He Didn’t Kidnap Me. Not Exactly novel Chapter 121

Chapter 121

(Daisy’s POV)

What’s going on here?”

The voice hit from behind me and my soul almost physically exited my body.

Oh no.

No no no.

Not him.

Not here.

Not now.

My spine straightened so fast it honestly deserved applause, and I slowly turned around already knowing exactly who I was going to see.

DeLuca.

Standing there with one hand tucked into his pocket and his gaze moving calmly between me and Mabel like he had just walked into a documentary.

Meanwhile, I was internally exploding.

Because Mabel could not know.

Absolutely not.

Not about the rides.

Not about the apartment.

Not about literally anything.

Especially not after the math competition and not after I had just challenged her- not when she already hated me enough to destroy my job.

I saw the moment DeLuca’s eyes landed fully on me.

And then-

“Daisy?”

Panic took over.

Pure survival panic.

I blinked at him, then pointed at myself.

“Are… are you talking to me?”

There was a pause.

“Yes.”

Oh God! How do I escape this.

I committed. Hard.

“I think,” I said carefully, “you may have mistaken me for another Daisy.”

Silence.

Mabel’s girls stared at me and one of them actually frowned.

DeLuca looked confused now.

Not even hiding it.

“Another Daisy?” he repeated.

“Yes,” I rushed out. “There are many of us. Very common species.”

What was I saying?

VPN

What is actually wrong with me?

Mabel narrowed her eyes slowly while DeLuca just kept staring at me like he was trying to decide whether I had finally lost my mind.

Which was honestly fair.

“Nobody’s fighting,” I continued quickly. “Everything is stable here.”

One of Mabel’s friends snorted.

Another whispered,

“What is she doing?”

Excellent question.

I would’ve loved to know too.

DeLuca finally spoke again.

“Daisy.”

“Wow,” I cut in immediately, laughing nervously. “You know my name. That’s honestly terrifying.”

A pause.

Then- I saw it.

The faintest twitch near the corner of Adrian’s mouth. Not fully a smile.

Worse.

An almost-smile.

He understood now and was starting to enjoy this.

Traitor.

Mabel looked between both of us now, suspicion beginning to creep into her expression.

“Wait,” she said slowly. “You know Adrian?”

“No,” I answered immediately.

Too immediately.

I cleared my throat.

“I mean… not professionally.”

Silence.

Absolute silence.

I heard myself… and I regretted myself.

I wanted the ground to legally adopt me.

But now, Mabel’s girls burst into laughter.

One of them bent slightly forward dramatically like she couldn’t survive the stupidity she had just witnessed.

Meanwhile DeLuca was still staring at me with that same unreadable expression that somehow made everything worse.

Then finally, mercifully, he spoke.

“I asked what was going on because you were yelling loud enough for the hallway to hear.”

Neutral tone.

Detached.

An exit route.

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