simply stared at him with wide eyes. I had given Harry more than just hope, I had told him that I would break up with Daniel and now thus happened. I couldn't break up with Daniel when he was in this state, I couldn't bring myself to do it.
"I-I, Daniel, p-please-" I was stuttering badly, my nerves were getting the best of me. I couldn't tell him anything.
"Angelina." His voice was low and controlled as he said my name, urging me to speak. "Did you?" He asked again.
I clenched my fist and looked down at my feet in shame, I couldn't hold his gaze for any longer.
"I kissed him." I told him.
Silence followed, he didn't spoke and I build up the courage to look at him. He was looking back at me, anger written all over his face, but he still managed to stay calm. If it was Harry in his place he would have started yelling and breaking things and I would understand that, but Daniel wasn't like Harry and something about the calmness he show scared me. I didn't know what he would do. He was unpredictable.
From the corner of my eye I saw his fist clench, his eyebrows furrowed together and the bruises on his face made him look threatening. I held my breath, waiting for him to yell, to do something, anything.
He didn't.
"Say something." I whispered.
"What do you want me to say, Angelina. I'm trying hard to control myself." He told me.
"I'm sorry."
"Did anything else happen?" He asked, his voice shaking slightly.
"No." I lied.
"You don't regret it. You are not sorry for kissing him, Angelina. I can see it." He stated and I shook my head.
"Daniel, don't do this." I pled. I was already feeling awful about myself, I couldn't do this conversation with him now. It wasn't only a kiss we shared, it was much more and I didn't regret any of it, even though, I should.
"Do what? Ask to know the truth? You feel something about him, it's quite obvious to me by now. You don't want to hurt me, but you are hurting me." He stood up, pushing everything that was on the table with his arm and letting them shatter against the floor. The sound caused me to flinch and I took a step back from the mess he created. "I was by your side all this time, I did whatever you wanted, you wanted tima and I gave you time. I gave you everything! And what did you do? You betrayed me with him. A man that never respected you, that never truly loved you!" He yelled.
"You don't know that!" I snapped at him.
"It's the truth and you should know it. You loved him, but he never loved you as much as you did." He continued saying. "And now he comes back again to mess with your mind. Can't you see that I love you?"
"I know that you love me, Daniel. Please, don't make this hard for me." I told him as I saw him approaching me slowly.
"This is harder for me. How would you feel if you were in my shoes?" He asked. In the light of the room his face looked even worse, it looked painful want Harry did to him.
"You're right and I'm sorry." I said, a frown taking over my face as my thoughts drifted to Harry again. Where was he now? "W-what happened exactly?" I asked him, eyeing his injuries so that he knew what I was talking about.
"I went to find him in the hotel he stayed at and talk to him. I want to put an end to this, but he obviously didn't want that. He attacked me immediately and I didn't have time to react fast enough. Everything happened in a blur and then the security men found us, they stopped him and called the police." He informed me.
"The police?" I asked with panic in my voice. That's why he wasn't answering my calls?
Daniel seemed to sense my worry and I didn't miss the way his jaw clenched before he walked to the counter standing in the corner of the room. He poured himself another glass of whiskey and turned to look at me, taking a small sip of it. How much did he have to drink?
"Don't worry, he is fine. I didn't press any charges against him." He said bitterly, eyeing the brown liquid inside the glass in his hands.
I raised an eyebrow at him in confusion. "Why?" I questioned.
He chuckled darkly.
"Because I'm an idiot. Because I didn't want you to hate me." He replied, resting his head on the wall and looking down at the floor. I wanted to go to him, but my feet weren't listening to me. I didn't know what to say. He thought about me, about what I would want, whereas Harry put his anger first.
He ruined everything.
"I don't know what to say." I told him truthfully.
He didn't meet my eyes.
"Leave, Angelina. Just leave, please. I want to be alone." He said, his voice was laced with pain and I decided to listen to him.
"Ok, as you wish, but we haven't finished yet." I told him. They were still many things to discuss with him. "Goodnight, Daniel."
Again he said nothing and I respected that. I had messed everything up.
* * *
I stepped out of my car and closed the door behind me, locking it. I was still a bit shaken by what had happened with Daniel and what he had told me. The events that took place these days have me thinking that what I was about to do with Harry wasn't a smart idea. I still had to break up with Daniel, it was the right thing to do, for him and for me, but I don't think I will be able to forgive Harry for what he did. He only proved to me that he never changed, he was still the person everyone thought.
I still couldn't understand why he acted the way he did. Was his hatred towards Daniel so big that he couldn't control it?
A noise from behind me cause me to jump a bit and I looked around the dark and quite neighbourhood. I couldn't see anything, but that didn't make the fear that I was feeling dissolve so I quickly turned around again and started walking fast towards the direction of my house.
I was only a few feet away when I felt someone else's presence behind me and I stopped in my tracks, my eyes widened slightly and I gulped as I felt a hot breath on my shoulder. The person standing behind me didn't say anything and after a few seconds he reached his hand out and touched my arm.
"Angelina." He said.
It was Harry.
Without thinking it twice I pulled away from him and turned my body to face him in disbelief. He really was here. His green eyes looked so bright as the moonlight hit them and I looked at the rest of his face to see that he was completely unharmed. He was the only one that caused damage and I felt my cheeks getting red with anger as I remembered the way he had hurt Daniel.
"Darling, I-"
I cut him off before he could say anything else with a hard slap on his face, which caused his cheek to turn red. Touching his cheek he licked his lips and stared down at me with a stern expression.
I wasn't done.
"You, you selfish bastard! I thought you changed, you told me you changed and I believed you! How could you do that?" I yelled at him, hitting his chest with each word I said. He didn't move or try to stop me, instead he just stood there welcoming what I was giving him.
"How?" I demanded and was about to hit him again, but this time he caught both my wrists in his hands and stopped me. He pulled me closer to his body, until our chests were touching and I was breathing in his cologne. I was breathing heavily as I tilted my head up to meet his intense gaze. His face was just inches away from mine.
"You have to listen to me. I don't care what you say, you are coming with me." He told me and before I had time to react he was already guiding me to his car.
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