This chapter is dedicated to Ana Marques! I hope you like it,

Sorry for the mistakes!

TOO LATE...

- Six.

Two days ago, Bonnie tried on her wedding dress, it was beautiful and... that was why she hated it.

Having reluctantly agreed to partake in the last details of the wedding.

All Bonnie could think about was the discussion with Camille.

Despite being saturated with work for the past few days, she could not concentrate.

As calming her stress, Bonnie was using in greater quantity the scented oil her grandmother had been preparing for her since she was a child.

She had used that essence for so many years, that even when she did not use it, the fragrance could be appreciated lightly in her body. The aroma had become so intensely embedded in her skin that it was now part of her own smell.

The essence was of great help to calm her anxiety, the effect was almost narcotic, until now it had helped her to sleep better.

Today, Bonnie had arrived at her office much earlier to continue with her obligations. But today more than ever she had no head to face her responsibilities.

All the words Camille said echoed in her mind.

Camille had hit a key, with a slight scream of frustration, Bonnie was dealing with her worries.

The thought of the fact that Camille could tell Niklaus Mikaelson everything about her life worried her. The knowledge that he spoke so disparagingly of her with Camille bothered her even more.

Staring at her desk, her thoughts were interrupted.

Bonnie looked up.

"Hasn't anyone taught you how to knock on the door Samantha?" she asked without paying much attention.

Samantha ignored her boss's comment.

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Bonnie, but the B-CO project was postponed." Samantha put the technical report on the desk.

Bonnie leaned over and took the report in her hands. She read page by page.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Bonnie looked at Samantha, who shook her head.

"Are you talking seriously?"

Bonnie incredulous, she asked again in a strong tone.

She read the entire report and found that the project had been canceled. The report had all the signatures, including that of her grandmother.

Samantha cleared her throat.

"Apparently postponed with no probable date, it was the most subtle answer they found to cancel the project, I don't see it otherwise."

Bonnie dropped the report and raised her hands to her mouth, looked at Samantha in surprise.

"It's a damn joke! they can't decline something that has already been approved. What will happen to the delegation in Brazil? We have already established a convention with them!"

Bonnie stood up, trying to get answers herself.

It was not possible that her project was postponed.

The condition was that if she could convince Rio-Cocoa to give them the concession for the next five years. Bonnie could start a new product.

But she accomplished what no one else had. Increase the concession for an additional ten years. Now, the Bennett Group had become the main buyer of 45% of cocoa production from the largest producers in Brazil. With this merger, Bonnie would have complete freedom to launch her own project, B-CO.

They agreed with that. Her grandmother had approved.

This can't be happening. Bonnie thought in anguish as she continued to listen to Samantha.

"Nothing will happen with the delegation in Brazil, everything remains the same, they cannot cancel a negotiation like this. It would be stupid!" Samantha said, equally frustrated.

Bonnie remained silent, until she smiled ironically.

"They take us out of the way, for stays with the production!" she snorted in surprise.

Samantha did not affirm or deny anything, she also suspected it.

Bonnie wasn't going to sit idly by.

"Call Frederick right away. We need to know exactly when the first shipment will arrive."

Samantha stepped forward to obtain this information.

"The shipment arrived this morning, but cannot enter the port, the ship apparently did not pass the inspections, the agency sent an email apologizing for the delay."

Bonnie nodded. "Did they say how long it would take?"

"Maximum one week, but you already know the procedures, the estimated time is not a guarantee of anything. Although I already confirmed it. The transports were authorized to unload and move the cargo. But it will not be sent directly to the factory. They are only waiting for approval in customs and the fiscal order of the agency."

Samantha reported without missing any details.

Bonnie nodded at all the information, pounding the desk with her fist.

"I'm not letting them keep that cargo!"

Bonnie was determined, she looked at Samantha once more.

"Call an urgent meeting with the board of directors, immediately!"

Without further ado, Bonnie left the office, and behind her, Samantha.

"Where are you going?" Samantha asked nervously.

"I'm going to solve this whole situation!"

Bonnie immediately left for the chocolate factory.

"Why did you stop my project?" Bonnie asked hurt.

She had worked hard for the past few months to get the Rio-Cocoa concession, and now she was being pushed aside, she could not believe it, how would her grandmother support something like that? Bonnie thought disappointed.

Sheila looked at her granddaughter warily.

Bonnie clicked her tongue and looked at her grandmother.

"Do you know how hard I worked to get that concession? How much did I have to give up? Every time I was rejected and I remained persistent, because I believed in this, because I wanted to show that I could do it. And I did it! I showed you and all the directors that I could do it. All because I wanted you to see that I was ready to move on!"

Bonnie walked slowly.

"For eight months I was negotiating with them. All the time I spent on this. So that you and your whole team think they have the right to take it from me!" Bonnie yelled disappointed.

Sheila stood up and without raising her voice spoke to Bonnie to better explain the reasons.

"We cannot start a project as big as this Bonnie. It will only be temporary, this is not the time to take risks." Sheila spoke in a soft tone of voice. Seeing Bonnie in that state surprised her.

Bonnie started laughing hysterically.

"Take a risk? Are you serious? Everything was thoroughly inspected. I did the analysis of the financial balances myself. The percentage of losses are insignificant, we have the resources to continue with a new production. There is no reason to postpone it, you are only saying excuses!"

Bonnie accused her grandmother.

Bonnie was trembling with rage, she needed to calm down, she knew it, but to tell the truth, she did not want to, she was tired of being so forgiving.

Sheila looked at her granddaughter aware of her condition.

"Are you forgetting about the association with Vineyards Company?" Sheila asked, starting to get annoyed by her granddaughter's attitude.

Bonnie shook her head, confused.

"What does that have to do with B-CO?" She asked again defiantly.

"The merger that we are about to undertake with that company is not only consolidated with marriage, it is also the new project that we will promote with them. The new production will be launched previously, the resources will be destined only for the next creation of the new product that we will manufacture both corporations, as a legacy for both families!"

Sheila finished speaking, observing her granddaughter, who until now had not put any problem with all the decisions that had been made.

Bonnie was silent with wide eyes staring at the ground trying to stop the tears.

She had forgotten, she had forgotten that the two companies would merge to bring a new product to market. But Bonnie never thought that would interfere with her work projects. Her job was her only consolation, now Bonnie felt she was losing everything, and everything because of this damn marriage.

Bonnie looked up, her eyes were wet, but she wasn't going to cry, she looked at her grandmother.

"This marriage will be the last thing I will agree to do for you, after all this is over, I will leave the company!"

Without saying anything else. Bonnie left as fast as she could.

This whole situation was the straw that broke the camel's back.

The arranged marriage,

the discussion with Camille,

the wedding preparations and now,

the cancellation of her Project.

Everything was out of control.

Bonnie tried to stay stronger, but she was devastated.

She could no longer contain the anger within her.

She wanted to drain everything, but... How?

Bonnie found a way to drain everything and this time she would do it with all the pleasure.

She drove frantically.

Bonnie knew she was being reckless, God, she wanted to be so reckless. She told herself.

The moisture in her eyes did not allow her to see clearly. But that didn't stop her from getting where she wanted to be. The place where she wanted to unleash all the fury she felt.

The screech of their brakes announced their arrival. Throwing her jacket on the driver's seat, Bonnie got out with only one purpose.

Find him...

Bonnie entered the building and looked impatiently for someone to give her information on his whereabouts. She needed to find him, Bonnie needed to see his face and vent all that she had accumulated during these weeks.

She no longer cared about being cordial. Well fuck off cordialities, she thought angrily. All Bonnie wanted was to yell at him for interfering with her life. She walked blinded by anger searching for him in every corner with exasperation.

But there was no need to go that far, or ask what exactly his workplace was. Bonnie found him coming out of what appeared to be his office.

Niklaus was so focused on his cell phone that he didn't see his fiancée heading towards him.

Bonnie walked up to Klaus without hesitation guided by all the contempt she'd accumulated since the day she found out about her engagement to him. She watched him walk unaware of her presence.

How can someone so asshole look so good...? she asked herself.

Bonnie shook her head at the sudden thought. She wouldn't think that, she would think of something else.

She remembered Camille's words.

He, had spoken disparagingly of her to Camille. Asshole, just that, he's a fucking idiot... how dare he? How do you dare...? Bonnie thought furiously. She never spoke ill of him to anyone. She hadn't even shared her thoughts about him with Emily or Lucy. Everything she thought of Niklaus Mikaelson had been reserved for her... Out of respect.

But instead he... Bonnie didn't finish formulating her thought when she decided to face him.

It was very late when Niklaus Mikaelson saw her approach him.

Before Klaus had any kind of reaction.

Without warning, Bonnie raised her left arm and with all the force she had she hit Klaus's face with her fist.

Disorientated,

Klaus's face jerked to the side violently. The blow he received under the cheek was so hard it tripped him. She took him by surprise, he never expected to see her here in front of him, much less imagined being hit by her. And worst of all, Niklaus Mikaelson never thought that such a small woman's left hook would have hurt him so badly.

Klaus pressed his phone forgetting about the conversion he had before getting hit.

Slowly, Klaus straightened once more, his eyes closed, his teeth clenched, his hand moving to his aching jaw to ease the tension.

The sound of the blow silenced any noise in the corridors, who noticed such insolence stayed out of the picture, avoiding getting involved in the epicenter of the fight. They all knew the character of their boss and knew that it was not a good thing to meddle in his affairs.

Klaus turned to Bonnie and looked at her with the same contempt. With a reddened face Niklaus could not hide his anger.

How dare she hit him like that? How dare she come up here and beat him in front of all his employees? Klaus wondered as he controlled his anger.

"How dare you...?" He growled through a clenched jaw.

Bonnie wasn't even fazed by the intense pain she was feeling in her hand. She only moved her fingers to avoid the pain. However, the satisfaction of having hit him right in the face had been worth it.

Without a hint of fear, Bonnie took small steps to approach him. The difference in height did not intimidate her. She was letting her emotions control her, she knew she would regret all this later, but now she didn't care at all.

Fuck Niklaus Mikaelson and fuck his whole fucking Company.

Lifting her chin and looking at him with equal contempt.

"No..."

Bonnie spoke slowly.

"You... how dare you destroy my life like this?"

Bonnie's adrenaline rush made her heart beat faster.

She accused him again

"You... who do you think you are? Who the hell do you think you are?" She yelled at him with all her might.

After all the controversy Bonnie caused in front of the employees.

Klaus took her by the hand and pushed her into his office.

Now completely alone with her, Niklaus turned to Bonnie fiercely. He didn't care how small she was. He spoke mercilessly to her.

"You come to my workplace, beat me savagely in front of my employees and accuse me of destroying your life!" Klaus yelled out loud at her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? I hardly know you. I thought everything had become clear between us..." Klaus tried to control the animal inside him.

Klaus didn't want to unleash his fury on her, but Bonnie was pushing him to the limit.

He had killed for much less...

Bonnie did not look at him, she did not have the courtesy to reply, she was still angry. Looking around the office, she walked to a display case where Klaus kept the alcohol.

Klaus glared at her, he was not going to tolerate such an insult.

"Are you crazy? What happened to... I agree with you! Tell me...?"

Klaus yelled uncontrollably at the audacity of her actions. His face was still burning from the blow.

Without permission, Bonnie proceeded to take one of the freshly started bottles, and she drank directly from the spout. All of this while Klaus yelled at him for answers.

Bonnie drank to calm her anger and suffering, but the liquor was smooth. When she finished drinking, she looked at the bottle in disgust, it was not strong enough, then she looked at the owner of the bottle.

"I will not marry you. You are absolved of any commitment."

After she gave him the information and saw that Klaus didn't respond, Bonnie drank from the bottle again, this time to the bottom, not caring about spilling drops of wine from the corner of her mouth.

Observe how she drank one of his best bottles without choking and without wrinkling her face. Klaus realized that Bonnie Bennett was not the girl everyone thought.

Niklaus couldn't deny that the little woman had spirit and strength.

Who would say that a woman of enormous strength and mettle hides inside such a small body? maybe he had underestimated her.

In the few times he had seen her, Klaus could tell that Bonnie liked the simplicity. He was sure that she was not trying to stand out above the women. but still she did.

Klaus was a man and, like every observer, he noticed every detail.

Kol and Elijah were right, there was no denying that Bonnie Bennett was somehow beautiful, but her manners were decadent, Klaus thought appease his anger..

Analyzing everything that had happened, Klaus brought his hand back to his flushed cheek to ease the pain.

Clearing his throat

"Unfortunately, you're late love. Marriage is more than a fact. I just signed our prenup." Klaus stated immediately.

Bonnie finished drinking what was left of the bottle. She stiffened at his words. She looked at the half-empty bottle and an uncontrollable fury washed over her once more.

Regardless of the consequences, she threw the bottle with all her might in the direction of Klaus, who quickly moved out of reach to avoid being hit, allowing the bottle to crash into the wall, breaking into thousands of pieces.

This time, Klaus widened his eyes in puzzlement. If he was angry before, now he was completely furious.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He yelled harshly.

Bonnie didn't respond, she just leaned down, tucked her head between her knees and hugged herself to feel safe.

Regardless of the severity of her actions, Bonnie let her tears roll freely down her cheeks. There was no need to keep holding back her pain. She needed to drain everything she felt inside.

Camille's hurtful words stayed constant in her head. And here, in the midst of all this mess, Bonnie felt vulnerable and helpless. He hated feeling like this.

Klaus's anger slowly disappeared as he watched her there crying. He realized that Bonnie Bennett was also a victim of the alliance between their families. For some reason, he felt sorry for her.

For an instant, Klaus debated whether or not it was the right thing to do, to comfort her.

Without much thought, Klaus slowly walked towards her.

This time they would call for a truce. This time, the two of them would allow each other a moment of trust. Tomorrow they would continue to despise each other and hopefully they would forget everything that had happened.

Niklaus leaned in closer and crouched to be level with her, keeping his distance. But he caught a familiar scent.

This time, Niklaus was able to detect the scent of her perfume much easier than the night they first met, even better than at the introductory dinner.

Without wanting to admit it, Klaus kept the warm scent in his memory. He caught her that night as he was walking into the parking lot. Without being able to do anything, that smell was etched in his memory.

Klaus had tried to figure out exactly what the fragrance was, but he was unsuccessful, that night it had been almost imperceptible.

Now, crouching next to her, inhaling better, Klaus could feel how intense and intoxicating it was. A bit excessive and generous, even almost narcotic. Soft, enveloping and captivating. This time Niklaus could identify exactly what that peculiar fragrance was.

tuberose, how could he not have perceived it before? Klaus thought to himself with a small smile. To be exact, Flowers of tuberose. He corrected himself in his mind. Tonight he would sleep peacefully, he had finally discovered what her scent was.

The image Niklaus had before him was not that of the angry woman who had hit him a few minutes ago, no. It was that of an innocent woman who was paying the price for something she didn't know.

Moving a bit closer, Klaus gently assured her.

"It will only be for a few years. Everything will pass quickly, we will be fine, Bonnie..." he was sincere and comforting.

Bonnie sobbed at her words. In a flood of tears, she realized that coming here had been a mistake.

As much as she hated him, hearing him say those words filled her with comfort. She tried to be brave, after all this torment, there was only one great restlessness left in her chest.

With a bit of hesitation, Bonnie raised her head to let him see her true face.

"Do you promise me…?"

She asked tenderly, avoiding hiccups, but couldn't contain her moans.

Klaus hadn't prepared for this sight, damn it... he was stunned, he realized that getting so close to her had been a fatal mistake. Seeing her like this and being able to smell her smell... He knew immediately that he could no longer move away.

Niklaus was bewitched. He admired every detail of her physiognomy. Bonnie's skin was perfect. Klaus noticed the asymmetry of her jaw, which went unnoticed at their first meeting. The shape of her hair framed her heart-shaped face. Her full lips a bright shade of pink, perhaps from the wine she had drunk. Klaus managed to make out the nuanced freckles around her cheekbones and delicate nose.

But what Klaus didn't count on was the peculiarity of her eyes. He already knew the rarity of her strange color, but he was still surprised, the unique tone of her eyes, it was certainly something that would not let him sleep at night.

The color was not exact, Niklaus had never seen such an unusual color as that.

Green? yes... but in a different shade, He could swear they changed color, and it was beautiful.

Still with tears streaming down her cheeks, Klaus repeated his brother's words in his mind, giving him every reason.

She was beautiful...

Without thinking, Niklaus raised his hands to touch her face. His fingers gently wiped her tears, with that excuse, Klaus touched her skin. His fingers automatically brushed her cheeks and cupped her face in his hands.

Bonnie, innocent of his assessment, waited patiently for his response.

But Klaus kept watching without saying anything, lost in thought, as he debated promising something that until a few minutes ago he was sure to promise.

Now the only enigma that formed in his mind was the enveloping nature of her beauty.

Unconsciously Klaus stroked the smooth skin a little more. Feeling worried about every tear that soaked his fingertips.

"Did something else happen to you to make you feel so sad?" Klaus whispered, surprising both of them by the unexpectedness of his question.

He didn't want to sound worried, but he was.

why am I worried about her? He thought without understanding.

Bonnie looked at him. Doing her own assessment,

He was beautiful...

Camille was lucky to have him. And with that thought, Bonnie noticed how close they were.

She cleared her throat and got up as fast as she could, breaking the moment of whatever was happening between the two of them.

Klaus's hands fell to the side, awkwardly rising a few seconds later.

He knew he had been too intimate with her, but he didn't apologize.

Bonnie completely embarrassed, tried to quickly leave the place.

"I'm sorry. I... I don't know what happened to me. I didn't want to... It won't happen again."

And with those last words, Bonnie Bennett left, leaving Niklaus Mikaelson completely confused.

After Bonnie literally ran out of his office.

It took Klaus a moment to regain his composure. He immediately got out, driving as fast as he could, still thinking about what had happened just moments ago.

Klaus was a few minutes late and blamed Bonnie for his delay. When he got to school. His daughter was sitting in a corner of the room accompanied by her teacher.

Niklaus came into the room a bit embarrassed by his delay.

Hope looked up and ran to her father.

Klaus leaned in to look at his daughter.

"Sorry I'm late... I had a last minute problem."

Klaus gently apologized, giving his daughter a bit of space to look at her better.

Hope looked at him without judgment. She was happy to see him.

With her hands, she made some signs that Klaus understood very well.

-SIGN LANGUAGE- HOPE

"IT DOESN'T MATTER... IT'S OK."

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