Waking up the next morning, Astrid found Darius sitting on his desk and writing swiftly in a large book, a phone placed between his ear and his shoulder.
"I just told you, Joaquin! Call the architects and the civil engineers today. I'll pay any amount. Cancel all my meetings." He instructed. His voice seemed shaky.
"I don't have time for jokes, dammit!" He shouted over the phone. "She's not doing too well, you know that. I have to see her now." He stood up and closed the book.
"Yes. I'll call you when I see her. Take care of the office for me." He hung up and took deep, shaky breaths. Astrid saw that his hands were having serious tremors. He grabbed fistfuls of his hair and turned to the bed.
"What's wrong?" Astrid frowned, standing up.
"My mother. She's sick. I have to go now." He answered, walking out of the room.
"Let me come with you." She offered, wanting to see Nikoleta.
"No. Stay right here. I'll be back." He opened the door.
"But I want to see her. What happened to her?" She asked, stubbornly following him out of the room.
"Just stay. You can't come with me. I'm fully dressed, and you just woke up. It'll only make things slow—"
"I can always brush and have a quick shower. It won't be long." She ran to keep her pace with his hasty strides.
"I don't have that kind of time." He refused, hurrying down the stairs.
"Please, Darius. Just let me—"
"Stay the fuck at home! I don't need you!" He screamed at her.
She paused and shook her head. "I'm not going for you. I just want to see her." She told him, still adamant.
"Don't do this right now. I have to leave as soon as possible." He sighed.
"Then I'll come right now. I don't need to have a bath." Astrid stubbornly urged.
"Astrid, go to your room." He walked away. Running after him, Astrid grabbed his hand.
He immediately turned and grabbed her by the neck, making her gasp loudly. "If you hold me like this one more time, you won't like what I'll do to you." He threatened.
"Y-You're hurting me." She squeaked, genuine fear visible in her eyes. Darius let go of her, surprised at his own actions.
He left without a word, while Astrid ran to her room before her parents would see her horrified face right after waking up.
Darius got into his Ferrari F8 Spider and drove off, his bodyguards way behind him due to his speed. He felt jittery, his mind caught between what he had just done to Astrid and how his mother was doing.
"Próseche pou pas re maláka! Watch where you're going, asshole!" A woman screamed at him as he almost ran her over with his car.
The last thing he did was slow down. He just increased his speed as he got to a deserted road which led to his mother's house.
As he reached, he hurried into the living room and found Amelia, one of his mother's attendants. "Where is she?!" He barked, restless.
"In her room, sir." Amelia replied, bowing.
He rushed up the stairs and barged into Nikoleta's room. "Why are you acting like I died? Calm down." Nikoleta laughed as soon as he scampered towards her.
"I already told you to start your radiotherapy. Stop doing this to me, mitéra." He knelt beside her bed and placed his head on her chest.
"If I'm going to die, let me die without losing my precious hair." Nikoleta joked, playing with her son's hair.
"Don't speak like that, agápi mou, my love. Please. You can't die." Darius said softly, placing airy kisses on her hands.
"That's why you need to get married to Astrid as soon as possible. That's something I want to see." She smiled at him.
Darius frowned and shook his head. "Will you start radiotherapy, then?" He asked.
"I can't. I really don't want to. I want to beat it just the way it is." She shook her head.
"I need you alive, mum. Please." He begged as tears welled his eyes.
"I know that. Just know that if the cancer kills me," before Darius could protest, she continued, "then I want you to get married before I die."
"Mother!" He whined.
"Do you love her, Darius?" She asked. Darius knew that if he said yes, he would be lying straight to her face. If he said no, she would be stressed about it.
"Maybe. Isn't that why I proposed?" He gave an answer that wasn't too straightforward.
Nikoleta sat up and stared hard at her son. "Listen to me clearly. If you break her heart, I won't be happy with you." She told him with a serious frown.
"I won't." Darius assured her.
"I have to go dress shopping with Astrid. In fact, we'll have Cassia design her wedding dress. It'll be the best wedding of the century! Have you even started planning anything, yet?" Nikoleta grabbed her phone and started to call someone.
"Yes, Cassia? Are you at the office? Good. I'll be coming with Darius's fiancée. Bring out all the wedding dresses and fabrics you can think of. Thank you." She hung up and looked at her son. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go to your house and let me take Astrid to one of your wedding stores."
"You're not feeling too well." Darius protested.
"I simply felt dizzy. The doctor just left, and I'm okay now! Let's go." She stood up and grabbed Darius by the hand, making memories of what had happened with Astrid replay in his mind.
"I can't win this argument against you, can I?" He asked with a shake of his head.
"Not in the least." She replied as they both got into his car.
.
"Astrid!" Astrid turned to the door leading to the dining hall. Nikoleta stood there with a bright smile.
"Hi!" Astrid stood up, hugging Nikoleta. "Are you okay? I heard you weren't doing great."
"Very okay, darling." Nikoleta answered, waving it off.
"Is this your mother, Darius?" Caleb, who was sitting and eating with Rose, asked.
"Yes. Mother, these are Caleb and Rose Peyton; Astrid's parents." Darius introduced.
"You didn't tell me they were here, Darius." She gave her son a disappointed look. "It's so good to finally meet you two. Now I know that my son is serious about Astrid." She hugged Rose and Caleb.
After a brief moment of silence, Nikoleta spoke up. "I was thinking of meeting a designer to make the wedding dress today. We can go together, Rose."
"Sure." Rose smiled. She was very tough to crack, but Nikoleta had somehow gotten on her good side in an instant. This made Darius feel uneasy.
"Can we talk?" Goosebumps rose upon Astrid's skin as Darius came up behind her and whispered.
"About what?" She asked harshly.
"I just wanted to apologize for what happened earlier. I didn't know what I was doing, and I freaked out." He explained.
"And that's why you wanted to kill me?" She scoffed bitterly.
"I didn't want to kill you. You were getting on my nerves. On a normal day, I would have punished you for it." He leaned closer, letting his hot breath fan her neck directly. He knew he had an effect on her, and he enjoyed the mild teasing.
"Punished? What does that mean?" She asked, turning to him.
"Do you really want to know?" He asked, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips.
"Not really." Astrid shook her head warily.
"I could show you." He tried to coerce her.
"Can I trust you?" She asked, still suspicious of his intentions.
"It's your choice. I could pass for a trustworthy person." He gave her a charming smile.
"Then show me."