The Tyrant's Pet

When Aries woke up the next day, she smiled bitterly as she caressed the empty spot on her side. Not the first morning without Abel, but it felt like it was.

It was almost unbelievable.

"Not long ago, I'm relieved whenever I wake up without him," she muttered, sighing as she settled her hand on the creases on the sheet. She could still feel the faint warmth he left and his distinct scent on the white sheet and on her body.

Aries smiled, knowing those were the piece of evidence that Abel was with her last night. "I'm not as upset as I thought I would be," she mumbled, moving closer to the space he laid down last night while clutching the blanket.

How Abel snuck in and out didn't matter to her. The man was Abel; he could do anything if he wanted to. Trespassing on a person's personal space or property was a piece of cake for him. All she had in mind was that she could get by in this place, slowly but surely.

Aries rolled on the bed, awoke a little too early before the maids would come to serve her for the day. When she laid on her back, eyes on the ceiling, Aries furrowed her brows.

"Am I..." she bit her tongue, focusing on the sudden thought in her head. "... obsess?"

She didn't like the term, but the more she thought about her actions, the madness that swelled up in her chest with the thought of Abel being with another woman was something she never felt before. She had been angry. But it felt different because she also felt hurt a bit.

"No, no, of course, I am not." Aries shook her head to get that thought out of her head. "That's not..."

Once again, she trailed off as she stared blankly at the ceiling. If Abel didn't come last night, she was certain that the seed of doubt in her heart would grow significantly. But since it was obvious he wouldn't do that, she felt calmer and relieved now.

"Do I love Abel?" she asked herself, and she didn't even bat an eye when she answered a quick, "no, I don't."

It wasn't love. Love... was something she had a bad image of. Love was the word everyone used, which eventually led to that tragedy.

"Do I want him dead? Abel... can you live without him, Aries?" she inquired once again, reevaluating her state of mind, not heart. This time, her eyes softened in bitterness as she sighed at the answer she came up with.

"Abel cannot die... in the hands of someone other than mine." She was fine if Abel would die with her hands, but she was definitely not cool if he died from someone else's hands.

Perhaps she had slowly become a pervert after spending day and night with him. But that was what was clear to her. Not that she wanted to kill him, but she was capable of doing the extreme if he hurt her.

"And I don't feel guilty about it," she murmured, spreading her arms wide while keeping her eyes on the ceiling. "Does he feel the same?" she wondered. "I mean Abel... did he feel the same now?"

If she would answer for him, the answer was gray. Abel was the man who could burn an entire country overnight and he wouldn't even bat an eye. He tried to kill her before, but he never did. He even expressed his regret for not killing her multiple times.

"So he can't kill me anymore?" she tilted her head before the side of his lips curled up. "I doubt. With proper reason, I'm certain he can kill me... after all, killing someone doesn't necessarily mean taking their last breath. I know because... I was once dead."

Aries nodded in agreement before she heard a knock from the door. She shifted her eyes at the door, hearing a youthful voice of a woman asking her if she was awake by now. Her lips parted but ended up not responding.

"Right... I am now Daniella," she muttered, assisting herself up as she get into her character of the Daniella she had in her head. As soon as she sat up, she caught a piece of parchment from her peripheral lying on the bedside table. Aries turned her head, crawling to take out the rose on top of the paper.

[ I had a good night, my Aries. Think of me every second of every day, for I will do the same. Keep in touch.

The grandfather of your grandchildren,

Potato. ]

Aries chuckled as she caressed the alias he used with her thumb. She then moved her attention to the rose, guiding it to her nose, and sniffed its fresh aroma.

"If he was trying to be discreet, he shouldn't have called wrote my name." She shook her head, but then stared at her name that he handwrote himself. "But then again... since everyone will be calling me Daniella, I appreciate there is one person who reminds me I am Aries."

Now her day was truly complete. She didn't have a very good sleep, but she had a good morning. With her great mood, Aries stretched her arms before flinging her legs out of the bed. Shen then hid the letter in one of the drawers, locking it.

"I'll keep it here for now and procure a small chest later." She nodded, still holding the rose in her hand. "Now... time to be Daniella."

Aries took a deep breath before she cast the door a look. But instead of opening it for the maid outside, Aries sauntered towards the balcony while breaking the stem of the rose. When she reached the balcony, she placed the rose over her ear and sat on the railing.

"What a good day." Her feet outside the railings swayed back and forth, smirking when she heard the door from inside her room creak open.

"My lady?" called a maid as she carefully peeked her head out of the glass door connecting the room to the balcony.

Aries took a deep breath before she turned her head back and smiled sweetly. "Good morning."

This would be the brand of Daniella: carefree, mischievous, stubborn, but sweet. Someone who wasn't likable, but also hard to dislike. A person men would want to protect and desire, especially a certain someone who had seen this radiance as a challenge.