His black hair is spiking up in different directions, he's wearing his grey robe and staring astounded at Dimitri at 3:30 in the morning.

"You're fucking crazy," he throws his head into his hands, silently praying to God to give Dimitri a working brain. "You actually woke me up at three fucking o'clock in the morning for this?"

Dimitri's sitting on his cream sofa, his right leg bouncing in a rhythmic pattern as his veins course with anxiety. Fuck, he wasn't the fucking type to stress about anything. Whether it was what he was going to be eating for breakfast in the morning or what colour tie he was going to wear with his blazer or which branded watch he would adorn on his wrist. The difference was it was planned out for him.

They were quick snapshots decisions that took little to no effort but this? This was the scam of the century. And there was no room for error.

"What other choice did I have, Anwar?" He dejectly pleads his case.

After presenting Isabella Romero with his proposal –marriage proposal– and having witnessed her stoic reaction first-hand, Dimitri's been wailing into London's night. He left quickly after being 'thrown out' by Isabella and since then been constantly dragging his hands through his hair. He was left short, with no avail and no fucking final conclusion and his only solstice was in Anwar.

He arrived at 3 after driving around London, losing his mind and began blowing up his phone with missed calls. Anwar was quite surprised to see him, to say the least. So when asked what the hell was wrong with Dimitri, he spilled every minuscule detail and Anwar was left breathless as if someone had punched him right in the gut.

Dimitri can quite balantly see Anwar's brain cogs turning, "You had every other fucking choice. Investors, new business partners, Toronto relations and even bloody associates of Asterio & Partners to prove yourself worthy to Grandfather Asterio and what do you do?"

Dimitri wants to roll his eyes. None of those would have sufficed for Grandfather. He wouldn't have considered him liable enough... He lets out a sad sigh, just wanted the weight off him already. "You ask a woman who had nothing to do with your world to marry you? Are you on fucking crack, my guy?"

No, but the option seemed tempting after the field day he had. Dimitri pinches his nose bridge, drowning out Anwar's rabbled condescending lecture.

"She didn't say yes or no, okay?!" Dimitri snaps. "She didn't even look at me once and told me I had overstayed my welcome."

Anwar throws his hands into the air, done with Dimitri's bullshit. "What did you expect? For her to jump into your arms at this ridiculous offer?"

Dimitri doesn't know how to reply to that. His words are left in his mouth and he blankly stares into Anwar's champagne eyes.

With a huff of anger, Anwar makes his point clear, making sure it seeps deep into the cervices of Dimitri's mind.

"You will not let this woman become a part of your sham, you understand me Dimitrius?" Anwar's threat is loud and clear, it raises an octave as he explains himself. He quickly takes a glance behind him, his eyes darting up towards the stairs where Aisha is fast asleep in the bedroom. "And I don't care how much you've offered her and the mere details of it, do not ruin her life."

Anwar's threat hangs loud and clear in the air between them. Do not ruin her life. Shit, he wasn't intending on ruining it. He didn't want to, but something about Isabella's demeanor made her the perfect candidate for this. She was the missing puzzle piece for his acclaimed plan.

"But of course, you're sensible enough, I hope." He eyes him as Dimitri's lips plaster with a sly smirk. "–and this is merely my warning."

Dimitri was sensible, but was she?

He can hear the clock in the background tick, a painful reminder of how many hours had passed since he presented Isabella with his ridiculous ordeal. Dimitri's face contours with sadness, his eyes drooping to the ground. He's lost all sense of notion and is vast with misery. There was no way in hell Isabella was going to make his line ring anytime soon.

"You're right," Dimitri sighs. "She won't call me."

with low murmur as students chat and laugh amongst themselves. Considering the field night I had yesterday, I wasn't in good strength or good mental health to stand up and deliver my best teaching to the class. One, I couldn't neglect them because they deserve more than I had to offer, especially since this was their last year.

And second, last night's conversation kept playing on my mind.

Thirdly, I was neglecting them by letting them get on with their own revision as I blankly stared at my word document for paperwork that needed to be sent to the administrative team.

Shifting in my seat slightly, Theodore's dark blue eyes make contact with mine. He gives me a gentle smile and a nod of acknowledgement before returning his attention to Christian. They chatted and laughed vibrantly as they discussed plans to meet out for Saturday at goals for a game of football.

I'm merely left staring astounded at him for a second as my mind wanders back to Dimitri and the way his eyes held so much pain and sadness locked in them.

Did Theodore know about the proposal? Was he aware? Did his older brother even bother to tell them?

My mind is merely a filter for my thoughts but the difference is none of them process clearly.

What the hell was I even doing? I wasn't crazy. I gaze at Theodore one last time before concluding he doesn't know shit. With my head in my hands, I drown out the classroom noise just wanting to escape to a quiet dark location to rest my numbing body in.

The sooner I rejected his proposal, the better for all of us.

Despite my fused together plan, my lips split open, spilling each detail to Quinn in the evening. She's stirring the pot in my kitchen, mashing potatoes for Shepherd's pie. On revelation, her face goes through a range of emotions – surprise, startle, shock, amused then finally she's dead silent basking my presence.

I can't seem to find any logical ties that bound me to his words. It was bloody ridiculous that he simply came in and asked me to marry him. Who the hell did he think he was?

"You're considering it." Quinn chirps up after noticing I've zoned out for the past minute or two.

My brows knit together, shaking my head. "I am not. I was merely thinking about it... about him." I clarify, my throat suddenly becoming hoarse.

"Ohh... are those feelings!? Does The Grinch known as Bella Romero have FEELINGS?" I'm glad someone's finding humour in my massive predicament, it may as well be Quinn.

"Shut up before I smack you with that pan." I point to the empty pan that Quinn has been intending on using for the last fifteen minutes but has never found a reason to do so. Sighing and slumping over, I watch her taste a small sample of her cooking and she nods in approval. "Ugh, I've spent my life running away from these men who think they can buy me with their money." I mutter, massage the bridge of my nose.

Just thinking about Dimitri Asterio made my blood pressure rise.

There's a violent scene of screaming, shouting, a dark navy suit then silence that flashes past me. I uncomfortably since at the thought, my hands tightening around the counter ledge to rebond myself I'm in my kitchen and with Quinn.

My voice comes out slow and slurred, "You remember how it was back in uni? I had no one. I got thrown out of my goddamn house, and he didn't even spare me another glance. I was homeless, for god sake." Quinn doesn't utter a word but her lips ease with a sympathetic smile. She knows it was a touchy subject for me to talk about and respected my boundaries after having seen and knowing everything.

"–and a decade later, here comes another man with his dark hair, and blue eyes and ugh, idiotic smile of his asking me to marry him."

Quinn arches her perfectly shaped brow at me as he bends down, placing the dish in the oven to let it cook. "I barely know the guy." I mutter.

"Well, get to know him." is all she says.

"It's not that simple."

"It's never simple" I frown at her statement. "But you said it yourself, that you were running low on money this month and this... Asterio, that man thats plastered the face of Forbes seems like your way out." She gives me a devious smile, something dark is bubbling inside of her. I chew the inside of my cheek, absorbing the words.

No, my compass wasn't crooked as Asterio's.

"Money is never a reason to marry someone blindly."

"Tell him to fuck off then."

"I will," the statement slips past my lips as I catch my reflection in the window against the blackened sky. There's something dark simmering in the air and deep down Quinn and I both know that Asterio has affected me more than I'd like to admit.