Chapter 6: Cookies of Understanding

*Olivia*

"Daemon, you're here." Just as our eyes met, I heard my adoptive mother's voice. Harper walked over to greet Daemon, and I took a step back.

I recognized a stalkier guy who was Daemon’s assistant. The assistant went right up to my mom and held out a bouquet of expensive wildflowers that couldn’t be found in New York. “We at Sof just wanted to offer our sympathies regarding Mr. Masters’ health. We are wishing him a speedy recovery.”

My adoptive mother nodded to her maid, who took the flowers and ran off to put them in water. Mom looked at Daemon when she spoke. “We appreciate it so very much,” she said. She gestured behind her. “Won’t you stay and enjoy some refreshments?”

“That is rather hospitable of you, but I must decline,” he said respectfully.

I could feel the tension from the interaction radiate throughout my body. It was definitely due to the history my dad had with Daemon’s.

Both our fathers used to be good friends, that was until that fateful incident.

Apparently, our fathers were out together and were attacked by gang members. Byron’s father was able to escape and ran to get the police. He was gone for far too long, though, and Daemon’s father got seriously injured during his absence.

Daemon’s father was eventually rescued, but he was in bad shape when he was found. Daemon’s relationship with Byron deteriorated because it was believed that Byron’s father deliberately abandoned his father.

It was definitely possible that our father didn’t mean to abandon Daemon’s father, but the damage had been done. Daemon refused to associate himself with Byron after that.

I watched as our maid brought Daemon a large tray of gifts to choose from, my eyes rounding when he picked up the plainest unassuming cookie and took a large bite.

By the time I shook myself out of my stupor, Damon was halfway out the door. My legs decided to act on their own and dragged me after him.

Daemon felt my eyes on him and turned, locking gaze with me. He tilted his chin up, beckoning me to him.

"Are you trying to get me to pay for the cookies that your mother gave me?" He asked when I was within earshot.

I don't know why I felt the need to explain. "I actually made those cookies for Byron."

Daemon was dark and dangerous, his smirk making my skin crawl. I couldn't deny that he was attractive with his dark blue eyes and black hair, the color of shadows. I hated him for his attractiveness, similar to how I hated the hot bad guys in movies.

He couldn't be trusted.

His eyebrows rose, and a knowing smirk crossed his face. "So, you made cookies for your dear brother but figured out that I was going to be here, so you decided you'd try to stick your claim on me instead of giving him the cookies."

My jaw dropped, my face darkening in outrage. He was seeing right through me. "I didn't mean anything by it," I said hotly. "The only thing on my mind is taking care of my father's company. I don’t have time to fool around with the likes of you."

It wasn't like the cookies I made were that great anyway. I guess I hoped that he might reconsider my proposal since he stopped by and ate some of my cookies.

"I thought perhaps you could reconsider what we talked about the other day," I said, forcing myself to keep eye contact with him. "Maybe just for a few minutes, you could think about it?"

Daemon shook his head with a chuckle. "Even three seconds is a long time, Princess."

Huh? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

I flushed hotly. "Fine!" I spat, holding my hand out, palm up. "Then you can just hand over the rest of the cookies I made."

His smirk just widened. "I don't think so," he said in a fake pleasant voice. "They're mine now." His tongue swiped against his lip, making my eyes round.

He was just messing with me. I felt my cheeks burn as I turned to go, feeling despair rush through me. It looked like I had to give up hope of getting his help.

"Just forget it," I said through my teeth before sprinting away, trying to hold back tears.

Is this what he wanted? Did he want to make me give up?

I just don't understand Daemon Knight at all.

I jumped when I suddenly heard his voice calling after me. “Are you really going to give up just like that?”

I whirled around and gave him an odd look. “Isn’t that what you want me to do?”

Daemon stepped closer to me and I tried not to visibly react to our sudden proximity. I was suddenly hyperaware of the earthy scent that emanated from him. It was an insanely manly scent that made me a little dizzy.

“Not at all,” Daemon said with a smirk. He quirked an eyebrow. “In fact, you don’t strike me as the kind of girl to just give up.”

I straightened, narrowing my eyes. I didn't understand what he meant.

“You know,” Daemon said, a hint of a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. “I’m beginning to feel a little ill from those cookies of yours.”

I curled my fingers into fists at my sides, glaring up at him. “That’s not possible,” I said between my teeth.

I was always extremely careful when baking. I’ve had years of experience since I started as a child. I learned quickly to wash my hands thoroughly and often, check the expiration dates on all the ingredients, and be mindful of cross-contamination.

No one has ever been sick from my cooking.

And it wasn’t going to start today.

Daemon shrugged. “You’d still better make it up to me,” he said, stepping closer to me so that he was towering over me. “You tell Byron that you owe me a favor. We wouldn’t want him to get the wrong idea if you have to hang around me to accomplish that favor.”

It was too obvious that I was being played. He didn’t look sick at all from the cookies. He looked completely relaxed, like he always did, with his casual stance and deep, dark eyes focused on me.

I shook my head at the irony of the situation. I had chased Daemon to try to accomplish a goal, but all I succeeded in doing was making it so that I owed him something.

Daemon really was a badass.

I felt my shoulders slump and realized that I was suddenly overwhelmed. Things had been happening so fast that I didn’t have a chance to process them before. Now, I had no choice because it was just far too much. I had enough on my plate from all the drama with Ethan, and now this.

This interaction with Daemon may have been minor compared to all the other events in my life, but it was enough to push me over the edge. I felt tears prick at the corner of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

I couldn’t stand to look at Daemon anymore. It was just filling me with even more frustration. I turned to go, gritting my teeth hard. “Fine, if you don’t want to help me, then just forget about it. I won’t bother you anymore.”

Before he could say anything, I sprinted back into the house, needing to put as much space between him and me as possible. I didn’t look back, but I could feel his eyes on me, watching me intently as I scurried back inside.

It felt like forever when the party finally was over, and people left us alone. I felt like I could finally breathe as I walked through our empty house, sighing heavily as I shifted my party dress. I couldn’t wait to just slip out of it and crawl into bed.

I was just about to head up to my room when my phone vibrated. I reached into my bag and furrowed my eyebrows when I saw that it was Charlotte calling me. Worry leaped into my throat. It was the middle of the night. Why would she be calling me at this late hour?

I hoped nothing was wrong.

“Hey,” I said into the phone. “What’s up, Charlotte? Are you okay?”

“I was going to ask you that,” my best friend said.

“I’m fine,” I said. Well, mostly. “Why? What’s going on?”

“So you haven’t seen anything crazy online?” she clarified.

I blinked, more confused than ever now. “No,” I said slowly.

Her voice was tight. “Check your texts. I just sent you a video I came across.”

I obeyed, taking the phone from my ear so that I could open the link that Charlotte sent me. My eyes widened when the video started to play, revealing Byron and me in front of the cake from earlier this evening. The angle of the video was just right so that it looked like my brother had an arm romantically around my waist.

My stomach filled with dread. This wasn’t good. It really looked like Byron and I were a couple.

I thanked Charlotte for warning me about this before hanging up, gripping the phone tightly in my hand.

The video already had thousands of views, and it looked like it had just been posted minutes ago.

I decided to go upstairs to tell Byron. I was still angry at him, but we needed to sort this out before our family got into even more trouble.

My adopted mother was at the top of the steps, her expression unreadable as she looked down at me.

It was easy to tell that she had already seen the video.

She wordlessly turned her phone so that I could see the screen. She scrolled through a couple of pictures of Byron and I. Once again, they were taken at the wrong angle, making it appear that we were romantically involved.

She then showed me the video I had just seen downstairs. It was a short clip, but it looked intimate enough. It actually looked like Byron was lovingly wrapping his arm around my waist, which caused Harper to blush.

She lowered her phone before fixing me with a stern look. “Don’t forget why you ended up running off to Spain,” she warned me. “Please don’t let anything like this happen again. I couldn’t bear to watch you and Byron go through that kind of trouble and pain for the second time.”

I let my shoulders sag. “I’m sorry that these videos made it online,” I said. “But please know that I could never forget why I left. And I definitely wouldn’t want to cause you any trouble after everything you’ve done for me over the years.”

Mom nodded curtly and looked so distraught that I couldn’t even be upset with her for leaving to go to her room without another word. I went to mine as well and had a strange feeling that I wouldn’t be getting much rest tonight.

After all of the turmoil that went on, I could no longer ignore the fact that Harper didn’t really view me as a true daughter. It caused me to feel even more unwelcome. She still resented me after what happened five years ago, even though she was trying to treat me like a daughter, I knew better.

She was only doing this for her son and her husband’s sake. She was polite enough, but her interactions with me lacked warmth.

I tossed and turned that night, unable to find a comfortable position, although it was really my mind that was too busy.

My mother, Harper, was being so cold but luckily, I still had Byron and Dad for some semblance of warmth.

I woke up early the next morning after a fitful night of sleep. When I came down for breakfast, Mom was at the stove, stirring something in a large pot.

“Your brother has a bad cold,” she said. “He won’t be joining us for breakfast. Here, take this thermos and deliver it to him. It’s my cream of mushroom soup. It always makes him feel better.”

I nodded and obediently took the thermos, rushing off to Byron’s private villa.

There was no answer. He was probably asleep. The door opened, and I slipped inside, deciding to put the soup away and wait for him to wake up.

I stood in the doorway in shock at the scene in front of me.