Chapter 241 Descision

Chapter 241: Chapter 241 Descision

Because of his dangerous lifestyle, he had learned to keep his emotions under control. A moment of carelessness could cost him more than money or reputation.

His world wasn’t a safe place. His work attracted enemies and some of those enemies were the sort of people who would happily hurt an innocent person simply to get to him.

He had spent years learning how to protect himself.

He knew how to recognize a threat, how to anticipate an attack and how to make sure the people who worked for him understood the consequences of their mistakes.

But protecting someone he loved?

That was an entirely different matter.

Alessio sat alone in his office, looking through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the city below.

The evening sky had turned dark and the lights of the surrounding buildings glittered against the glass. His desk was covered with documents, several of which still required his approval but he had stopped reading them minutes ago.

His thoughts had returned to Daisy again!!

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

He could still remember the first time she had stayed at his mansion. She had looked around the enormous room with an expression of uncertainty, trying to make herself comfortable in a place that wasn’t hers.

He remembered how she had thanked him through her phone.

How she smiled when someone did something kind for her.

How she tried to avoid troubling others, even when she needed help herself.

And how she had stayed on the phone with him for an entire hour while he was drunk, patiently listening to him talk nonsense.

She hadn’t known how miserable he had been that night. She hadn’t known about the failed lead, the frustration or the thoughts that had been eating away at him.

She had simply been there.

Somehow, that simple act had meant more to him than he wanted to admit.

Alessio lowered his gaze to his hands.

He was beginning to understand something he had never seriously considered before.

He didn’t merely enjoy Daisy’s company.

He wanted her around.

He wanted to see her smile when she entered a room. He wanted to hear about her day, even if she could only tell him through written messages and gestures. He wanted to know whether she had eaten, whether her headache had disappeared and whether she had managed to make progress with renovating her apartment.

He wanted to be the person she turned to when something went wrong.

And if he allowed himself to continue down this path, he knew his feelings would only grow stronger.

That was precisely the problem.

Alessio opened his eyes.

"No," he muttered, the single word escaping his lips before he could stop it.

He sat upright and reached for the glass of water on his desk.

He needed to think rationally.

Daisy had already spent years trapped in an unhappy marriage. She had finally found the courage to leave it behind and begin rebuilding her life. She wanted independence, peace and the freedom to make her own decisions.

She deserved all of that.

She deserved to wake up in the morning without worrying about someone else’s problems. She deserved to spend her days working toward her own dreams rather than being dragged into situations she had never asked to be part of.

She deserved a peaceful life and Alessio’s life was anything but peaceful.

His world was filled with risks he couldn’t simply erase. Even if he kept Daisy away from his illegal dealings, the danger wouldn’t disappear. His enemies didn’t always distinguish between the man they wanted to hurt and the people standing beside him.

If someone discovered how much she meant to him, she could become a target.

The thought made cold dread settle inside his chest.

He imagined Daisy being frightened because of something connected to him. He imagined her innocent eyes filling with fear as she realized that the man she trusted lived in a world she had never truly understood.

He imagined her getting hurt.

His fingers tightened around the glass.

No.

He would never allow that to happen if he could prevent it but he couldn’t guarantee her safety if she became deeply involved in his life.

And he certainly couldn’t promise her a future in which she would never have to fear for his life, either.

There were enemies who could appear at any time to hurt him and his family and situations that required him to leave without knowing when he would return.

That was his reality.

He had accepted it long ago.

Daisy hadn’t.

Nor should she have to.

Alessio placed the glass on the desk and rubbed a hand over his face.

Perhaps Rafael was right about one thing.

He had begun wanting something for himself.

The thought of having someone beside him was appealing. The thought of coming home and finding Daisy waiting in the living room, smiling at him as she typed a message on her phone, brought him a kind of comfort he hadn’t realized he was missing.

But wanting something didn’t mean he had the right to pursue it.

Especially when pursuing it could put someone else in danger.

His gaze drifted toward his personal phone.

Daisy’s conversation was still there.

He remembered her last message, her teasing expression and the way she had looked at him when he apologized for questioning her about the call.

He could message her now.

He could ask whether her headache had improved.

He could find some excuse to visit her room and check whether she needed anything.

She would probably smile when she saw him and he would probably forget every sensible argument he had made to himself during the day.

Alessio stared at the screen for a long time.

Then he turned the phone facedown.

He had made his decision.

He needed to control his feelings before they became something he could no longer hide.

He needed to stop looking for excuses to see her, stop allowing himself to become accustomed to her presence and stop imagining a future that might never be possible.

Most importantly, he needed to make sure Daisy never became so important to him that someone else could use her against him.

He would keep his distance.

He would remain polite, of course. He wasn’t going to hurt her deliberately or suddenly treat her as though she had done something wrong.

He would still make sure she was safe while she stayed at his mansion. He would help her with anything if she needed assistance and he would continue treating her with the respect she deserved.

But he would stop seeking her out simply because he wanted to see her.

He would stop prolonging conversations that had no reason to continue.

He would stop letting himself interpret every small kindness as something precious.

And he would certainly stop allowing his imagination to wander toward the possibility of being more than a friend to her.

It sounded simple when he listed it in his mind.

Unfortunately, his heart seemed far less cooperative.