I Laughed Chapter 15

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Amara:

I reached Daniel's apartment, and Milan opened the car door for me. As I stood in front of his door, I rang the bell, and after a few minutes, it opened to reveal Daniel, shirtless and in sweats, with damp blue hair, wiping it with a towel. His eyes widened and so did mine, and I couldn't help but notice his appearance, but I quickly shook off the distraction and walked in. Daniel closed the door behind him and asked how I managed to come here.

I looked around his apartment, taking in the new surroundings. It was my first time at his place. He turned to face me, "How did you get here?"

"Father gave me permission to come here and Milan is right outside." He nodded in understanding and dropped the damp towel on a chair, disappearing into another room. He came back wearing a black T-shirt. I just sat there as I played with my dress sleeve.

"You want a drink?" He asked as he stood in the hallway, his blue hair was looking darker than before probably because it was wet, I shook my head. He nodded his head and disappeared into the kitchen, he returned with a can of beer for himself and sat down on the couch in front of me. 

"Why are you here?" His question kind of hurt but I didn't let that show on my face. Taking a deep breath, I said, "Dan, I am so sorry for not telling you about the marriage, I swear I am really sorry." There was a brief silence before he replied, "It's fine, Amara besides I am not mad at you for not telling me you are getting married but I am mad at you for the fact that you are getting married." 

"What do you mean?" I asked, and he replied with a simple nothing, assuming he doesn't want to talk about it I didn't press on the topic.

"Are you still mad?" I asked again just to be sure although he had already mentioned he isn't mad I still wanted to be sure. He laughed, saying he wasn't. I laughed too, feeling relieved. I reached for the can of beer in his hands and took a sip,

"Hey! Romano, I specifically asked if you wanted a drink." He teased, reaching for the can but I turned my hand and took another sip.

"Jung! I thought you were mad at me which is why I wanted to be a little formal." I took one last sip before he reached for the can and snatched it away from me.

"Who is Leo?" I go still, the last thing I want is to talk about Leo with Daniel, fake talk. 

The smell of coffee, gingerbread, and hot chocolate is all over the house, lights, fireplace, pajamas, and snow. Even though it seems like a normal Christmas night it didn't feel like one because I have never had the experience of Christmas. My parents and Aunt Zoya and Uncle Elijah are never here for Christmas. It is always Kiara, Daniel, the housekeepers, the bodyguards and me. 

"Why are you sad? It's Christmas!" Kiara sat next to me hugging me as she wrapped a blanket around us. It felt warm, I hugged her back as we sat there looking outside the window as the snow falls on the ground. 

"I am not sad... I always knew this would happen I am just... I don't know every time it happens I just have this little something in me that hopes they will be here but it just never happens and I just sit here and stare outside a fucking window." Daniel is in the kitchen making hot chocolate for all of us and Kiara was selecting a movie to watch and I was supposed to put blankets and pillows on the couch and make it Christmas-worthy. After doing that I just sat in front of a window and stare out at the snow. 

"Out of all people I am the only one who knows how you feel, Amara and I swear even I want to sometimes just run away you know? I sometimes feel like I want to die because I always feel suffocated here like I swear if someone kidnapped me I would thank that person." I laughed.

Kiara. Leo. Tears. Alone. 
I swear if someone kidnapped me I would thank that person. NO, little one why? Why would you ever say that? I can't believe I laughed at that.

"Leo Moretti," I said, Daniel's eyes widened as he thought for a moment.

"The son of Nicolo Moretti? Leo Moretti? The man who doesn't give two fucks about killing a person?" I nodded, 

"He and I will get married by the end of this month or the beginning of the next, but the exact dates are still undecided." I took the beer from him and took another sip to drown out all my feelings. Daniel took the beer can once again from me. He avoided eye contact and finished the can of beer in one big gulp, nodding his head.

"You good?" I asked, he crushed the can and tossed it on the coffee table. I slightly flinched at the sudden sound of metal and glass colliding. 

"Yeah, I am," he reassured, I nodded my head although I was not convinced. We spent the rest of the day doing nothing in particular, ordering lunch and watching movies together. Eventually, I accidentally fell asleep on the couch, my head on Daniel's lap as the movie played, and he gently stroked my hair. That's the last thing I remembered before drifting off to sleep.

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