Author's note: this is from Duke's point of view

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~ London ~

"Rise and shine, princess!"

I groaned into my pillow. Why is Sergio in my apartment? It's Saturday, for crying out loud.

"Why are you waking me up this early?", I grumbled.

"Early? If you open your eyes you will see that it's almost noon.", Sergio disregarded my complaints while opening up the drapes and letting the daylight in.

"Get up. I will make coffee…", Sergio said and left the bedroom.

I was exasperated. Fine, it might be noon-ish, but it's Saturday. Did he come here to brag about his conquests or to convince me to join him tonight?

I buried my face in the covers and took a deep breath with the hope to take in the scent of Jasmine with a hint of Japanese wisteria which is long gone.

Ever since that stormy night when Sanya left a bitemark on my neck, I am hoping that I will get to meet her in my dreams. So far, no luck.

I wish that I know how it happened so that I can make it happen again. I only need five seconds to ask her where she is so that I can go to her.

Yes, I know that she will come when she is ready and I said that I will wait for her, but with every passing day, my patience is thinning.

Sometimes I could swear that Sanya is nearby, behind the corner, the woman hiding under the umbrella, the brunette walking down the street… and her sweet scent fills my nostrils as my insides tremble from excitement, only to come down crashing when I realize that my mind is playing tricks on me because those women are nothing like Sanya, and the sweet scent is coming from a nearby flower shop, and my Sanya is not in sight.

My craving for Sanya's proximity is painfully chipping away my sanity and I don't want to find comfort in another woman's arms because none compares to Sanya.

As much as Sergio is annoying, he makes sure I have at least one decent meal a day and that I get out of bed.

I found Sergio leaning on the kitchen island with a croissant sticking out of his mouth while his eyes rested on his phone.

I took a deep satisfying breath, allowing the scent of freshly brewed coffee to fill me up.

"Young master, you will grow mushrooms on your head if you continue like that…", Sergio said when he saw my bed hair. And the rest of me didn't look better either.

"I understand your need to increase your wealth, but at this rate, your body will deteriorate before you get a chance to enjoy your riches.", Sergio continued reprimanding me.

I took a sip of coffee that Sergio prepared for me. "You are only sulking because I chose to work instead of partying with you. Don't tell me that you had less fun because I was not there."

Sergio smiled smugly at my mentioning of the previous night. Oh, he had fun alright. The only question was with how many women.

"It was a wonderful party. Selena and Katy didn't disappoint." He shot me a side-glance. "Lizzy was missing you."

I looked at him blankly. "Who is Lizzy?"

"Exactly! If you were there, you would know, and she wouldn't miss you. I wanted to offer her my services of letting her experience fireworks on a Friday night, but Selena and Katy didn't want to add one more girl to the mix. Two are better than one, so Lizzy ended up with some other guy."

Sergio's logic is twisted. For a moment, I thought there is some Lizzy girl I should know, and this was only his way to let me know that I missed something.

Sergio put his hand on my shoulder. "Listen. I know that you are craving a particular girl, but she is not here, and a man has needs. You are not in a relationship with Sanya and if you go out and have fun, it's not called cheating."

I didn't disagree with him, but doesn't he know I tried? Over the years, I had a number of dates and went all the way, but it was all just a temporary distraction that left me empty and full of guilt. Guilt for being intimate with a woman who will never have my heart and guilt for betraying Sanya. Yes, I never dated Sanya, but my heart told me otherwise.

I opened my mouth to respond, and Sergio interrupted me, "I know you will say that none compares to Sanya, but what will you do if she doesn't come back? Will you stay like this forever? I am concerned about your health. Mental and physical. You don't need to find a woman, but I want you to go out and interact with people."

Going to a party or a club with Sergio will lead to a predictable outcome. Girls will come at me and I will be forced either to accept and end up waking up with regret or I will reject them and invoke their hostility. I already know that Sergio will encourage them to come at me, which will make my rejection harsher. How I see it, it's better if I stay home, alone with my madness.

I didn't want to talk about myself. "Other than Selena and Katy, did I miss anything else?"

"Lizzy…", Sergio said with a chuckle and then he got serious. "You told me to keep an eye on news related to Aldus Mezzanotte. He is here."

Ever since finding out that the building in Paris where I sensed Sanya's scent belongs to Aldus Mezzanotte, I asked Sergio to keep an eye (and ear) out for any news about that man. I was not 100% certain, but there was a chance that Sanya was somehow connected to that man.

Unfortunately, the man is very private and secretive and it's nearly impossible to get any information on him. Even celebrities don't have such tight security and right now Sergio was telling me that he has news about him and that the man is here. Where, 'here', exactly?

"Here?", I asked anxiously.

Sergio observed my eager expression. "Last night, Notte Pharmaceuticals had a company event in a hotel in West London."

My excitement dwindled. "A company event?"

If it was anything other than business, there were chances of Sanya being involved. But since it's company-related, this is a dead-end.

"You are not interested in highlights?", Sergio asked teasingly.

I shook my head. "What highlights? Presentations? Awards? Promotions? What they ate?"

"How about his daughter?"

I should have known what's hiding behind Sergio's smug expression. Women again.

Sergio leaned closer to me like he is about to reveal something huge. "Aldus Mezzanotte introduced his daughter as the future heiress of Notte Pharmaceuticals. The rumors are that she is a beauty never seen in London. She is a knowledgeable expert that got executives to appreciate her, and she managed to get guys like Sebastian Hoffman and Henry Blackwater busy for the whole evening."

I grimaced. "Really? If she could keep those two players busy, she must be a knockout. Maybe you should go to the next event and give Seb and Henry some competition."

Sergio shrugged. "Maybe I will. I'm sure that Jess can get me in as her date. She came last night to the party after that event. She couldn't stop talking about that girl. Jess is an exceptionally good-looking woman and considering her level of jealousy, I estimate that Seraphina is a few levels above her."

I felt like someone poured a bucket of icy water on me.

Did Sergio say, Seraphina?

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