Mr CEO - Daniel Ricciardo

Seventeen

Claudelle's POV

The morning my grandmother passed away felt like a final crack in an already fractured world.

I had never been particularly close with my parents, or really anyone in my family. Our relationship had always felt formal, distant—more like business partners than a family. But my grandmother, she was different.

She was the one person I had truly connected with growing up, the only one who ever really made an effort to know me beyond the surface. I had fond memories of spending summers at her house, the two of us baking together or sitting in her garden, talking about nothing and everything.

She had a warmth about her that no one else in my family ever seemed to have.

Daniel had been there that night. He held me while I tried to make sense of the loss, comforting me in the quiet way he always did. But as the days passed, I found myself withdrawing, not wanting to burden him with the messy grief I was grappling with.

We'd exchanged a few texts here and there, and I knew he was trying to give me space, but it felt like the distance between us was growing.

And now, it was the day of the funeral, two weeks after she'd passed. I was standing in my bedroom, staring blankly at my wardrobe, unsure of how to prepare for something like this.

How do you get ready to say goodbye to someone you loved? How do you face the finality of it all when it feels like you've barely processed what's happened?

My hands moved on autopilot as I pulled out a black dress, simple and modest, perfect for the somber occasion.

I sighed, reaching for a small gold necklace that had belonged to my grandmother. It felt like the only connection I had to her now. My fingers trembled slightly as I fastened it around my neck, the weight of it unfamiliar but comforting at the same time.

The apartment was eerily quiet, and I couldn't bring myself to turn on any music or fill the silence. Today, the silence felt right, like the world had stilled just for a moment to honor her memory. But that quiet only amplified the ache inside me.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself as I finished getting dressed. Today would be hard, I knew that.

A knock echoed through my apartment, cutting through the quiet. My heart pounded against my chest—I wasn't expecting my sister for another forty-five minutes. I hesitated for a second before walking to the door, unsure who it could be. When I opened it, there stood Daniel, looking sharp in a sleek black suit, a bouquet of lilies in his hand.

"Daniel," I whispered, caught between surprise and something warmer. "What are you doing here?"

He gave me a soft smile, lifting the lilies. "I thought you could use these. And... I'm coming to the funeral."

For a moment, I just stood there, my mind trying to catch up with the rush of emotions. He had a way of showing up exactly when I needed him, without me even asking. I blinked back the tears that threatened to surface again, nodding slowly as I reached for the lilies.

"You didn't have to, Daniel," I murmured, my voice breaking slightly.

"I know," he said, his voice gentle but firm. "But I wanted to. You shouldn't have to go through this alone."

I stepped aside to let him in, the warmth of his presence making the hollow space inside me feel a little less cold. As I set the lilies on the table, I turned to him, curiosity creeping in. "How did you manage to get the day off? It's not like today was planned for weeks."

A small, mischievous grin appeared on his face. "Told the partners I had an emergency dentist appointment."

I couldn't help but laugh, the sound shaky but real. "An emergency dentist appointment?"