Chapter 3 - 3: What the h.e.l.l is wrong with this family? (Edited)
Daniella stared at the girl sitting on the armchair next to her.
Her eyes were round and brown just like Evan, her face shaped of an oval was so perfectly matched to her small nose. Daniella noticed the girl"s blonde short hair, and it disturbingly matches her brown skin but, as she looked closer the girl"s skin, it was not a natural brown like Kirby, still, it looks great.
When Daniella lifted her sight to look at the girl"s face once again, their eyes met. A faint smile was on the girl"s lips, probably confused by her presence.
One thing Daniella realized, the girl certainly has a serious problem. She was wearing a red tight mini dress showing her undeveloped body and the heavy makeup on her face has made her look mature.
The sorrow Daniella saw in the girl"s eyes was hunting her. She doesn"t know her story but, based on the gloomy expression the girl was trying to hide behind her smile has made her realize that she must have been lonely.
But Daniella doesn"t have time for drama, all her plan was ruined because of Evan.
"Mr. Su, please tell me this is not the baby you were talking about," she spoke with a slight terror. She had tried calming herself but, a voice in her head was screaming "run Daniella, run."
When Evan nodded, Daniella could feel her spirit slowly leaving her body. Her shoulder slumped in defeat and thought of a way to escape the scene.
(What is wrong with this family?) she asked herself.
(A man who"s colder than my freezer and a teenager with p.u.b.erty issue)
Daniella tried to reach for the smoke grenade she has in her pocket but, before she reaches it, Evan spoke.
"Don"t bother, I have removed it when you were asleep."
"Selena, she will be your babysitter. Daniella Chen," hearing Evan"s voice. Daniella turned to the girl next to her.
The young lady immediately stood up and placed both hands on her h.i.p.s while her eyes switched between Evan and Daniella.
"Uncle Evan, I am thirteen. I don"t need a sitter," she yelled.
But Evan just ignored her whining. He turned to Daniella and handed a folder with Selena"s information in it.
"She"s my niece, Selena Su and yes, she"s the person you need to look after," Evan stated.
Daniella opened the folder Evan gave and read it in a fast-paced.
Selena Su, thirteen years old.
She read the description of her behavior and, school achievements. Based on what she had read, the girl is smart.
When Daniella flipped the next page, a silent gasp let out from her lips.
Father; Nathan Su, deceased
Mother; Kierry Su, deceased
Her hand covered her lips, while her face paled in shock. Her heart was beating so fast, and she felt as if the wide living room started to get small, suffocating her.
She bit her lower lips and tried to hold back her tears.
Her heart throbbed in pain not because she pitied Selena but, the fact that her mother was dead. Kierry Su, the woman she will never forget.
In the other side, Evan saw how Daniella"s expression changed. The pain and the fear in her face didn"t escape his sight and at that moment, curiosity filled his mind. He wanted her to speak up and tell him why she was looking sad. He had only heard her name once and that was before Selena"s mother died, the last word Kierry said was "Ask Daniella Chen to look after Selena."
At first, he was not interested in finding her but, as time goes, he saw how much Selena changed. She was already spoiled but, after her mother"s death two years ago, she became worse.
To him, it"s crazy to find someone with a very common name and last name so it took him some time before he could find her. And based on all the people he hired to follow her, the woman is nothing but trouble.
He knows that it"s a mistake to hire her as a babysitter but, this was Kierry"s last wish.
"Are you alright, Ms. Chen? Do you know Selena"s parents?" Evan asked.
The woman looked at him, her crushed face has turned cold.
"No," she replied short but, Evan knows she"s lying and he doesn"t know why.
Evan drank the rest of his tea and asked Anders to prepare the study room.
Meanwhile, Selena was frustrated. She leaned forward to Daniella and whispered the threatening words "I will make you regret taking this job," and she left the living room with heavy feet.
Daniella sighed, her migraine started hitting her head. She rarely gets a headache, mostly if she forgot to eat for a whole day or didn"t sleep for a day or two. And right now, she"s exhausted and hungry. She was busy preparing the a.s.sa.s.sination for months and during that period, she didn"t get a chance to have a full eight or even six hours of sleep and she hasn"t eaten anything since yesterday aside from the protein bar she bought in the vending machine.
So when Selena blurted those words, she started regretting her decision.
(I knew it! I should have knocked him out when I had a chance!) she regretted.
When she saw Evan rising from his chair, her lips parted to speak.
"Can I back out? If you have told me that I need to look after a spoiled brat teenager with p.u.b.erty issue, I would have said no," she exclaimed.
She felt cheated.
Instead of answering, Evan grabbed one of her hand and dragged her out of the living room. Daniella didn"t complain, she followed him without a word.
When they stopped in front of a closed door, Evan asked Kirby to open the door while Daniella stood behind them.
She stared at Kirby and Evan"s back, she could see that Kirby is much younger than Evan though he has a manly figure compared to Kirby.
She was intensely thinking about what she had just read.
The creaking sounds of the opening door pulled Daniella"s mind back to reality. She looked at Kirby and found him staring at her with a neat smile on his lips.
Daniella stared back at him, her eyebrows creased in confusion as she looked into his eyes.
(Aw Kirby! You seem nice… and young)
(Aish! If that drooling incident didn"t just happen, I could have added that cute pilot and Kirby on my list) her chest rose up as she took in a deep breath, her lips let out a faint laugh as she thought of the cute pilot.
As they entered the room, Kirby and Evan heard her small giggle, the two turned to look at her and found her maliciously smiling.
(This woman must have had a loose screw or something) Evan thought.
Meanwhile, Kirby was mesmerized by Daniella"s smile, especially the dimples on her cheeks.
(She"s so pretty) Kirby blushed like a teenager boy.
When Daniella noticed the two men staring at her like she"s a person who has just escaped a mental facility, she suddenly realized that she"s been smiling alone.
"Don"t mind me! I-I just thought of this funny commercial I saw before," she stuttered as she explained herself.
And at that moment, the advertis.e.m.e.nt flashed in her mind. The laugh she has been holding suddenly bursts.
Her shoulder shook as she laughed, she tried to stop herself by covering her mouth but, it didn"t work.
In the other side, Evan stood in front of Daniella, he slightly sat on the edge of the table, arms folded together and stared at Daniella. The woman was laughing her heart out and he could see tears forming in her eyes.
"Let me hear it," he spoke.
Hearing the coldness of his voice, Daniella bit her tongue to stop herself from laughing. She hesitated for a moment but, when she saw the curiosity in Evan"s face, she decided to speak up.
"It"s about this "hungry old lady", she came across a guy who was eating his biscuit. He was at his last piece when he offered the half to the old woman out of pettiness," she started.
She paused and stared at Evan, his deep brown eyes were like quicksand, pulling her senses. Curiosity filled her mind, she wanted to know what behind those cold brown eyes. Why she couldn"t read him.
She took in a deep breath and continued.
"When the old woman ate half of the biscuit, she transformed into a fairy and said to the young man that she will grant him a wish and the man didn"t hesitate. He said, "I want a sports car, red"," As Daniella said the story, the commercial was playing in her mind. So, before she could continue, she once again bursts into laughter.
Kirby and Evan stared at her with amus.e.m.e.nt and confusion in their faces. Kirby was smiling not because he understood the story, but because of her harmonic laugh and her blushing cheeks. It"s been so long since he saw his boss having a light conversation with a woman.
Meanwhile, Daniella"s story confuses Evan, he could not understand the humor in it but an odd feeling grows in his heart and as he stared at her glossy thin lips, her laugh was melodic, low and soft.
Evan rattled his head to remove the thought, he sighed and cleared his throat to her attention.
Daniella apologized while wiping her tears. Kirby said it"s alright and asked her to continue.
"Anyway," she emitted a long sigh before continuing.
"The fairy granted his wish but, the car was also in half," as she ended the story, another whimsical laugh let out from her lips.
Her laugh bounced around the four walls of the room while the two men were still confused. They could not understand the point of her story.
When Daniella finally stopped, Evan on the chair behind his desk and handed a white folder to Daniella.
"I am glad you"re having fun. Now, let"s get back to business," he coldly said.
His frigid tone has made Daniella"s lips to twitch with annoyance. She wanted to reply but, the man didn"t give her a chance.
"I"ve prepared this contract two years ago but, I could not find the right time to give you this," Evan leaned his back against his chair while his arms rested on the armchair.
(Two years?) Daniella thought. Her face was full of confusion.
Instead of opening the folder, Daniella looked at Evan.
"What do mean?" she"s been wondering why the man asked her to be Selena"s babysitter. When she finds out that Selena was Kierry"s daughter, she figured that Kierry must have asked Evan to find her but, what confuses her the most was why Evan had just contacted her now and not after Kierry died.
A lot of questions was in her mind, she knows that she will not get the answer right away but she"s determined to get it later.
"I have been following you for two years. At first, I hesitated whether to take you or not. Your lifestyle and relationship background is quite disturbing Ms. Chen," Evan scoffed and continued.
"Eight boyfriends in one week. I don"t think a woman like you should be around my niece but, I can"t do anything. This is her last wish," Evan got up and walked to her direction.
"Honestly, I don"t think you are suitable for any job. Either as a babysitter, Lawyer or as a doctor. So tell me, how did get your license? Or should I ask, how many men did you sleep with to get those license?" he mockingly asked her. It was not his business but it annoyed him to know that some women are willing to sell their bodies to get somewhere.
He had read her information. She had lived in London after her 18th birthday. The woman was able to get into one of the prestigious university in London. For her to afford that kind of university, she needs money to support her tuition and based on the information he collected, the woman was raised in the orphanage and he"s pretty sure the nuns don"t have the luxury or means to send her to an expensive school.
Surprisingly, the woman pa.s.sed the bar exam after studying for a year and what shocked him the most was that she was able to get into the medical school a few weeks after she got her lawyer license.
She was one of those environmentalist lawyers who keep on bothering the big company from damaging nature. Though, he heard that she has been previously appointed as a lawyer of one of the mobile company in London which he finds ironic. The woman who"s been crying about protecting nature was also supporting a company creating phones.
He was also confused as to why Daniella had never used her medical license. He"s certain that Daniella must have had used her innocent pretty face and body to get those license because he doesn"t want to believe that a person could actually obtain what she has right now. To him, she was nothing but a woman who uses her body to get to what she wants.
In the other side, Daniella was not insulted. She had faced a lot of men looking down on her, treating her like a s.l.u.t but, she knows to herself that she"s not a wh.o.r.e with a pretty face. No one has ever touched or even kissed her and she"s proud of it, even though her friends were using it to make fun of her.
"Don"t worry Mr. Su, I am pretty sure those men were satisfied but, that"s my personal life and it has nothing to do with you. So I a.s.sume that when you said "her", you meant Selena"s mother right?" she knows she needs to be tough. Throughout history, men were always superior and treated the women as someone that needs to stay in the house. At first, Daniella wanted to fight for her rights as a woman but, as the time goes, and the people she had met, she realized that right now, even a hot iron couldn"t straighten the men"s belief about women.
So, she"d let him mock her, he doesn"t know her and the struggles she"d been to get her license.
"So tell me, what are Mrs. Su"s last words?" she asked.
Evan was disappointed. He thought Daniella would deny it but instead, she was proud by her action and the way she said those words has made him feel irritated.
He sighed and decided to answer her question while the woman opened the folder he gave.
"Seven years ago," he suddenly stops when the folder Daniella was holding fell to the floor and papers flew around the room.
His brows creased in confusion, the woman"s face went pale in shock. When tears fell from her eyes, he noticed her irises turning into black.
Evan blinked once to make sure that he"s not seeing things but he was right, the woman"s eyes were black unlike earlier which were brown.
(Is it just me, or her irises change?) he asked himself.
His heart ached when he saw the pain expression in her eyes. His hands were about to lift to give her a hug when the woman suddenly spoke.
"What- what do you know about the incident seven years ago?" the woman asked in a broken voice.