Money can't buy happiness, but it can make you comfortable while you're being miserable.' Heiress Danielle Dawson has it all. A mansion, a fleet of exotic cars, a live-in chef, housekeepers, a fortune that can feed nations, and a dad who indulges her every wish. All these, and she is still empty. But Her father, wanting more power and wealth, out of the blues, arranges her marriage to the powerful Valentino empire's heir, Adrian, who happens to be the same guy she once had a one-night stand with.

Danielle, a believer in love marriages, fights it at first but later gives in and decides to let destiny take its course.

Adrian Valentino, Danielle's betrothed, comes from a different world; one which was nothing compared to the bed of roses that she is used to, but Adrian need not fret as his betrothed is more than ready to fight his battles and slay his demons; but how can you love someone who doesn't believe in the emotion, and how do you save someone that doesn't want to be saved?

A taste of you

DANIELLE'S P.O.V.

The sea waves, unlike the turmoil in my mind, were calm and peaceful. They rolled slowly and crashed with their white caps cresting over and plunging back into the water, displaying the beauty of the sea from the shoreline on which I stood. I buried my bare feet deeper into the sand which was wet from the sea water and took in a deep breath of the fresh, salt tinged air before letting out a deep sigh.

I had hoped that walking along the beach would clear my head and my mind, but it had only barely managed to somewhat soothe my nerves. The tension that had driven me all the way to the beach's shoreline still sat heavily on my shoulders while the wheels of my memory kept spinning the burning scene of abject betrayal that I had been privy to earlier in the day.

I recalled how I had stood, frozen with shock at the doorway to Tony's room earlier that day while my brain had refused to process what my eyes had been subject to. I had refused to believe the scene that unfolded right before my very eyes; the image of Tony, my now ex boyfriend, rolling in bed, stark naked, with a woman whom I was all too familiar with. A woman whom he had introduced to me as his younger sister; a woman whom I had loved and treated like a real sister.

The shock on both of their faces had mirrored mine, and maybe I would not have felt so pissed and insulted if the son of a bitch had not dared to utter the words, "Dannie, it's not what you think it is."

It wasn't what I thought it was? What an absolute joke!

As I gazed out at the wide expanse of the ocean, memories of the failed relationships from my past replayed in my mind, unfolding in my head like a movie. While they continued to run through my mind, I came upon a realization; as different as my exes were and as diverse as the situations were, when compared to one another, they all had one particular thing in common. And that was the fact that they had all gotten into the relationship with ulterior motives.

I had thought Tony was different, but he turned out be just the same; as always, those assholes only chased after me for my money. They had only dated me because they knew just how much they stood to benefit and gain from being in a relationship with the only child of the city's third most popular and successful conglomerate family.

I closed eyes, willing the tears, which threatened to spill over, to remain at bay. Even though I hated to admit it, the pain of the betrayal was a heavy weight on my chest- one that drilled a well of emptiness inside of me. As I watched the sun dip lower, casting a warm glow across the large body of water, I made a silent promise to never get myself involved in a romantic relationship with another man. I would never crush on, like, or fall in love with another person from the opposite gender. Hell, I would never get married to anybody for as long as I lived.

And alongside that promise, I swore to heal from the pain of the numerous betrayals. I swore to never let the betrayals define who I was, and instead I would leave it as a Chapter of my past that would remain forever closed.

The vibrating of my phone alerting me of a message notification drew me out of my reverie. I unlocked the mobile device to see a text message from my Dad.

"Come home, now. We need to have an important discussion." It read.

Letting out another deep sigh, I took one last longing look at the ocean body before turning on my heels and heading towards the parking lot where I had left my car. The drive home was filled with a quiet anxiety as the possible reasons behind my dad’s urgent message, and by the time I was pulling into the estate, I had come up with nothing. As I walked into the house and caught no sight of my father in the living room, I headed for his study, knowing full well that he had holed himself in there with his work.

“You’re here.” He simply said when I pushed open the door to his study.

“You wanted to see me urgently” I said, taking my seat on the chair opposite him.

“Right.” He said, removing his reading glasses and placing them on the table before him.

“What is the important thing you wanted to discuss with me?” I asked.

“You’re getting engaged to be married.” He said.

For the second time that day, I was frozen with shock and surprise. For a few minutes, all I could do was stare at my father, hoping that he would burst into laughter and claim that he had just cracked a funny joke at my expense, but the only expression that remained on his face was stoic and serious.

"You have got to be joking, right Dad? I did not hear you very well; you did not just say that I would be getting married." I said.

"I can not afford the time for jokes, Danielle. I have set your engagement." He said.

"What the hell? What do you mean you have set my engagement?" I yelled, standing up in fury.

"Watch your tone and mind your language, young lady. I can take many things from you, but not disrespect."

"You expect respect when you are upending my life? Really?" I asked.

"This topic is not for discussion. I have told you what is to be; the sooner you accept it, the better for both you and I." He said with a tone of finality and dismissal before resuming his work.

I stormed out of his office, my chest heaving with anger. In that dire moment, the idea of running away was birthed, and the hours following that were spent at the bank, withdrawing as much money as I could in order to fund my get away.

THE CLUB was packed that night and the heat of the room caused my dress to cling to my body like a second skin. The disco balls lit up the dance floor in bright, flashy colors, and the dance floor was crowded with both couples and lone dancers moving in tune the music which blared from overhead speakers.

I threw back my shot of vodka, grimacing when I felt the liquid burning as it slid down my throat. Once I had deposited the contents of the glass into my throat, signalled to the bartender to get me another. My plan was to get intoxicated enough to forget that I was on the run from my sad reality; a reality in which I had no control over my own life.

I threw back my new shot of vodka and looked around the room in search of any form of entertainment. That was when I saw him; his handsome side view made me wonder how good looking his face was. As he sipped his alcohol, I willed him to look at me so that I would be able to see his face better, and when he started to look around the club, I sat up straighter in my seat. By a stroke of luck, his eyes finally made contact with mine and his ethereal features made me catch my breath in awe.

He continued to stare at me and I felt an intense rush as I stared back at him from across the room. Feeling tipsy and wreck less, I approached him without breaking eye contact, sat beside him, and greeted him with a flirtatious smile.

"Hi" I greeted.

"Hey" he greeted back.

His voice was so husky, it caused my heart to beat faster; I loved the way it made me feel.

"What are you having?" I asked him, tracing my fingers across his glass.

"Rum and coke" he answered.

He was still staring at me and his mesmerizing blue eyes felt like they were piercing my soul.

"Big boy" I purred while boldly moving my index finger across the length of his hand.

His eyes turned a shade darker as he looked at me. I ran my tongue across my upper lip and watched as he gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing. The movement of his Adam's apple was very enticing, and I felt a pool of warmth between my legs. The influence of the alcohol encouraged me to be brazen.

"Come with me?" I asked him.

I stood up slowly and walked towards the back door not waiting for his reply. At that moment, I congratulated myself for purchasing my outfit.

I had on a black strapless dress which enunciated my wide hips and backside, and silver pumps that made my legs look longer than they were. My natural brunette waves were packed up in a simple hairdo framing my small face. From my ears, diamond earrings dangled, and clasped around my left wrist was a simple diamond bracelet. I knew that I looked sexy and I felt even more sexy as I seemed to be successful in my attempts to seduce the absolutely handsome stranger.

The back door of the club was empty and the deep thumping of the club's music was dull in that part of the room. I watched as the handsome stranger walked towards me, his gaze intensifying as I moved my hips seductively, in time with the beat of the music. He pulled me close to him and placed his hands on my hips while I wrapped my arms around his neck, our intense staring starting all over. His eyes become hooded as I ground up on him and he took in a sharp breath before leaning into my ear and biting the lobe gently.

Knowing that I was pressing the right buttons made me giddy, and maybe it was the sweltering heat in the club, or the alcohol messing with my head.

Maybe it was the way his arms felt, wrapped around my waist, or the way he looked at me like I was a treat that he could not wait to taste.

Maybe it was the intensity of his gaze, or the way he made me feel like the sexiest woman in the room.

Maybe it was for one of these reasons that I leaned towards his ear and whispered,

"Let's go somewhere...private."

After the memorable night

DANIELLE'S P.O.V

"Wake up!"

I heard the voice before I felt the tapping and I wondered who exactly could be disturbing me so early in the morning.

"Wake up!" the voice repeated.

This time the tapping was more painful and hurried. I groaned in pain as I sat up on the bed.

What do they say about alcohol?

It is said to induce inhibition loss, enhance poor decision making, and encourage impulsiveness.

So, why do we keep taking alcohol?

The answer is very simple actually. We do so because we always want what is bad for us.

I questioned my decision to ingest as much alcohol as I had last night. My regret deepened further as the rays of light, which escaped from the shielding of the curtains that covered the windows; fell on my face, causing my already banging head to split further apart in pain. Usually, the feeling of the early morning sun rays on my face was comforting, but this morning, they reminded me of the reasons why the intake of spirits should be declared illegal.

I applied pressure on both sides of my head, trying my best to reduce the pain but I uttered another guttural sound as a new wave of pain ripped through my head. I swore then and there to never consume alcohol; never again. My mouth tasted like I had drank gutter water before going to bed and I quickly ran my tongue over my teeth in an attempt to reduce the nauseating sensation of the taste.

"I said wake up!" the voice that awoke me from my slumber said again. It was such a deep and manly voice that commanded authority, causing me to jump in surprise.

I looked up at the source of the sound and I was immediately and utterly astounded by the incredible handsomeness of the man who stood before me. He was styled to perfection in a navy blue suit that was obviously tailored to fit his bodice, his blond hair which was combed back, and the Rolex on his left hand that glinted as he adjusted the cufflinks on the wrists of his shirt.

The realization that I was in a room alone with a total stranger began to dawn on me. Of course, I had made bad decisions last night; decisions which I blamed on the alcohol. I took a peek at my state of dressing under the covers of the duvet and the sight of my bare body drew out an impulse quiet cuss from my lips. After giving myself a quick mental berating, I looked back up to take a look at the creation of Aphrodite that stood at the foot of the bed, staring down at me with an intense expression on his face. I could not remember much from the previous night, but I knew that I did not regret having a steamy night with that beautiful man.

"Are you done?" the man asked.

Realizing that I must have gawked openly, I shook my head in an attempt to clear my head and focus on the situation at hand; an action that I, immediately, regretted taking as another wave of pain flooded my skull, drawing a wince from my mouth.

“I don't have the time for this.” he said staring down at me with a look that could burn a hole into the wall. The confusion that I felt was clearly written across my face as I looked up at the strange man who stood at the foot of the bed with a cool and expressionless face.

I watched as he pulled out a black wallet from the pocket of his tailored suit and ran his fingers through its contents. It was then that I was dealt the worst insult that I had ever received in my life. With a quiet and sickening thud, I watched as the paper notes dropped onto the bed's covers.

"There." He said, closing his wallet, "That is your payment for the night's activities."

"Excuse me?" I asked, shocked to my core by the implication of his actions.

"Is that too small? I did not think you were prehensile, but I guess books can not be judged by their covers." He said.

Still in shock, I watched as he opened his wallet and dropped another was of bills on top of those lying on the bed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked angrily, "What do you take me for?"

"I admit we both had fun last night but I would appreciate if you did not take that as an opportunity to lust for something more. I have no interest in pursuing anything more than a one night stand." He said.

I felt extremely insulted by his statement. How dare he speak to me like I was a wanton?

I scoffed at his statement and quickly made work of lifting myself off of the bed and looking for my items of clothing which had been shed all over the room in my our passionate haste the night before; a night I would, unfortunately, regret. I hurriedly pulled on my clothes, picked up my jewelry and my purse, and choosing not to wear my shoes, I held unto them.

After I had looked around the room one last time to confirm that I had taken all of my belongings, I turned to look at the rude stranger.

"I'm done!" I spat, angrily.

"I see that" he said with uninterested tone.

I was very infuriated by the snotty bastard but I refused to leave the room without giving him a piece of my mind as I would never allow myself me humiliated so.

"You're an asshole" I said.

He looked up from his phone and he looked at me in shock.

"What did you just call me?" he asks in disbelief.

"I'm assuming you're not deaf. You did have a lot to comment on last night, didn't you?"

The expression on his face was priceless and I almost chuckled in satisfaction at the look of shock on it.

I pried my purse open and pulled out a fat wad of cash before throwing it in his face.

"There! That is your payment for your work during the night; although it wasn't worth half of the money." I said with a smirk on my face.

Storming out of the room, I headed for the elevator. Once in the confines of the electrical box, I groaned in anger, cussing out the egotistical man that I had chosen to give my body to. I blamed it all on the alcohol.

"I'm never taking alcohol. Never again." I whispered.

On getting to my hotel room, I noticed something was off; of course, it was very odd to see huge men, dressed it suits and sunglasses, standing right outside my door. I got an eerie feeling and chills ran down my spine. As one of the men spotted me, he looked at me with familiarity before tapping his colleague. They both looked at me again and the colleague nodded like he was confirming something. In that moment, I realized that my greatest fear was right before me. My father had found me out.

I turned on my heels and made a sprint for the elevator. Luckily for me, they were still a long way from the elevator so they could not reach me. The only way to catch up to me would be to go down several flights of stairs from the 12th floor and there was only a slim chance of them meeting me. I was sure that they had backups somewhere in the resort so I had to find a hiding spot as fast as I possibly could.

Once the elevator eased open, I ran outside looking for a hiding place. Almost like the heavens were backing up my escape, I spotted an SUV with an open trunk. Without thinking twice, I ran towards the SUV, jumped into the trunk and shut it immediately.

My heart was racing, my palms were sweaty and my feet stung from running down the granite road. I took deep breaths of the stuffy air in the car trunk to calm myself down and after a few seconds, I started to realize I might have made a mistake in my choice of a hiding place. How was I to get out of the trunk when the only way out was from the outside?

I started to panic and desperately hoped the car's driver would come to open the trunk. Almost immediately, the car trunk beeped and opened. I squealed in delight, causing the driver of the car to recoil in shock. I sympathized with him; I would have been shocked too to see a sweaty, scantily clad woman, in the trunk of my car.

"What's going on?" a voice asked.

I froze at the sound of the voice. I had only ever heard that voice twice and my encounter with the owner of said voice had gone from beautiful to disastrous. I hoped I was just hearing things until my fear was confirmed when he joined the driver at the trunk. I watched his facial muscles strain into a frown and his eyes grow a shade darker in anger. I must have offended fate in my previous life or something for her to keep playing dirty tricks like that on me.

"You!" he said venomously.

"Surprise!" I said in the most sickeningly sweet tone I could muster.

The driver still stood awkwardly, holding suitcases in both of his hands.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"What am I doing where?" I asked, smiling smugly when he glared.

"Get out!" he ordered.

I took my sweet time getting down from the trunk before sashaying past him with a smirk on my face, turning to the driver, and patting him on his shoulder.

"It must be very hard working for this breed. Stay strong" I said and glanced at my target to check his reaction.

His face contorted in anger, giving me the satisfaction I needed. I chortled as I walked back towards the hotel, swinging my hips for good measure.

I didn't see any of the uniformed men in the lobby as I entered the elevator. On the passage way to my room, there were no men either. I quickly swiped my key card across the lock and entered the room, giving a little victory dance.

"I thought you'd never come. I've been waiting for you"

I froze in shock as my key card slipped from my hand and gave a thunk as it fell on the floor.

"I told you, my sweet. You cannot hide forever."

My throat felt squeezed as I managed to let out whisper.

"Dad!"

Deal

ADRIAN'S P.O.V.

I stood, gazing out of the window in my hotel suite. The events of the past few hours of the day replayed in my mind, and with it came a seething anger that coursed through my veins and caused my fists to ball up.

How could one person, a mere woman at that, get the better of me?

I recalled the way in which she had insulted me and I could still feel the sting of the paper bills as they slapped against my skin.

How the hell had she dared to insult me in such a manner?

I hated the fact that she had gotten under my skin. I was not easily phased by anything or anyone, and I had never imagined that a mere woman would be able to annoy the hell out of me like that woman had.

What?

My performance in bed was unsatisfactory?

I had never received such a huge blow to my pride before, and the memory of the expression on her face when she had said that caused my ears to redden from fury. I could not even bear to digest the fact that a woman had spoken to me so rudely; the fact that a woman whose name I did not even know and whose identity I was not interested in knowing, had managed to permeate into my mind, leaving a trail of frustration and anger in her wake.

In all of my years of living as Adrian Valentino, nobody; no one, had ever dared to test my anger. But this strange woman had managed to provoke me- not once, but twice, and in such a short period of time.

Who was she?

What gave her such audacity and boldness to face me?

As I pondered that thought, I came upon a realization that jerked me out of my reverie. Suddenly, I let out an amused chuckle, nodding my head and clapping my hands in understanding as I had realized what was going on.

The strange woman's game plan, I had it all figured out. She did all that because she knew daring to do what other people had never done would make me think about her; and she had succeeded as for a little while there, the very thought of her had consumed my mind.

It was then that I also recalled how I had come upon her in the trunk of my car. I figured that she had some how found out that the car belonged to me and she had hidden herself in my trunk in an attempt to follow me back to my house so as to know my address and possibly other personal details. Her aim had been to lengthen her meeting with me and find a way to stay around me longer.

I applauded her reasoning; for a strange woman, she sure was smart. But she was definitely not more smarter than I was as her plans would fail woefully. After all, I was Adrian Valentino, and being the most sought after man in the city meant that I had seen and experienced a lot of women. Every one of them wanted to spend more time with me, most of them even wanting something more than I was willing to offer, but I did not stand for any of that. I had never, and would never sleep with a woman more than once; that was the rule and principle that I lived by.

The strange woman might have tried to come up with a devious scheme to break my rule, but that was not going to be possible. I would ensure that she would never have any access to me, never again. Reaching for the intercom on my table, I dialed the number to the hotel manager's office.

A few minutes passed before I heard a gentle knock on my door.

"Come in!" I invited.

The door opened and turned in time to see, James, the manager walk into the room.

"Good morning, sir!" he greeted, bending slightly in a bow.

"I need you to do something urgent and important." I said.

"What would that be, sir?" He asked, looking at me with a mix of curiosity and alertness.

"I need a name to be blacklisted from the hotel's guest list."

As the owner of the prestigious hotel, I had a reputation to uphold and I could not afford for a crazy wanton woman to roam about my premises, soiling the image which I worked hard to build. I instructed James to find out the identity of that woman and make sure that her name would never grace our guest list again. The audacity which she had shown by daring to insult me was highly unacceptable for me, and by blacklisting her name, I was very assured that whatever attempts that she had would make to maneuver her way into my life would be in vain. I never spent my time with the same woman twice, and she would be no exception.

A knock on my door pulled me out if my reverie and my valet, Drew, peeked his head into the room.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Your dad just called, sir. He says you should come to the estate immediately as he has something important to discuss with you." He said.

"Okay. Get me my driver." I said and watched as my assistant closed the door behind him.

After my driver had been summoned, I strode out of the hotel lobby with Drew trailing by my side. When we arrived at the old mansion in which I had been born, grew up, and made many memories, fond and otherwise, Drew alighted the car quickly before making his way to open the door for me. The house was busy with activity as maids moved about tending to one thing or another. In the distance, I could hear my mother, Alvida's voice, delivering orders to the servants and I would normally go to greet her, but I could not afford the detour as I had more pressing matters to settle.

Instead, I focused on my pathway, making my way through the grand hallway with my footsteps echoing against the marble floors. Soon, I was pushing, open, the heavy doors that led to my father's study. Behind his massive mahogany desk, he sat, with

an air of authority which I had grown up to identify, surrounding him.

"Adrian," he said in acknowledgement of my presence, his tone measured.

"Father?" I said while pushing the doors to a close.

"Your day?" He asked.

"Not as well as I'd hoped, yours?" I asked.

"It's going quite well." He replied.

"Good for you." I nodded curtly.

"I guess." He said.

"You have something to say, don't you? You called me here because you did, did you not?" I asked.

I sounded rude but I did not care. I and my father rarely had touchy feely conversations; our relationship was built differently than other father son relationships that I had heard of. Whenever we had to discuss something, we always went straight to the point as we both did not believe in wasting precious time; time was money, after all- and we both enjoyed making our money. Watching him beating around the bush was very unsettling, and I had a bad feeling about what it was that he called me home for.

He sighed, a fatigued expression crossing his face as he said, "Sit down, son. We need to talk."

Need to talk?

Now that was another unsettling thing that had ever come out of my father's lips. We never 'needed' to talk; we only ever spoke to one another whenever we wanted to, and that was very rarely.

I took a seat, my curiosity growing by the second. What could possibly be so important that my father had to have that uncharacteristic expression on his face?

When he finally spoke, my father's words shattered every appearance of control that I had.

"Adrian, you're getting married."

On hearing his statement, the room seemed to spin as the words registered in my mind.

Married?

The very thought of it was unbelievable and absurd. I stood up from my chair immediately, knocking it over in my hurried anger.

"Absolutely not! I won't have it, Father."

He looked at me with a stern gaze, his eyes hardening.

"Listen, Adrian. This isn't a request. It's a necessity. It is your duty to this family."

I felt a surge of anger and rebellion rising within me.

"I will not be getting married. That plan that you have contorted in your head is not going to work." I said angrily.

"Adrian! I am your father, and you will listen to me, do you hear me? You can not defy me and you can definitely not be rebellious, not under my roof." He said.

"Then I'll take my rebellion outside your roof." I said and made to leave the room, but then he uttered those words that froze the blood in my veins and stopped me in my tracks.

"Your inheritance is on the line."