Chapter 24: Survival Guide - Keep Your Distance

Daisy walked past her mother without a word. Didn’t look at her. Didn’t slow down and didn’t want to ruin her mood right in the morning. "I’m talking to you." Jasmine’s voice followed her down the hall, sharp with disbelief. "Do you decide to be rude just because I went out to meet my friends?" Daisy paused by the front of her room door. Silence. As if she was holding to spit out every bad word in her mind at that moment. For a second, nothing moved. Then, slowly, she turned her head, just enough to meet her mother’s eyes. No words. Just a look. One that held everything she didn’t bother to say out loud. Hurt. Disbelief. A final kind of distance. Jasmine blinked, as if caught off guard by the sharpness in her daughter’s silence. Then Daisy turned away and disappeared into her room, closing the door gently behind her. She stood there for a few seconds, her back against the door, still trying to process the audacity of it all. "Huh! Okay! Just because you earn now, you decide to be rude?!" Her mother’s voice burst through the other side, sharp and loud. "Remember how hard I raised you? And now you get mad at me just because I went out to meet my friends? What a great daughter you are!" Daisy closed her eyes. The words were exhausting, not because they were new but because they were always the same. Like a worn-out record. She sighed and walked toward her small desk. The chair creaked softly as she sat down. Opening the drawer, she pulled out a notebook. Cute, pink, and completely out of place in the heaviness of the morning. But it was hers. A small piece of light she clung to. "Huh!" She let out a deep sigh, like she was trying to exhale every bitter word, every heavy moment clinging to her shoulders. "Okay... my mission now is to survive The Ice King." She flipped a few pages, past old notes and scribbles, until she found a blank one. Then, in careful, determined strokes, she wrote at the top: "Survival Guide." Underneath it, she added the first bullet point. Don’t blink too much. He gets weird about that. She stared at it for a second. Then added another. Don’t show weakness. The man didn’t care. Keep your distance, he might look cold but there is a pervert energy coming from him. She bit the end of her pen, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. Get as much as I can...so I can investigate why Dad’s company collapsed. The pen hovered midair for a moment. This one wasn’t a joke. It wasn’t about surviving awkward stares or avoiding Theo’s cold shoulder. This was the real reason she agreed to step into that icy world in the first place. Her gaze softened, drifting to the edge of the desk where an old family photo rested, just her, her dad, and a cake that leaned a little too much to the left. "I’ll figure it out, Dad," she whispered. Then she gently slid the notebook back into the drawer and stood up. "Time to refresh myself... and armor up with a whole lot of patience." She stretched her arms above her head, rolled her neck side to side, and shuffled toward the bathroom. ===== The moment Daisy stepped into the building, a wave of people suddenly poured out from the elevator corridor. Her steps slowed. Her eyes widened. Leading the group, of course, was him, Theo Kingsley. He walked with his usual purpose, unreadable and stopped the moment he reached her. His eyes swept over her like a silent scan. "You’re late." The same low baritone hit her ears, flat and clipped. Daisy instinctively glanced around, searching for proof until her eyes landed on the oversized clock above the receptionist’s counter. "One minute—" "Still late," he cut in before she could finish. She squinted her eyes as she stared at the moment, "Take a deep breath Daisy..." she mumbled to herself, but everyone there could hear it. "Done?" Theo stepped forward, hand half-lifting toward her, "Let’s go." And just as she predicted, she quickly pulled her arm back out of his reach. His eyes flicked to her retreating hand. For a second, he looked genuinely speechless. But Daisy? She stuck out her tongue. Then spun on her heel, breezing past him like she hadn’t just declared war with a single expression. "So," she said over her shoulder, "where are we going, Mr. T—" She paused, realizing too late that all eyes were now squarely on her. "Ahem..." She cleared her throat with practiced ease. "Sorry, forgot to introduce myself properly." Turning back to the stunned audience of executives and senior officers, she beamed. "I’m Daisy Sinclair. Personal babysitter to Mr. Theo Kingsley." Silence. Blinking. A couple of slow heads turned in Theo’s direction. She marched toward them confidently, extending her hand like she was greeting guests at a family barbecue. "Lovely to meet all of you. I assume you’re the brave team keeping this iceberg running." Somewhere behind her, Theo exhaled slowly through his nose. Daisy turned halfway toward him, tilted her head and peeked up at him from below, like a curious raccoon poking a lion. "Are you angry?" she asked, voice light, playful. "I’m just joking... to brighten your morning." She flashed him a grin. Full teeth. All nerves disguised as confidence. Theo stared at her for a beat too long. Unmoving and not blinking. Then suddenly, he stepped forward. The unexpected closeness made her lose her balance. It was just a small sway. But enough to send her stumbling slightly. And at that moment, he caught her. One hand on her waist. The other lightly gripped her arm to steady her. The hallway froze, Daisy froze and maybe even the air forgot how to move. His lips barely moved as he leaned close. "Careful..." A pause. Then, quiet and low, he continued, "baby."