Kaia watched Trystan take a seat on her couch, his eyes trained on hers.

"Um. . .can I get you anything?" She asked him. He gave her a breathtaking smile and stood. He made his way to her.

"All I want is you, Kaia." He told her as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Kaia's heart launched into a rapid beat. What was she doing?! She moved out of his arms quickly.

"I mean water, coffee, or anything else that I might have." She quickly changed the topic, hoping he would take a hint.

"I'll just take a bottle of water, if you don't mind."

With relief, Kaia escaped into her kitchen. Sh leaned against the refridgerator, clasping the bottle of water in a deathly grip.

"This is totally insane, Kaia, what are you doing to yourself?" She berated herself, whispering. Then she took in deeep breaths and made her way back to the living room. Trystan wasn't sitting on her couch like she had hoped. Instead, he was focused on the frames of pictures on her wall. He particularly focused on the picture of her at the park. She had been reading a book when her bestfriend, Berta, had called out her name and taken the picture. She had been adamant about not having her picture taken but she had to admit the picture was good. She had even posted on her social media pages.

She walked to him and handed him the bottle of water. He gave her a smile, taking the bottle, then he went back to looking at the picture.

"It's a lovely photo of you." He commented.

"Yes, Berta, my bestfriend took it. She's a photographer." Kaia informed, her eyes trained on the beautiful piture. The way Berta had captured her made her look more beautiful than she really was.

"It's good but it doesn't capture how truly beautiful you are." He said, shocking Kaia.

"It actually makes me look more beautiful than I am." She phrased out what she had been thinking before.

Trystan turned to her and trailed his finger down her cheek.

"You are more beautiful than the picture shows, Kaia. How can you not know that?" Then he leaned in, drawing closer. His lips mere inches away from hers. "How can you not see how badly you affect me?" Kaia closed her eyes as she waited for him to take her into his arms and kiss her.

"Oh my word!" Kaia pulled back instantly to see her cousin Ginelle, gaping at them. Kaia moved farther away. "I'm so sorry." Ginelle apologized. "If I had known you were busy, I would have come at another time."

"Actually, I think it's time for me to leave." Trystan stated as he turned to face Ginelle. He turned back to Kaia and nodded. "We'll talk later, Kaia." He promised her. He turned. "It was a pleasure." He said to Ginelle before making his way out of her apartment. As soon as he left, Ginelle screamed.

"OH MY WORD!" She raced to Kaia and grabbed her hand. She pulled Kaia into the bedroom. "I cannot believe I just saw that. Good girl, Kaia was about to kiss a guy. And not just any guy, a hot and insanely drool worthy guy. Oh my word, I think I'm gonna faint, now."

"Ginelle, stop being dramatic." Kaia admonished, her cheeks flaming. Ginelle only laughed.

"I still can't believe it. Pinch me, Kaia, so I know I'm not dreaming." Kaia groaned.

"Ginelle, please stop that."

"Okay, okay, but you have to tell me everything you hear. Everything." Ginelle squealed, making Kaia groan more.

***

Candace opened her door and stepped aside for him to enter.

"What do you want from me now?" She asked him. He laughed and nodded.

"Straight to the point, I like that." He smirked, infuriating the hell out of her. "I just wanted to talk to you about your niece, Mrs. Reed."

"There is nothing to say, Mr. Dwyer. I want you to stay away from my niece."

"You know that is not possible, neither for me or for her. You see, there's something between us that won't go away until it runs its course. Now I know you hate me and believe me, I do not hold any love for you myself but I do not want you to make it difficult for Kaia. So I'm going to make you a deal. I'll let you keep your business, if you stop trying to convince Kaia not to get involved with me."

"You want me to allow my niece to get hurt? You think you can buy me with that. You don't own my business." Candace said, smugly. He drew closer, his eyes darkened with anger and determination. Candace felt fear. He was a dangerous man.

"I can destroy your life, Mrs. Reed, and I would have taken your bakery from you without wasting a cent and I wouldn't even bat an eye. So listen carefully, Kaia is going to be mine but I don't want her to have any doubts and I certainly don't want her worrying about her penniless aunt. That is why I'm offering you this deal. You can decide to take it or suffer the consequences." He drew back. An evil smile marring his face. "I'll keep in touch." Then he left.

Candace leaned against the wall. Her heart beating like crazy. It was all her fault. If she had just sold the café, Kaia would have never met him and she would not be in this mess. What had she done?