Chapter 66
Chapter 66
"How do you feel?" he asked, concern etched all over his face.
"Fine. I mean, better than yesterday," she turned her head away, avoiding his naked upper body.
"Do you want to eat something?" he asked.
"No," she shook her head almost immediately. However, the moment she said it, her stomach started growling. She met his gaze. "I mean..."
He chuckled in response. "Let’s go," he said before pulling her towards the kitchen. "I already asked your secretary to bring the things that you needed to sign tonight. For now, you take more rest, sleep, and eat."
Sofia’s lips thinned. In the end, she nodded. For some reason, something warm inside her chest started spreading. She could not seem to explain it. Unbeknownst to her, a smile already appeared on her lips as she followed him towards the kitchen.
After nights of drinking himself to sleep, Daniel finally felt like he was going to have a fever. He felt like throwing up as his head pounded like a drum. Groaning, Daniel opened his eyes and found himself sprawled on the couch, tangled in a blanket. The room spun a bit, making him squeeze his eyes shut again.
His mouth tasted like regret, a mix of stale beer and something unidentifiable. Sitting up slowly, he winced as his stomach protested. It felt queasy, like a rollercoaster that never seemed to stop.
The sunlight stabbed through the curtains, hitting him right in the face. He squinted, trying to remember what happened last night. Empty beer bottles scattered on the floor hinted at a wild night he wished he could forget.
Dragging himself upright, Daniel stumbled toward the kitchen for a glass of water. The floor felt uneven beneath his feet, and his movements were as graceful as a newborn giraffe.
As he chugged down the water, a flicker of regret crossed his mind. He had already told himself that he would not drink alcohol but ended up having one when he arrived.
The thought of Sofia flashed in his head like a storm. After Sofia refused to talk to him, Daniel’s anger surged like wildfire. He felt desperate like he was drowning, and Sofia was the only lifeline he needed. In his mind, what happened with her sister wasn’t entirely his fault.
Regret gnawed at him, but a stubborn flame of frustration burned even brighter. He wanted her back and needed her forgiveness, but it felt like trying to catch smoke with bare hands.
If she only agreed to talk to him, then everything would be over. He could explain everything, and she would then forgive him.
Sadly, she refused to talk like a normal adult!
Daniel gritted his teeth, anger apparent in his eyes.
After chugging his water, he went back to the living room to try and find his phone. Sadly, it was dead.
"Tsk..." Daniel narrowed his eyes at his phone. He was tempted to throw it against the wall but restrained himself. What if Sofia called him?
After some time, he finally found his charger and charged his phone as he made some instant noodles for his breakfast. He knew that his mother called him last night, but he had already restricted her number. The thought of his mother only made him more upset. Why does she have to involve herself in everything that Daniel does?
Daniel’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard a soft gasp. He looked towards the door and found his mother standing with wide eyes as she looked at the state of his apartment.
"What did you—What happened here?" Teresa Beaumont’s gaze landed on her disheveled son. "You—What—" she looked at the empty bottles of wine and beer on the floor.
The living room was a mess, like a tornado tore through it. Empty bottles scattered everywhere, and the smell of old beer hung in the air. The couch looked like a battlefield, blankets thrown around like he had a fight with someone. Daniel’s attempt at cleaning up was as messy as the chaos he created.
The sunlight sneaking through the curtains exposed the aftermath of a wild night. The TV remote lay on the floor, an abandoned and lonely bag of chips claimed a corner of the coffee table, and the scattered cushions seemed to have given up on being in their proper places.
It was a disaster.
"Why are you here, mom?" Daniel ignored his mother’s reaction as he focused on his phone. He turned it on, hoping to see some messages from Sofia.
"I called your office. Your secretary let me know that you were nowhere to be found. Of course, I am worried. Your father—"
"If you are here to talk about Dad, then just leave," Daniel said. His mother was always worried about his father’s opinion of him. At one point, Daniel was worried about what he thought of him too.
"How could you talk to your mother like that?" Teresa walked inside, approaching Daniel. "Marjorie will come this afternoon to clean this place up. Go back to the mansion. Your father and I—"
"We both know that’s not going to happen," Daniel said.
"Daniel!" Teresa frowned, clearly unimpressed at her son’s attitude towards her husband. She then gestured for her personal assistant, who was bringing some groceries, to clean the place up. "What have you done to yourself?"
"That is none of your business." Daniel examined the contents of his phone. Aside from the messages from his secretary and mother, no one else had sent him a message.
"You are my business!" Teresa sat next to her son. "Let's go clean yourself up. We need a proper conversation."
"If you want to convince me to—"
"Clean yourself, and then we talk!" Teresa said. "You need to understand that I only approached Sofia to have her forgive you."
"Do you think that will work?" Daniel looked at his mother.
"What—"
"All my life, you have been trying to fix every imperfection. All my life, you have been doing all the work behind the scenes."
"You—"
"You donated just after every examination and miraculously, I had the highest score even when I didn’t know a single thing!" Daniel got up. "And now, you wanted to threaten someone like Sofia?"
"Daniel, you are not going to talk to your mother like—"
"I will talk to you however I want! You are—"
SLAP.
A loud smacking sound reverberated inside the room. Daniel looked at his mother, his expression blank. Seeing this, Teresa immediately said, "Daniel... I..."
"Please leave. I don’t want to talk," Daniel said.
"Daniel, this is important. You—"
"I said leave me alone!" Daniel bellowed inside his apartment. "I don’t want to talk right now."
"I need to talk to you about Sofia—"NôvelDrama.Org is the owner.
"You are not going to talk to her or involve yourself in my business," Daniel said. "I will fix everything without your help."
"But—"
Seeing Daniel's cold gaze, Teresa stopped talking. "Fine," she said before she grabbed her bag and marched out of Daniel’s apartment. The moment the door closed, she stopped walking, her eyes narrowed. This was all Sofia’s fault, she thought inwardly. That woman was intending to ruin everyone else around her.
She then thought about the images that she received just this morning. It was of Sofia and Alexander. It turns out that the one working with Sofia was Alexander—Daniel’s brother!
Why the hell would he suddenly hurt Daniel so much? In Teresa's eyes, Daniel was clearly the innocent party. He was merely a victim of his brother's insidious scheme.
Now, Daniel was talking back to her, and she was forced to hurt her precious son! Clearly, this was all part of Alexander's plans! That man was truly evil!
She always knew that Alexander was ruthless, but she never expected him to target her relationship with her one and only son.