The last two weeks had been almost perfect. They had spent hours talking to each other, getting to know each other. She hated egg-yolks. He could not stand the smell of chamomile. She loved reading and watching the starts at night. He also preferred watching the stars at night. At each turn, he had found himself in awe of the woman that was his wife. He found himself respecting her more and more, adoring everything about her, even her flaws, even her weaknesses. Just as she accepted and adored everything about him.

They had grown quite close as well, though not as much as Daniel would have liked. He didn't tell her that, of course. Pushing her into something she was not prepared for was the last thing he wanted. Besides, he was willing to wait, even though it did get quite... troubling at times. Which was hardly his fault, he told himself. His wife was beautiful and he was not blind.

Mirabella squinted her eyes in the harsh light, and blinked a few times to adjust her eyes to the light, her eyes falling on the sleeping form of her husband and the night before flashed before her eyes.

She had a nightmare, where a man chased after her and she then fell off a cliff. She never had nightmares, except that one night.

••••

She was out of breath like she had been running for hours. She needed to sit down and take a few deep breaths, and that's when she reached a cliff. She looked up at the sky that turned grey and roared with thunder and lightning. A bring and purple glowing flash emerged from the sky, making her jump. And not even two seconds later big drops of rain came pouring down heavily.

She looked at the ocean waves as they clashed together like they were at war, before she turned to look behind her for a way off the cliff, but all she saw was a maze of trees. She knew if she entered that maze she wouldn't find a way out and loose her mind.

But then, someone emerged from the maze. She couldn't make out who it was, but she knew it was a man with drenched dark hair and shirt. And immediately she felt something deep within her shouting that it was him who she was running from.

She held her hand out as a sign telling him to not come any further. "Stay where you are," she said. "Don't come any closer." The man laughed as he continued to aproceh her, making her take a step back.

"Step away from there, Mirabella," he said. "Or you'll fall."

Mirabella continued to walk backwards, and shook her head. "No! Stay away!" She bellowed over the loud thunder. As she continued to step backwards her foot slipped off the edge of the cliff and she fell. Her scream was so loud that her voice echoed over the sea.

••••

A small smile graced her lips as she looked at Daniel, and realized that she was still clutching his hand, but she couldn't bring herself to let it go. Not even now. So she absently drew circles on the back of his hand with her thumb, content to just lie there and look at the steady rise and fall of his chest.

A few minutes later Daniel stirred, turning in his sleep so that his face was inches from hers. Her breath hitched in her throat at the closeness and before she could even move away, he groggily opened his eyes, only to have them locked with hers. "Morning," he mumbled sleepily.

"Good morning," Mirabella smiled.

Daniel's gaze flitted towards their locked hands and back again. "Can I have my hand back again?" he asked, a slight smirk forming on his face. Mirabella blushed, loosening her grip as Daniel slipped his hand away, only to brush aside a strand that had fallen on her face.

Daniel was just about to ask Mirabella how she slept, when her phone went off. He watched as she sat up, and reached her hand over to the nightstand and unlocked her phone to read a message.

Mirabella texted her back saying that she would be ready and waiting for her. "What are you doing today?" Daniel asked.

Mirabella shrug. "Bianca wants me to go somewhere with her at three," she didn't tell him that it was a doctors appointment because she didn't want anyone knowing anything until she was sure herself. "After that nothing, why?"

"We could go somewhere," he suggested, and Mirabella nodded.

••••

They sat in the waiting room for over thirty minutes, just waiting for one of the nurses to call Bianca's name. There were soon-to-be mothers in the waiting room with them and also mothers who had come with their new born babies for a checkup.

"Aw, she's so cute" Mirabella said, looking at the baby girl next to her. The mother of the baby smiled and thanked her. The baby was truly beautiful, she had golden hair, fair skin and a round face. She was sound asleep and moved her small lips from time to time.

Finally. It was Bianca's turn, and the nurse led them into a dimly lit room that had a screen with a scanner and a bed.

Bianca pulled her shirt upwards to revile her stomach as she laid back on the bed. Mirabella stood on the side watching with an anxious smile on her face. She wondered if Bianca was actually pregnant. A few days ago Bianca ran a pregnancy test, but she wanted to make sure.

The nurse squeezed some jell on her stomach before she turned to the screen. And then, they heard the tiny tympanic heartbeat from the ultrasound wand and that was the only outward sign that a new life had begun within her.

••••

Daniel sat down, and leaned back in his chair. He had one hand on the arm of the chair and the other was on the surface of the desk. His sleeved were rolled up to his elbows and his two top buttons were undone. He chair was slightly turned to the side as he tilted his head, causing a few pieces of his dark locks to fall over his forehead. "So," he began. "What have you found out?"

It's been almost three weeks since the casino incident, and Daniel had his men on full investigation-mode to find out who was responsible for the attack. But it seemed like whoever the architect of the attack was, he or she were good at hiding their identity.

"Aside from that it was a man and not a woman," said Bruno. "Nothing else."

"But whoever it was they must've had someone on the inside," Mathew said. "A member of staff or something."

••••

It was around five o'clock when Daniel texted Mirabella, asking when she'd be back home since he wanted to take her out. He checked his phone for what the time was, and also if Mirabella texted him back. 17:40pm read the time on his phone and no reply from Mirabella. He locked his phone and tucked it inside his blazer pocket.

"Waiting for something?" A familiar voice asked. Daniel looked up from his desk, and his eyes slightly widened. Juliette stood in the doorway of his study with her arms crossed over her chest.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded.

Juliette tilted her head to one side, and smiled slyly. "I came to see you," she pouted, as she approached him. "Now, for the fun part—"

Daniel grabbed her wrists just as her hands came up to reach for him, and moved her to the side and out of his way. "Stop. You shouldn't be here," he said, as he walked towards the doors so he could leave. "This isn't a game—"

"You think I don't know that?" She said, making him stop half way. "This is an intervention. You'd risk everything of losing the love of your life...me. We're finally together, all the world before us, if we can just dodge a few obstacles...like this attack..." There was a short pause as Juliette watched Daniel, who didn't as so much turned around to look at her.

She shook her head at his silence in disbelief. "What I cannot overcome is your affections for someone else," she said. "The fear in your eyes— do you actually love her?"

Slowly, Daniel turned around, and saw the look on her light green eyes; hurt, anger, jealousy. "You don't know anything, Juliette" he said, his voice low and dangerous.

"Oh, you're quite cross now, aren't you?"

Daniel took a step forward. "If you don't behave yourself you'll see a lot worse," he threatened.

He turned around to leave, but Juliette stopped him once again. "I don't much like that tone," she said. "Although, given what I told Mirabella, I suppose it's to be expected." Daniel looked at her with a sharp glare. He wanted to know what Juliette told Mirabella.

"You really do care about her, don't you?" Juliette said softly as she searched his eyes. "Well, now I suppose I shall have to kill her," she shrugged her shoulder.

Daniel clenched his jaw as charged forward, and grabbed Juliette by the arms, pushing her against the desk with force. "Ooh, are we to play rough now? Foreplay's changed in the last millennium," she smirked up at him.

Daniel held in anger in, and released her as he took a step back. Juliette tucked a stand of her red locks behind her ear as she moved into Daniel's personal space with just the right look of heat in her eyes. She didn't just look at a man, she looked into him as if she knew his desires. "Tell me," she began. "Can Mirabella excite you the way I can? Can she allow you the joy of giving in to your most wicked desires?"

And suddenly his breathing because heavy.

Daniel looked into her eyes that seemed to have enchanted him in a way he could not find the words to explain. The way she looked at him...he couldn't think. He stood still as Juliette approached him, running her hand down his chest as she looked up at him through her lashes.

The room suddenly became hot, and Daniel leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Juliette's. He closed his eyes for a moment, fighting this sudden urge not to do anything stupid. Juliette opened her eyes and saw that Daniel was struggling. She knew that giving him a few more moments he would push her away and tell her to get out. So quickly, before he could make his mind up, she grabbed Daniel by his shirt and closed the small space between them.

Their lips met in a furious blow. A wave of shock went through Daniel's body. This was wrong, so wrong, and yet he couldn't bring himself to pull away. Juliette smirked into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer to her.

And then Daniel realised what he was doing. He gripped her by the arms and pulled away. Guilt flooded through his veins, making him breathless.

Juliette opened her eyes and looked at him.

He lowered his gaze, searching for words so he could...he could say something, to make it clear that this was a mistake, that this meant nothing, that he was loyal to his wife. He opened his mouth to speak, but Juliette beat him to it. "Don't take this the wrong way. Please—" her voice panicked.

Daniel frowned at her fake and frantic tone. He slowly realised that she was staring somewhere over his shoulder. "Mirabella, please..." Juliette pleaded.

It took him a moment to realise what she had said, and once he did, he felt as if someone had doused him in icy water. Trepidation filled his veins like lead, and he turned around.

Mirabella stood in the doorway of the study, her eyes fixed on him and Juliette. She had seen them kiss - there was no doubt about that. The betrayal was clear as day on her face.

And it broke his heart.

"Mirabella," Daniel managed to say, even though his throat had gone dry. "It's not what you think." He took a step forward. "Just - Listen to me. Please."

But Mirabella turned around, and left.

"Well, that was—"

"Leave." Daniel growled in a low tone, which sent a cold shiver to run down Juliette's spine.

••••

Daniel sat alone in the study for a couple of hours, holding his head in his hands. Juliette had kissed him. But why had he kissed her back? It was the shock. It was frustration. And it was just the moment. He hadn't even realised what was happening. Yes, that was it. He will forever be ashamed that this kiss had happened... It didn't mean anything. He was not cheating on his wife. His vows were holy to him and he would never break them intentionally.

When he could no longer bear to sit alone, he returned to finally decided to leave the study.

As she made his was to the living room, Mirabella was spotted leaving the corridor that led to the kitchen. It was like he had been stuck by lightning when he saw her. He blocked her path and took a deep breath. "Mirabella," he began softly, "What you saw–"

Mirabella eyes that were filled with accusation and betrayal and fury and pain and tears, glared at him. Without a word, she stepped past him.

"What you saw, it was a mistake," Daniel went on. "I am sorry."

Mirabella did not respond to his words. Instead, she attempted to walked past him again, but Daniel reached out and caught her wrist. Mirabella tried to free herself from his grasp wordlessly.

"I won't let go," he said, "Unless you talk to me."

No response.

Daniel was beginning to get angry now. Sure, the fault had been his, but he was guilty, was willing to talk about it, to apologise. She was being hard for the sake of being hard.

She glared at him, still refusing to say anything, and twisted her arm once again in an attempt to pull away. When she didn't succeed, she shouldered him with all her might. It was so unexpected that he stumbled a step back and let go of her both in shock and in an attempt to balance his weight. She turned her back to him and walked towards the staircase.

••••

It was early in the morning, the hot sun was high up in the clear blue sky everyone was getting ready for breakfast. Mirabella walked out of her bedchamber, her hair almost dry was in its half up-half down hair do and she wore a white dress with a grey cardigan. It's been days since she last slept in her bedchamber because she had been sleeping in the same room and bed as Daniel. But now that she was back in her old chamber she realised just how different things were and how quickly they went back to how they were.

She closed the door to her bedchamber, and felt her body freeze when she heard Daniel's voice from behind her. "Talk to me."

Mirabella didn't as so much look back at him. she couldn't. How could she?

Daniel walked around and stood in front of her. There was a short pause as they locked eyes. "I really am sorry about what happened," he said softly. "I know you hate me for what happened and I don't blame you. You can shout at me, even hit me, if that's what you want. But talk to me. Your silence is killing me. Mirabella, please..." He placed his hand on hers.

"Don't," Mirabella said through gritted teeth and pulled away from his touch. It burnt her. It was wrong. He was wrong. And she would never forgive him. She scurried past him and hurried down the corridor to the staircase.

Once she reached the bottom of the stairs she turned to the corridor that led to the kitchen. The sound of chatter reached her ears, but she couldn't make out what they were talking about. It was quick and muttered, like they didn't want anyone hearing them.

She entered the kitchen, and immediately everyone stopped talking. She looked around the kitchen with a slight frown and greeted everyone with a good morning. The workers returned the gesture and smiled at her, but once she opened the fridge and had her back turned to them they all exchanged sideway glances at each other.

Just then, Diego walked in the kitchen with some papers in his one hand. He knew what happened last night. Daniel told him, like any friend would have done. Diego saw how quiet everyone was and that they were watching Mirabella, so he cleared his throat and broke the silence. "Callum," he said, looking at the young man with dark brown hair. "I need you to come with me. Tristan. Michael, you as well."

Mirabella looked up from her bowl of cereal to meet Diego's eyes. She smiled at him softly and he returned the smile, before she picked up her bowl and walked over to the table and sat down.

Hours later, Mirabella was sitting in the garden, reading a book and listening to music. And during these last hours, the chef told Mirabella that Daniel hadn't been eaten anything the entire day and he asked if it was the food that he didn't like. Mirabella told him that it was nothing and that Daniel was too busy with something.

The sun was setting and the sky looked like a beautiful painting of colours. Where the horizon was the colours were a soft, tangerine colour which faded into a purple and then a darker colour that almost looked a mixture of purple and dark blue. A few stars were visible, which twinkled high up in the sky. "Mirabella," Bruno called her name as he walked out to the garden. He appeared to be in a rush.

"Hmm?" she hummed as she looked away from the page she was on.

Bruno held some envelope in his hand with a red stamp on the back. "Could you take this to Daniel?" he asked, as he placed the envelope down on the table.

Could you take this to Daniel? His voice echoed in her head repeatedly. She had been avoiding Daniel the entire day. When she saw him lurking around the house she turned the other way just to avoid him begging her to speak to him and him saying how sorry he was. So how was she to deliver this envelope to him after all that?

Mirabella opened her mouth to speak, but Bruno patted her head and beat her to it. "Thanks," he smiled and rushed out of the house to wherever he was hurrying to.

Mirabella day still, her eyes fixed on the envelope as though they were glued to it. It took her a moment of convincing herself before she stood up and took the envelope.

••••

Daniel sat in his study, trying his best to drown himself in his work and ignore the hurricane of emotions inside of him. He made a mistake and now everything was ruined. Mirabella wasn't speaking to him and he didn't know what to do.

A knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts. "Come in."

To his surprise, Mirabella walked in. She looked at him with cold, dead eyes and said in a cold, dead voice: "The cook told me that you haven't eaten."

Hope flared in his chest. If she was concerned about his health, then maybe all was not lost. Maybe he would be able to convince her of his loyalty. "I thought you were not talking to me," he said.

"I'm not," came the cold reply. "I just came here to do my part, which unfortunately includes looking after you."

"You don't have to look after me if you don't want to."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said as she placed the envelope down on his desk. "Bruno dropped this off," she said before she turned to leave the study.

Daniel didn't even look at the envelope, and stood up with half a mind to physically stop her from leaving, to keep her here until she believed in him once again. "Mirabella, will you not hear what I have to say?" he asked. "Please."

She stopped. Her body was stiff, but he noticed her take a deep breath before she turned to face him. "Fine." She said. "I'm most interested to hear how you will justify your infidelity."

"It wasn't that." He said as he walked over to her. "It was a mistake, a stupid, inconsiderate mistake.I know it was wrong. I was the one who pulled away."

"After you kissed her." She pointed out.

"Yes." Mirabella agreed, his frustration clear on his face. "But I didn't mean-"

Mirabella shook her head. "I don't know if I can trust you, Daniel."

"Try to." He pleaded. "I'm not lying. I promise-"