THE WEIRD FRIEND

"I know, but this is your class, and I can afford it, even more than this. And a queen should be treated just like one. This is the only way for me to feel that I deserve you—by seeing you happy and taking you to places in your class," he argues.


Well, do I have a choice here? No, because I'm blushing again, and I don't want to look like an idiot out here blashing like this. "And me? What do I have to do?" I implore, parking my hand on top of his and cloaking the grin.

With my eyes closed, I soak in the sweetness of his gestures and the sincerity of his words, feeling a profound sense of gratitude for the love we share.

"Finally, I get to meet Mr. Lover Boy!"


Damn!

Shit!


We snap in the direction of that rich voice. A young man stands before us. Well, he looks so young to possess such a scary, heavy voice, in my opinion. And the way he is flickering his eyeballs and licking his lips, is he drunk?

He fixes his eyes on me, scouring every inch of my body as far as his eyes can reach. I was beginning to grow apprehensive with his nonessential stern stares, but his facial articulations abruptly altered. He turns to Damian.

"Miss, Riccaford?!" He exclaims with wrinkles all over his face, a whiff of alcohol sweeping through the air after his words.

Ooh, it's that again? Damn! I accepted a massive portion of puff that I didn't know I was holding until now.

Damian springs up to his feet, and I do the same as he takes slow strides to my side and wraps an arm around my waist. "Yes. And I would appreciate it if you would stop making my fiancee uncomfortable with that disgusting look on your face, Daniel."

The Daniel guy smirks, shaking off the awe from his face. He was really disgusting to me. What is with my name that everyone seems to be so in awe of after learning my identity?to His reaction was similar to the one Damian pulled when he read my resume. "Sorry, man. I just didn't expect that of all the women there are in the world, it would be her? Like, seriously, Duke? Are you for real?"

The way he asking, huh? Why? Am I off-limits to Damian?

"And if only I knew you would come here tipsy, I wouldn't have called you," Damian responds with a tinge of anger in his icy tone.

'Oh, come on! You know me. I am always sober, even when I am tipsy. I can read the weight of all this.

'Tipsy and sober can never be used in the same sentence, Daniel. Stop making yourself look more of a fool than alcohol is parading you as," Damian cut him off.

Daniel smirks bitterly. 'Drunkards speak nothing but the truth. Are you afraid of that?"

'Drunkards spit all sorts of rubbish," Damian cuts him off again, leaving me in awe as I watch them bickering. 'Like you, Daniel. You are spitting too much rubbish!"

Okay? So, they are going to do this all night? In front of me?

Daniel sighs. "I am sorry again, buddy! Forgive my manners. So what does she know about?"

"I was hoping to introduce you to her, but not like this," Damian says again. He seems to be really pissed off at his buddy. I didn't know he could get this riled up by some drunk person. 'We will do this some other time when you are sober."

He then turns to me, draping his arm around my waist. "Let's get out of here, babe." He grabs my purse from the table, but this other guy is itching to keep us here.

I kind of seem to stroke his ass in a way that I don't like. "Come on, man! I am not that drunk." He speaks. "Tell me more. About her, you, and that."

"One more word," Damian fires, cutting Daniel off with a reverberating growl, his murderous glares toping the anger in him, "and I will forget where we are and get that alcohol out of your system."

Whoa! Wait, what exactly are they? Buddies? I don't think so. I mean, are they? Would he get this pissed off by his buddy?

Daniel playfully raises his hands up, conceding defeat.

"Get out of my face," Damian orders, and Daniel steps aside, paving the way for us as Damian pulls me out. A few steps away, our steps are halted by Daniel's voice calling Damian again.

We stop and turn around for him. He strolls toward us, keeping a safe distance. "Good luck with this, man! I feel like you need all the luck you can get, my friend." He mumbles, looking straight into Damian's eyes, whose grip on me tightens, as he is transmitting a memo to him through the glare.

"She is the luck I need. Keep yours to your fucking self!"

Before I can ask what is happening here, Damian turns me around and leads the way out of the hotel.

How weird?

Why does he need luck with me, huh? Why? Do I look like someone who can't love him the way he deserves? What is with all the puzzles in Daniel's reaction?


‘Unfortunately, the miracle that welcomed her into her own house shattered all her hopes and dreams. Her boyfriend and her stepsister were having the best sex of their lives on her own bed. The betrayal left her broken and hopeless. She felt humiliated and disrespected. She was fooled and taken for a ride for two years. Nothing made sense to her anymore. For a moment, she thought that there was no need to fight her impending fate. But then the range she felt aroused a strong desire in her. The desire to rebel against her father. She has a desire to make a difference in her way of life.

Against all the things that were at stake, despite how her decision would affect the relationship between her and her father or how much the company that meant everything to her father would be affected, Ellie did what her heart urged her to do—she packed her bags and ran off. She didn't know how long she would hide from her father, but she took the chance anyway.'