Chapter 258 Roleplay?

Chapter 258: Chapter 258 Roleplay?

Mateo fell silent but his expression darkened. He pushed his chair back slightly, the legs scraping against the floor.

For a moment, he simply looked at his brother, waiting for him to say something else, perhaps ask why he was so irritated or whether he was actually finding the lessons helpful.

But Alessio’s attention had already returned to Alisha.

"Please continue. Don’t let him distract you."

Alisha nodded, offering him a grateful smile.

"Of course, sir."

Mateo looked between them.

Something unpleasant settled in his chest. He knew Alessio was trying to help him but it was becoming increasingly irritating that his brother seemed more concerned about keeping the tutor happy than understanding why he didn’t like her.

He dropped his pen onto the notebook.

"Fine. Since you both seem to understand each other so well, why don’t you sit here and study with her instead?"

"Mateo."

"No, seriously. You can take my place. I’m sure she’ll be much happier teaching you."

He stood up, pushing his chair back with more force than necessary.

Alessio’s expression hardened. "Sit down. We haven’t finished talking."

Mateo looked at him, his jaw clenched.

"Then talk to her. You’re clearly enjoying her company more than mine."

And before Alessio could respond, Mateo turned away, his face burning with frustration as he walked towards the door.

?┈┈┈┈?

Meanwhile, Daisy had arrived at the location where Annie had arranged the photoshoot.

The place was a charming little photography studio situated on the outskirts of the city. It had a spacious outdoor area surrounded by greenery with several beautiful spots that could be used for different photography concepts.

Large windows allowed natural sunlight to spill into the studio, while a few decorative props, flower arrangements and vintage furniture had already been arranged for the shoot.

Annie was waiting outside, a camera bag hanging from her shoulder and her phone in her hand. She had been checking the time every few minutes, occasionally glancing towards the entrance. The moment she spotted Daisy approaching, however, her entire face brightened.

"There she is! My beautiful girl!"

She practically bounced towards her, waving enthusiastically.

Daisy smiled at the sight of her and lifted her hand in a cheerful wave. Before she could even finish greeting her, Annie had already reached her and wrapped her arms around her in a quick hug.

"Look at you! You’re so pretty today!" Annie exclaimed, pulling back to admire her.

Daisy giggled silently, her cheeks lifting with her smile.

"Come on, come on! There’s someone I want you to meet."

Annie caught her hand and began leading her towards the other side of the entrance.

A young man was standing a little distance away, looking at something on his phone. He was quite handsome with dark hair that fell naturally over his forehead, a well-defined face and striking bluish-grey eyes.

His features were attractive without appearing overly sharp and there was something pleasant about his overall appearance. He wore a simple dark shirt with the sleeves casually folded near his elbows, along with black trousers.

When he noticed them approaching, he slipped his phone into his pocket and looked up.

Daisy’s gaze settled on him.

He looked familiar.

Not just vaguely familiar, but familiar enough to make her wonder whether they had met somewhere before. She studied his face for a few seconds, her head tilting slightly as she tried to remember.

Had she seen him in one of Annie’s photographs? Perhaps in a video? Or maybe they had crossed paths somewhere?

"Hi," the young man greeted her with a friendly smile.

Daisy immediately returned the greeting, lifting her hand in a small wave.

"Hi."

Her lips formed the word silently.

"Rhys, this is Daisy," Annie introduced them, her voice sounding just a little too cheerful. "And Daisy, this is Rhys. He’ll be helping us with today’s shoot."

Rhys smiled at her.

"Hi, Daisy. It’s nice to finally meet you."

Daisy’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

Finally?

That was an interesting choice of words.

She looked at him more carefully, but before she could ask anything, Annie stepped forward and clapped her hands.

"Well? Isn’t he handsome?"

Daisy glanced at Annie, then at Rhys.

She gave a polite little smile and nodded.

Rhys chuckled softly.

However, something strange was happening between the two of them.

Annie seemed unusually stiff, her smile looking almost forced around the edges. Rhys, on the other hand, kept glancing at her as though silently asking her something. Their eyes met for a brief moment and Annie immediately looked away.

Then both of them released a quiet breath, almost simultaneously.

Daisy blinked.

What was that?

She looked from Rhys to Annie, her expression turning curious. Had she missed something? Why were they behaving as though they had just survived a rather difficult examination?

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

Annie noticed.

"Oh! Anyway!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands again. "Let’s get started before we waste all our precious daylight!"

Daisy continued looking at her suspiciously for another second.

Then Annie grabbed both her shoulders and gently turned her towards the entrance.

"So, my beautiful babe, first of all, I have to say that you look gorgeous even without makeup. Seriously, look at that skin and those pretty features! I don’t even want to cover your face with too many products."

Daisy smiled shyly.

"But today," Annie continued, raising one finger dramatically, "I want to give you a little makeover. We’re going to experiment with your look, change that cute outfit of yours and try something a little different. What do you say?"

Daisy glanced down at her clothes before looking back at Annie. She pointed towards herself and then made a small questioning gesture.

Me?

"Yes, you!" Annie laughed. "Who else would I be talking about?"

Daisy nodded hesitantly, still unsure about what Annie had planned.

"Perfect! And there’s something else."

Annie leaned closer, lowering her voice as though she were about to reveal a particularly exciting secret.

"We’re going to do a little roleplay photography today!"

Daisy’s eyebrows shot up.

Roleplay?

Annie nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes! Don’t look so frightened. It’s nothing complicated. I have a whole concept prepared and I think you’re going to look absolutely wonderful."

She turned towards Rhys, who was standing nearby with his hands in his pockets.

"Tell her, Rhys!"

Rhys looked at Daisy.

"She’s been talking about this concept for days," he said with an amused smile. "I think she’s more excited about your photoshoot than you are."

"Of course I am!" Annie protested. "I’ve worked very hard on it!"

Daisy smiled at their exchange.

Annie turned back to her and began explaining.

"Okay, listen carefully. You’re going to play a confident, charming girl whose entire life revolves around music. Someone who walks into a room and makes people notice her without even trying. She’s passionate, expressive and completely comfortable being herself."

She paused, "...someone whose world is music. Someone who finds happiness in little things, who can spend hours listening to her favourite songs and who expresses everything through melodies."