CHAPTER 59: SOMEONE ALWAYS KNOWS MORE

Chapter 59: Someone Always Knows More

When the sun finally rose with colors that did not match the mood of the morning, Danielle found herself in the back seat of the black car, staring blankly at the scenery passing by.

Her hands trembled and continued to shake on her lap, though she tried to hide it from Felix.

Felix, on the other hand, was almost humming with satisfaction. He adjusted his collar and checked his reflection in the window.

He looked pleased with himself...very pleased like a kid who was bringing good grades back home.

"You are going to feel better once you see him," Felix said with a little grin. "The president always knows what to do."

Danielle rolled her eyes and took in a deep breath. She only hugged herself tighter. Her chest felt hollow, full of fear, anger, and heartbreak that she could not organise into words.

Felix cleared his throat, trying to sound more casual.

"He will be thankful I brought you home... away from Theo’s mess."

Danielle’s eyes snapped toward him. "Do not talk about him like that."

Felix blinked, taken aback. "I just meant he is... unpredictable."

"Unpredictable does not mean dangerous," she muttered.

Felix sighed and also rolled his eyes, clearly believing he was the hero in this situation.

He was sure the president would reward him for "rescuing" her. He did not know that the web was spun long before he even walked into it.

He did not know the truth.

Theo expected all of this...

Theo predicted every move.

Felix looked out the window again, unaware that he was just another tool in someone else’s game.

Theo left to be followed...

Theo wanted to be captured...

Theo planned for Elias to step in...

Theo knew Danielle would be brought back here.

All of this was part of a much bigger picture.

Felix was the only one who had not realised it yet.

The gates to the palace slowly opened. Danielle’s heartbeat sped up as the car rolled in. She remembered this place as the home she never felt welcome in.

Felix stepped out first and opened her door. "Come on. He is waiting."

Danielle hesitated. The heavy walls towered over her like a fortress designed to keep feelings out. Every step was becoming harder than the one before.

Felix gave her a slight push. "Trust me. This is the best place for you right now."

She swallowed and walked forward.

Two guards opened the tall doors. The hallway was polished to perfection. The silence unnerved her...

Then she heard voices. A deep one she recognised instantly.

"Theo?"

Her feet stopped moving and her lungs stopped breathing. Her heart... did not know what to do.

Felix nudged her gently. "Go on. You will be safe now."

Safe?

Safe from what?

Or from who?

Danielle stepped inside the room and the sight before her shattered her in ways she was not prepared for.

Theo really was there... wearing his uniform. The black jacket with silver symbols. The one that belonged to a royal protector.

He looked like the soldier she first met. The weapon someone owned. The killer no one wanted to love.

His face was bruised, his lip was cracked, and there was a bandage wrapped around his hand. His entire body looked like it was full of violence and suffering from some kind of war.

But he still stood with his back straightened and tall...looking so strong and weirdly relaxed.

Frank was just beside him. They were speaking in quiet codes. Sentences that meant nothing to outsiders but had deadly meaning between the two agents.

Theo did not notice her at first. His eyes remained locked with Frank’s. They exchanged a sharp nod the kind that sealed orders and promised bloodshed.

Felix smiled proudly, expecting the president to be delighted by his arrival.

Danielle did not smile and just stared at Theo like she was seeing a ghost that came back wrong.

He finally turned his head...His eyes collided with hers.

There was a second... a tiny, fragile second where emotions surfaced.

Full of pain and relief, so much fear and probably regret.

Then he buried them all.

Theo locked his jaw and fixed his posture. He looked at her as if he must stay distant now... as if something had changed that she did not yet understand.

The room felt colder like it was a deep winter...

Danielle’s breath shook. She took one desperate step forward.

Theo looked like a stranger wearing his face.

Behind her, Felix stepped in, unaware of the tension slicing through the air.

"There she is," Felix said with confidence. "Safe and sound. Just like you wanted."

He smiled at Theo too, expecting gratitude.

Theo did not even acknowledge him.

He only stared at Danielle.

And Danielle realised...he had known...He had planned this.

Everything that happened... last night, the motorcycle, the way he left her...it was all part of a strategy she was never supposed to see through.

Danielle felt sick.

Frank noticed that in her eyes and quietly excused himself, leaving the two alone in the center of the room.

Danielle finally whispered, voice started cracking like thin glass. "Theo... what did you do?"

His expression did not change and once again, Theo said nothing.

The silence was a cruel answer...

Danielle felt her heart dropping like it was physically falling through her chest. He looked at her the way soldiers look at civilians. With distance and huge walls.

Like someone he must protect...

But not someone he is allowed to love.

Felix was just standing there confused, not understanding why the air felt poisonous.

Danielle stepped forward again... tears started burning behind her eyes.

"Tell me this is not what it looks like..."

Theo’s lips parted... but before any words could escape...

The president’s voice echoed from behind her.

"Welcome home, Danielle."

Her skin immediately covered in frosty chills...

Theo turned away first, and that hurt more than the truth ever could.

Because now she understood...

Theo came back to serve. Not to be with her or to love her.

And she was finally going to learn what that meant.

’Manipulator...’