Chapter 249 Had she become uncomfortable around him?

Chapter 249: Chapter 249 Had she become uncomfortable around him?

He had spent the last two days trying to convince himself that his feelings would eventually settle if he stopped indulging them.

If he stopped looking for her whenever he entered a room, stopped paying attention to every little expression on her face and stopped allowing himself to imagine what it might feel like to hold her hand without having to pretend there was an innocent reason for it, perhaps he could return to the way things had been before.

But the image of her laughing with Mateo refused to leave his mind.

He could still picture the way her eyes had crinkled at the corners, the way she had leaned toward his brother and the way her entire face had brightened when something on the phone amused her.

He had missed that smile.

He had missed seeing her throughout the day, missed their little conversations and missed the comfortable familiarity that had gradually developed between them.

And when he had finally returned home, she had smiled at him for barely a second before he had walked away.

Alessio closed his eyes and exhaled sharply.

"Fu*k."

He had spent years learning how to control his temper, his decisions and every emotion that could make him vulnerable.

He knew how to remain composed when people tried to provoke him, how to make difficult decisions without allowing personal feelings to interfere and how to walk away from anything that threatened to compromise his judgment.

Yet two days of staying away from Daisy had done nothing to make his feelings disappear.

If anything, they were becoming harder to ignore.

And the worst part was that when she had looked up at him earlier, her smile had faded.

He had noticed it.

For one brief moment, she had looked startled, almost uncertain about how to greet him, as though she no longer knew whether she could approach him the way she used to.

Had she become uncomfortable around him?

Had she noticed his sudden distance and decided to give him the same treatment?

Or had she simply stopped expecting anything from him?

Alessio turned away from the window and rubbed a hand over his face, letting out another frustrated breath.

He had wanted distance because he was afraid of becoming too attached to her.

Now that he had it, he hated every second of it.

Saturday morning, Daisy left the house earlier than usual.

She was going to meet Mona’s friend to discuss the renovation of her apartment.

The thought of finally having her own little space again made her happy. She had already started imagining how she would decorate her bedroom, what curtains she would buy and where she would put a small table near the window.

She was so busy thinking about it that she almost missed the notification on her phone.

It was a message from Annie.

Daisy immediately opened it.

The first thing she saw was a photograph of a beautiful actress dressed in an elegant gown. The lighting was soft, her hair looked perfect and even the smallest details of her makeup seemed to stand out.

Another picture followed, then another.

Annie had sent her several photographs from a recent photoshoot.

Daisy’s eyes widened as she scrolled through them.

She didn’t know much about photography. She couldn’t tell which camera had been used or how the lighting had been arranged. But she knew when a picture was beautiful and every single photograph made the actresses look absolutely stunning.

Some looked elegant and sophisticated, while others had a softer, almost dreamy appearance.

Daisy loved them.

She zoomed in on one photograph, admiring the details before opening the next.

Annie is so talented!

She had never really thought about getting professional photographs of herself. Most of her pictures were random selfies or pictures in which she was looking away at the wrong moment.

In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time someone had taken a really good picture of her.

An idea suddenly popped into her head.

Daisy quickly opened their chat and began typing.

Please, if you’re free, take my photos tooooo! Pleeeeease! You’re amazing!

She added a few excited emojis before sending the message.

Then she waited.

A reply arrived surprisingly quickly.

Sure! I’m free tomorrow. Let’s click some good pictures of you!

Daisy stopped walking.

She read the message once and then again.

Her eyes widened so much that she almost dropped her phone.

Really???

She typed the reply immediately, adding several question marks because one simply wasn’t enough to express her excitement.

Annie replied with an enthusiastic yes.

Daisy covered her mouth, smiling at the screen.

She was actually going to have a photoshoot!

The thought was both exciting and a little intimidating. She had never done anything like that before. She wasn’t even sure how she was supposed to pose in front of a professional photographer.

What if she looked awkward?

What if she didn’t know where to put her hands?

She glanced down at herself, suddenly wondering whether she should start planning what to wear.

Before she could ask Annie about it, another message appeared.

By the way, my best friend will come too.

Daisy tilted her head.

Annie had mentioned her best friend before, although Daisy had never met him.

She quickly typed.

Rhys, right?

Yes, yes! Him!

Annie sent another message almost immediately.

That doctor.

Daisy smiled.

Ohhh, I remember!

She had heard a little about Rhys from Annie. Apparently, he was a doctor and the two of them were very close.

Daisy was curious to meet him.

She typed another message.

Okay! I’ll meet you both tomorrow.

Then she added a small heart before sending it.

Annie replied with a string of excited emojis.

Daisy slipped her phone into her bag, unable to stop smiling.

First, she was finally making progress with her apartment renovation.

Now, she had a photoshoot to look forward to.

Her weekend was turning out better than she had expected.

?┈┈┈┈?

Daisy met Mona and her friend at a small café near the property where her apartment was located.

Mona’s friend, a woman in her early thirties named Claire, turned out to be quite different from what Daisy had expected.

She was serious, well-organized, and incredibly focused. The moment they sat down, she took out a notebook and began asking Daisy questions about her preferences.