Chapter 1 Chapter 1 - Daniel Finds Out
Ayesha’s POV
“When the heart is hopeful and the mind alight, the soul sings.
when the heart is heavy and the mind numb, the soul cries.”
I crumple up the sheet of my shitty poetry and stare out the window at the rain beating against the thick glass of the window. I tried to inhale but it felt like my windpipe was being crushed painfully slowly, making it become harder and harder to breathe until I couldn’t take the suffocation anymore. My white shirt and black sweater were like a thick layer of lava on my skin even though the air in the room was ice cold.
With a jerk, I slide open the glass and let the rain blow in and soak me to the core… I don’t know how long I stand there with the rain falling on my face and washing away the silent, hot tears. Maybe it could wash away my soul too, so I wouldn’t have to bear the pain of the fact that my love story had ended before it even started….
Just when the thunder boomed across the sky, the door of my dorm room suddenly burst open, making me almost have a heart attack before I went completely still. I rub the water out of my eyes and blink twice before I dare to look up again but then quickly look down.
Oh crap! It was him. As if this day couldn’t possibly get any worse.
He stalks toward me, the unmistakable spark of fury evident in his eyes. Why was he here and why was he so angry? A shiver creeps up my spine as fear trickles down my skin… the fury of Daniel Kane, practically owner of Kane Corporate, a multi-billion dollar company, wasn’t something someone like me could take.
“My mother just told me that a girl named Ayesha and my uncle are getting married. And I thought good for him ‘cause he’s like 44 years old and been divorced multiple times and he deserves some happiness of his own. But guess what… it gets really fucking interesting from there.” I freeze where I’m standing, determined to not look up.
"A hello would've been a nice start." That's what I wanted to say to his stupidly handsome face but I kept my mouth sealed shut.
“Then I learn from my dear mother that the girl studies in my college. And then I think to myself how many Ayeshas are there in Harvard? Wanna take a guess?” His huge form is all of a sudden too close for my comfort, he towers over me. I feel so small and pathetic that I want to crawl into a hole and never come out.
“Ayesha”, he leans down and I almost flinch when I feel his hot breath against the shell of my ear. “Take a fucking guess.” I try to take a step back and slip on the wet floor. Daniel curses before catching me mid-way.
“Have you actually gone raving mad?” Daniel shuts the window with a loud bang, then turns back to me and I can almost feel the anger rolling off of him. “Why did you leave the window open when it was raining?” Which is when he realises that I’m soaked from top to bottom.
“What the hell is wrong with you? Are you trying to catch pneumonia and frostbite at the same time? It's so fucking cold in here. ” He takes my hands in his, rubbing them to generate heat, a warm and tingly feeling takes flight in my stomach and I don’t like it one bit. The palm of his hands was surprisingly warm, mine as cold as ice. I try to pull my hands away from his but he jerks my body toward him with one small pull and I collide with his hard chest.
I turn bright red and am still adamant on keeping my gaze down, but that somehow ends up looking like I’m snuggling into him. God, I’m fucking stupid!
“Look, Ayesha”, Daniel almost whispers. “I know there’s some misunderstanding. Just clear it up so I can cool my jets and leave you to yourself…”
“I’m marrying your uncle.” I sigh out loud, wrenching myself out of his arms. “Not that it's any of your concern.”
Daniel’s mother had made it clear that our deal was to be kept strictly confidential, especially from Daniel. Although I was sceptical about why she was so worried about her son, I on the other hand was sure the news of my marriage would be as interesting to him as watching paint dry.
“Why?”
His jaw ticks when I don’t answer and I almost start enjoying the fact that I’m getting on his nerves before I remember why he’s here in the first place.
“Don’t play with me, Wilson.” And we’re back to surnames.
“Tell me why.”
“You have no right to ask me that.” I shoot him my coldest look, confused as to why he was even here. “And why do you even care? I’m just the daughter of a man who is an employee in your father’s company and someone you like to occasionally bully. Who I date, marry or divorce is none of your concern.” Daniel Kane, Aberama Kane’s son and soon-to-be CEO of Kane Corporate was known for having a short temper and I was seeing it for myself as his patience chipped away.
“It is my concern because I fucking said so.” I flinch at his tone, low but deadly. He inches toward me but stops when I take a step back.
He balls his fist, and glares at me but then lets out a groan of clear disdain for some reason.
“Your bed is soaked and I’m pretty sure the dorm supervisor will have a lot to say about it.” I turn around and almost cry when I see the condition of my bed. On top of everything I was being bombarded with, this was the last straw… the absolute last. My feet give out and am forced to sit on the wet floor, shivering in my cold clothes, feeling small and pathetic, a feeling not foreign to me when Daniel was around.
“Why?” I speak so low, it would’ve been impossible for him to hear but he does anyway.
“Why what?”
“You barely even say hello to me on campus unless it is part of some elaborate plan to humiliate me. All you’ve done is embarrass me at every opportunity, insult me for no reason whatsoever and turn me into the laughing stock for all of Harvard. What I’m trying to say is there is nothing, absolutely nothing I know about you or you know about me. We obviously don’t run in the same friend circles. There is no plausible reason as to why there is any reason you would suddenly be so interested in what goes on in…..” I’m cut off by him interrupting.
“Do you always give such long speeches or does it come along with your cardboard personality?”
Jerk! He was only here to mock me after all. What else should I have expected from him?
From the corner of my eye, I notice him opening my closet and shoving some clothes into a bag.
I get up from my place on the floor and walk toward him. “What the hell are you doing?” I try to snatch the bag away from him but he just grabs my elbow and thrusts me up against my closet, keeping me in place by pressing his forearm across my stomach.
“Your dorm room’s a fucking mess, your bedding is pretty much ruined and you’ve got no place to sleep for the night. And I’m at the end of my patience so how about you take this bag,” he hands the bag to me, his demeanour screaming authority,” Pack a change of clothes and whatever you need for the night. I’ll be in the parking lot. Do you know what my car looks like?”
I nod, feeling smaller than I’d ever felt before.
“Yes.” And feeling a spark of indignation, I further add,” I could just bunk with one of my friends. In fact, Dave’s parents live pretty close to campus so I won’t even have to bunk with anyone and break dorm rules.”
Daniel’s eyes flare, his lips thinning as his jaw clenches,” 10 minutes. A minute more than that and I’m dragging you out.” He starts walking out and before I can let out a sigh of relief he adds,” By your hair.”