'Dang! She is treating me like a stranger apparently, huh. But you can't trick me with that nonchalant look. I know you are affected by me, Aemii.'
Daniel Coulter stared at her butt as Aemii took her leave, she clenched her fist which indicated her nervousness. And he knew every single gesture of hers, it was somewhat easy for him to figure out that she was clearly troubled by him.
The man traced his thumb over his own lips while looking around for any spying eyes. Daniel had been visiting Richardson every now and then, before he took over the business and became occupied.
'I want to know first whether you still have some soft spot for me or not. Oh, Aemii! You little sneaky hamster!'
Seeing her suppressive panic Daniel was elated, he was sure how to proceed now. But before that approaching Aemii in private was the crucial requirement. He had to make sure she accepts his presence and would think of him as first thought, even thought it would be pessimistic.
Daniel scurried behind her without any noise, no one could practically stop him from doing anything in the villa. He was a relative of Richardson and had the same authority, hence nobody was suspicious of him. And Daniel was well aware of how to seize every single opportunity to execute his plan.
And that particular gain encouraged him to sneak in Aemii's room without any worry. Daniel felt his heart coming into his mouth with every step, he opened the door and saw Aemii's back towards him.
'Oh my goodness! She is...wait, is she crying?'
Before Daniel could do anything or spout anything foul, Aemii's sobbing fell in his ears which forced him to halt. He felt his chest aching and something hard became stuck in his abdomen.
'Who the hell made her cry!?'
He did not want to accept the fact that Aemii was disturbed by his presence. Hence he neglected that obvious possibility and stepped closer to hold her in arms. Daniel had always liked her but he was torn and unsure of how to name his feelings.
No doubt he felt disgusted and angry upon seeing the news, and numerous mixed emotions clouded his senses. He knew at once that under the impulse he could not let go of Aemii, he wanted her back at every cost. Although Daniel's initial plan was to take revenge for cheating, but he had no clue that the hamster he was preparing to hunt was actually the hunter!
Whereas Aemii was not expecting him to invade her privacy that fast. However she was aware that nothing good would come from him, but perhaps Daniel was not going to hold back for long.
"Aemii!"
He called out her name reflexively which snagged her attention.
Aemii turned around with a shiver, her teary eyes glanced at Daniel who felt his heart clenching. Her eyes were smeared with the smudges of eyeliner, resentment was visible in her eyes which soon turned into anger.
The woman turned around only to see Daniel advancing close to her, when she reflexively ebbed.
"What are you doing here in my room!?"
Her reaction stunned Daniel, who was expecting some familiarity on her face. But things turned out to be different when Aemii behaved cautiously towards him.
'Is she afraid of me? But why? I have never hurt her, it's been her who cheated on me with Richardson.'
Aemii's trembling lips satisfied his rage and caused a smirk on Daniel's face, the man rushed towards her and reached for the woman's waist. Within a swift motion she was in his arms and tucked to his chest.
"Hello, dear ex-wife!"
Daniel's meaningful whisper sent a shiver down her spine, as Aemii could feel her body reacting to his touch.
Her face was barely inches apart as Daniel starred in her eyes, he probably was finding any hint hoping that she still loved him.
"What are...what do you want?"
Aemii tried to sound confident but her quivering lips assured that Daniel's presence disturbed her. She did not imagine him to turn out Richardson' relative or anyone who could be related to her fiance.
"What do you think I want?"
Daniel leaned in and tightened his grip around her waist, due to their heights Aemii had to lift her head to glance him into his eyes.
"Tell me Aemii, why do you think I'm here?"
She could feel herself longing for his touch, perhaps that moment was similar to what she had been imagining ever since her marriage with Daniel.
Aemii could potentially feel suffocated due to the realization that she was stuck between two men. But she had to stay strong considering that Daniel could not be trusted, and she had to stay put. Aemii pushed him but Daniel pulled her again forcefully, she gritted her teeth and smacked him on the chest.
"Leave me alone, Daniel!"
Aemii struggled to break free from his strong arms, her agitation and tears made Daniel uncomfortable. He did not want to hear those words from her mouth, which displayed a contrast to her tears. Daniel tightened his grip even more that Aemii was trapped in his arms.
"Leave you alone? How can I leave you alone, love? I came all the way just to meet you and-"
Daniel's eyes were filled with pain as he shouted, his explanations perhaps no affect on her. Aemii grabbed the collars of his shirt and pulled him closer, her crying eyes threw spades of anger towards him with hatred.
"You came here to ruin my wedding, Daniel!"
She yelled with a cold tone, which pierced his heart into two. Daniel could not deny that statement which was true and held importance since that was exactly his motive. However Aemii' resentment did not stop there as she hit him with another arrow.
"Tell me Daniel, did you ever love me? Did you EVER feel something for me, which was not for your own benefit?"
There was utter agony in her eyes and her tone indicated those painful memories of those married months. She demanded an answer from him, whereas Daniel had no clue how to state his emotions.
He was unsure himself, despite knowing that Aemii cheated on him with Richardson; he was unable to despise her to the point of hating. Nonetheless he felt helpless, only if he could pour out his heart and let Aemii decide what was his emotions called.
"Aemii, I...I liked you and I still do. I never stopped thinking about you."
Daniel started to briefly explain how he spent his tie without her. But Aemii interrupted him with another counter statement.
"Do you dare call divorcing me love!? You know Daniel, you are a selfish person who tricked me into that marriage for his own gain. Hah! And you still dare label your self-interest love?"
She scoffed and smirked at his lousy explanation, Aemii thought that he might finally had something sweet to say to her. If not congratulating her, she still expected something nice for the sake of their loveless married months.
Daniel was stunned to hear her rebuking which held poisonous words. He release her waist and ebbed considering that she was no the woman whom he had left months ago.
Whereas Aemii was not willing to spare him now that Daniel was digging up the dirt. She wanted the answers of those unasked questions, the woman wipsed off her tears with her knuckles.
The lady stared at him to figure out some remorse, but all she could see was blank eyes and an ignorant expression of his face. On the other hand Daniel had no idea what she had been talking about, since his uncle had sneakily arranged their divorce and Aemii was not even given a chance to bid goodbye to him.
'What is she talking about? Self interest?'
Daniel was confused by her calim but for some reason it also made him think over the past. He was suspicious of his own relatives but never imagined that someone would could such a horrible thing to him.
Aemii lunged towards him and slapped Daniel hard on his left cheek. The man did not stop her from doing so, guilt occupied his heart and he was shamed for not being able to do anything.
However Daniel immediately grasped what had happened back then and it made him sad. Although the man still had held grudge regarding her cheating, and could not swallow the particular fact.
'If I will say something at the moment, Aemii, you will not believe me. But I will make sure to figure out our emotions too. I know you have been fed with the lies by my uncle and the infested poison is old and deeply rooted now. It also concerns me with the possibility that I have been told lies about you too.'
The man totally grasped the whole situation and became concerned that if they both had fallen a prey to the lies, and loved each other then the marriage had to be called off. On the other hand Aemii assumed that he was playing dumb deliberately which infuriated her.
She glanced at him with hatred while declaring her love and mocking Daniel. Aemii did not want him back now even if she wanted to, because Richardson was a gentleman and had been treating her like a queen with affection.
"You know what Daniel, you will know that it's love when it will not happen the same way again. Those emotions are not something which can be shared with everyone, but what would you know about it, hah!"
Aemii stepped forward with confident while her particular words stirred something within Daniel.
"Get this in your head Daniel, it will be good for both of us. I don't want you in my life, don't think I will hold back if you try to ruin my wedding."
She threatened him and left the room, whereas Daniel slumped on the floor on his knees while watching the opened door. He could not believe what he just heard and it shooed off all his doubts partially.
"Oh my goodness! Does this mean you love me not Richie?"
His soft whisper resonated in the room, if the words had some intensity then they must have shaken the whole damned villa!