Chapter three
The night ended up in a blur, I did not remember much after that, just that I kept drinking till the point that Daniel had to stop me.
It was kind of fun; it was freeing and made me feel good. I finally had some kind of hope and I loved the feeling.
When morning came, my eyes fluttered open to the loud ringing of my annoying alarm on my phone. It kept going off and I groaned as I found the device and turned it off. When it was off, I found some peace and lied down back on the bed.
I closed my eyes for a few seconds and then it clicked in my mind. My eyes shot open immediately and I looked around to see that I was not in my bed! Oh, my gosh, where was I?
The first thing that I did after that was check to see if I still had my dress on, and I did. I sighed, running my hand through my messy hand. I sat up on the bed and continued to look around.
The room I was in was obviously not mine. From the floor-to-ceiling windows with the great view, it was obvious that I was in a high-rise. I dragged myself from the bed as my head pounded. The headache was strong.
You see, this was the thing I hated about drinking—the hangover the next morning. I felt like sh*t.
The floor was cold but the air was warm and filled with a pleasant smell. I hugged myself as I looked around, trying my hardest to remember how I had ended up here. Was this Daniel's place?
Gosh, I hoped it was, and I had not gone home with a creep that I did not know. I mean, I did not know Daniel that well either but I would still prefer that this be his place than another stranger.
I walked towards the door and poked my head outside, looking down the hallway. The place was huge and very luxurious. I don't think I had ever been in such a fancy place before.
I decided to leave the room and look for anyone. I needed to be sure that I was not in the penthouse of a serial killer. I walked down the hallway and soon entered the living room.
That was when the smell of breakfast hit my nose and my stomach growled in response. Man, I was hungry. I followed the smell and soon I heard music playing too. When I reached the kitchen, that was when my eyes fell on him.
It was Daniel.
I released a breath that I did not know that I was holding and walked towards him. He was shirtless and only in his boxer briefs. When he saw me approaching him, he did not seem to care that he was half-naked.
I guess maybe it was a guy thing.
"Look who's awake," He chuckled the words out as he turned his attention back to the eggs he was frying. "I want to ask how you slept but I already know the answer. You either had the best or sh*ttiest sleep of your life." He laughed.
"I don't really remember anything," I replied to him as I lingered in the space. The eggs smelled so good and from where I was standing, I saw that the guy had made pancakes, bacon, and a few other things.
It was obvious that Daniel was loaded, I mean, I should have known that based on what he was wearing last night, but maybe I had been too drunk and raw to care.
"Well, I don't care really. I only care about one thing, and that was a decision you made last night." He glanced at me for a quick second before looking back.
"I—I don't understand."
He turned off the stove and then wiped his hands before giving me his full attention. "Your decision to work with me to make Damion pay for his sins."
"Oh," I dragged the word as realizations set in. Now that I was sober, the whole thing felt a bit…I don't know. "The guy's a powerful CEO, Daniel. I don't know…"
"Powerful or not, he's going to pay. So please tell me right now that you're not going to chicken out." He pleaded with me with his eyes.
I hooked some of my hair behind my ears and sighed. "I don't want any trouble, really. Yeah, my dad was in the CIA but he's dead now because of it. My Mom paid for that too. I was spared, so why would I put my life on the line again?"
He took a step closer to me and folded his strong arms on his chest. "Because you want to stand up for your boyfriend; because you want to bring him justice for what happened."
"It still won't bring him back though," I replied, my voice breaking a bit. I swallowed the emotions and tried to appear strong.
But I promise you that it will make every day a lot easier for you. Are you not tired of being in pain?"
I released a shaky sigh, and after a few seconds, I asked, "What do you want me to do?"
"It's our decision to make, Claire. What do you want to do?"
I fI was being honest, what I wanted was to find out what had really happened to my boyfriend. I wanted to be able to sleep better at night and not cry myself to sleep almost every night. I wanted to be happy again.
And if this was what it was going to take to make me whole again, then hell yeah. "I want to make Damion pay."
"Good," He replied without missing a beat. He then unfolded his arms from his chest and released a breath. "Let's have breakfast and then after that, we're going to start the first part of the plan."
"The first part of the plan?"
"Yep," He popped the p in the word. "You're going to be going to his villa."