CHAPTER 3

"Hello princess!" A voice, I could recognize even from a sleep, greeted with a wave, holding a laptop comfortably on his other hand.

"Dad!!" I found my way into his arms, as he cautiously dropped the laptop on the dining table, wrapping his arms tightly around me, as he kissed the top of head. "What are you doing home? I wasn't expecting you till next week." Arms still wrapped around him, as I looked up at him.

"My business trip got short as I had to handle some other stuffs here. How is my angel doing?" Another kiss landed on my forehead as my lips curved into a smile.

"She's doing great, as you can see. Just missing spending quality time with her dad, that's all." Hugging him tighter this time around as a way of emphasizing what I had said

"I'm so sorry Princess. It's just this big contract..."

"...that you're pursuing I know." I broke away from the hug gently. Of course being the only child of multibillionaire has it's own twist as well but I still count myself lucky to have been born into the Williams Gonzalez family. Growing up with a loving mum, till her passing when I was 10, and then having a dad give most of his attention to his young growing daughter. He was my best friend and he made me more important than work, and that's why I find myself loving him more each day.

"It's going to be really beneficial to our family and the company." He said softly, placing both hands on my shoulders.

"I know dad." I smiled a reply to ease him of the unnecessary tension he was creating for himself.

"Should I cancel the weekend plans to Nana's place?"

"Yes princess, thank you. I promise we'd pay her a visit as soon as we can or we could just fly her here to spend a couple of months with us, how about that?" He offered, lifting my chin with his hand, as he smiled into my eyes.

"Sounds good but you know Nana can't come till atleast a month or two from now because of her treatment."

"Yeah, that's right. I totally forgot." Letting of my chin, he slapped his forehead gently.

"Lemme go freshen up so we'd have dinner before she get busy again, okay?" A smile followed by a nod was just the approval I needed, as I found my way towards the stairs.

"I didn't hear your car pull up in the garage." He yelled at me as my steps continued ascending the stairs.

"I left it at school. I wasn't feeling too good about driving so I took the bus." I yelled back while continuing my journey upstairs.

"Val, are you sick? Should I book an appointment with the doctor for tomorrow?" He yelled even louder, causing me to stop on my tracks to reassure him with a smile, walking up to the stairs with a concerned look plastered on his face.

"Dad!! I'm fine. Don't worry too much. I'll be down in a bit." I said it all in a breath as I disappeared from his sight towards my room.

WRITER'S CORNER

The door to a room was given a light push by Valerie's hand, causing it to give way for her feet to carry her inside the room, as she used her feet to push the door shut behind her.

Undressing, she made her way into the bathroom, as the nozzle of the shower made a squeaking sound just before warm water came spewing down into the bathtub.

Unclad, she took a step into the bathtub and allowed the water caressed every inch of her body as she generously applied soap on her body.

Her fingers worked their way on her face, as she closed her eyes to avoid soap getting in them.

An image of Daemon's unique hazel eyes flashed through her head as she shook her head violently to get him off her mind.

The warm water washed off the soap from her face as another image of Daemon's smiling face flashed through her head.

Hurriedly she washed herself and came out of the shower into the room with a towel tied firmly around her chest.

Allowing the curiosity take control, she walked towards her study table and pulled a drawer open to bring out a notebook.

Flipping through the pages, sketches of an older looking woman who looked so much like Valerie, another of Mr Williams Gonzalez, another of the older looking woman, Mr Gonzalez and herself (Valerie), met her eyes, but these weren't why she picked up her sketch book.

As she flipped further, she saw the pair of almond shaped hazel eyes, that had more prominent flecks of gold than green and brown, she had drew earlier. It was as though she had taken a picture of him to replicate the drawing. An image that just came to mind about two weeks before school's resumption.

Why does Daemon Vladamirovich have the same pair of eyes?

Was this why she felt the sense of familiarity while staring at them?

Coincidentally, Daemon appeared in New York with the same pair of eyes as in her notebook?

There was more to this Daemon of a guy and she was determined to find out every single detail.

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"How are you enjoying your new school, cousin?" Ramsey, the closest cousin of the Vladamirovichs, asked sipping from a glass of red wine. But it wasn't really a wine, as it was thick and stuck against his lips even as he smacked them against each other, a satisfied smirk curving at the sides of his mouth.

"It's not any different from the others I have graduated from."

"I don't understand why you don't want to get a college degree yet. With all the knowledge you've acquired over the centuries, a college degree would just be another piece of cake." Ramsey asked his questions absentmindedly, paying all of his attention on getting every drop of this weird substance into his mouth.

"I like my life as it is. I don't need the college degree because I don't have a reason for it."

"You still think about her?" Seth, Daemon's older brother, asked, making his way to the refrigerator to pour himself a glass of what Ramsey was drinking.

"Who? Bella?"

"Which Bella?" Ramsey looked genuinely surprised, sparing Daemon a glance as he licked through his finger.

"The Bella y'all wanted to impose on me."

"Bella is actually a perfect fit. I don't know why you just won't consider her." Seth scoffed his reply, while pouring the last content of the glass into his mouth.

"Anyways I meant Lucia or what was the name she went by the last time?" He asked but Daemon kept a straight face.

"Daemon, it's already been four lifetimes for her. Do you still believe she'd somehow come back to you again? For the fifth time? She's a human for goodness sakes and you..."

"I know what I am and I know what she is. I do not need any constant reminders."

"You still haven't figured out why she's always reborn and your paths always crosses? Like they should be a reason for this continuous predictable cycle of death." Ramsey said, making himself comfortable on a sofa opposite Daemon.

"Call it what you must but I believe this girl is a punishment from the devil himself to you for falling in love with a human. Look at us, we have become a shadow of ourselves just to take care of our family member who doesn't give a fuck about his family!!" The wineglass in Seth's grip crashed against the wall opposite him, breaking into tiny little pieces.

"I don't think she'd be able to be reborn this time again." Ramsey said, the confidence in his voice sparkled through his hazel eyes, as both Seth and Daemon gave him their undivided attention.

"I'm sorry but it must be said. Considering how she died last, that would be the end to her soul's rebirth, don't you think so?"

"Isn't loving her and then watching her die without being able to stop it torture enough for you? You're 609 years old but you've spent 509 of those years in anguish over a mere mortal woman." Seth was calmer now and he was right besides Daemon within a split second, a distance that would have taken atleast a 30 seconds walk.

"You said she's my punishment right? I'm willing to accept my punishment for as long as I exist."

"But what about her?" Seth asked, a hand on his shoulder.

"What about who?"

"The reincarnated soul?"

"What about her?"

"Is she aware that somehow fate has made her a curse to you?" The question seemed to throw him off his balance, as he remained mute.

"Daemon, I'm your brother and I understand what it means to have a mate but she's a human who has died several times because she chose to be with you. You have to let her go to save her and yourself from another century worth of pain. Don't give her the opportunity of accepting to be your punishment and allow her live this life to the fullest, for once." Seth advised, "That is if she's reborn again but it's a very rare possibility." He immediately added.

"She has already been reborn and our paths have crossed again." Daemon's subconscious whispered. Luckily for him, he was the one with the gift of hearing everything including thoughts.