Chapter 6 - 6: Robert (Revised)
Selena"s thunderous voice roared around the dining, making everyone startled.
"No, we didn"t" Daniella denied and anxiously drunk the water in her gla.s.s. Eyes blinking in a fast way, uncomfortable by the eyes gawking at her.
"But, you said, he kissed you?" Selena suspiciously asked. She calmly sat down on her chair, eyes suspiciously switching between Daniella and her uncle Evan - who was not even bothered by the situation.
"No, we didn"t. Anyway, I am done. So, Mr. Su," Daniella turned to Evan as she called out his name.
When their eyes met, her eyebrow creased, bewildered by the mystery behind his eyes.
"I am exhausted so if you have questions, can you save it for tomorrow?" her eyes has lowered to her hands on the table, his eyes were breaking her confidence.
"I was thinking of going over the contract. You seemed you have misread the information. Starting today, you are required to stay with us – I mean Selena. So you will live with my niece from now on."
"No!" - Selena shouted from her chair
"Definitely not!" - Daniella said slapping a hand on the table.
Selena and Daniella stared at each other, with their eyes swelled with surprise, they turned to Evan.
"You have signed the contract Ms. Chen and you"re a lawyer so you know how it works," Evan casually got up from his chair and started walking out.
"You and Selena will have to live with me. I just want you to do your job, I am not expecting anything else and yes, I would like to have a word with you since you still have the energy to slap my table." he lightly smirk and finally left the room, leaving Daniella trembling in anger.
Daniella"s narrowed eyes turned to Selena, the girl was still staring at her, there were a slight irritation and panic plastered on her face.
"I don"t want you here!" Selena bluntly said, nose wrinkled in annoyance.
And the annoyance Daniella saw in Selena"s face has made her day. Since she had signed the contract, she could not do anything but to stay so instead of sulking, she has decided to entertain herself and nothing would do better than to p.i.s.s of a spoiled brat girl.
She gave her a lopsided grin, and said, "Oh Darling! If you don"t want me here. I suggest you start acting like a normal girl. Do you think I like to be here?" she sneered.
"I know your kind. You are just like the other women chasing after my uncle. Don"t play innocent, you are just my babysitter," Selena mockingly replied. After hearing that Daniella is a Lawyer, she then realized that she must be after her uncle Evan and she hates this kind of woman – the woman who is after her uncle"s money and reputation.
Hearing those words, Daniella took the steak knife and stabbed the plate, breaking it into half. The Shattering gla.s.s has made the maids worried, including Anders, he was about to take the knife from Daniella"s hand when the woman suddenly spoke.
"Look at me Selena," Daniella"s voice was deep and scary, causing Selena to look into her eyes.
"Look into my eyes and tell me. Do I look like a woman who would go after your uncle?" she stated, the voice was deep like it came from an empty well.
"No," Selena absently said, the answer didn"t come from her mind, it just suddenly came out of her mouth. She was like hypnotized by Daniella"s eyes.
"Good. If you don"t want me to be here. You better act properly or else, I am going to open your head and replace your brain," without waiting for Selena"s reply, Daniella left the room.
As she strode in the living room, she found Evan leaning on the wall, both hands were crossed as if he was waiting for someone.
Daniella"s eyes flickered, wondering if he heard her threatening words to Selena.
"Is this how you handle your problems? Threatening them?" Evan spoke, the coldness of his voice was no match with the air condition of the room.
Daniella rolled her eyes and thought, (Didn"t you just blackmail me earlier?)
"Yes, so if you have problem with that, i suggest you to call an agency and get a new babysitter," Daniella continued walking, she was about to reach the stairs when she suddenly felt Evan behind her, not too close but the s.p.a.ce between them was enough for her to hear him whispered the words "follow me."
She turned to face him, but he was no longer there, instead, she found him walking towards the pool.
She blew a sigh and followed him, the man didn"t even wait if she agrees or not. He just gives order and expects someone to follow it without questions.
(d.a.m.n it! If I just knocked him off, I would have been in Italy now, enjoying my pasta!) annoyance has made her body tremble.
She caught Evan sitting on a wooden bench next to a tree in the garden. She took big steps to reach him and when she did, she stood confidently in front of him.
"Can you make it quick? I want to rest," she demanded.
"Sit," Evan ordered coldly and just like a dog, Daniella sat down. She sat on the near end of the bench, giving her and Evan enough s.p.a.ce to talk, the last thing she wanted was to be in the position she was earlier, where he cornered and kissed her.
"I am only asking for a year. If Selena changed before the contract ends, you can leave but if she doesn"t, then you"ll have to stay."
Daniella wanted to look at Evan"s expression but the light post was pointing straight at the tree - shadowing Evan"s face.
"Mr. Su, I have my own life too. I have issue bigger than Selena so I hope you understand why I can"t stay here every day," she said in a low voice, respecting the calmness of the night.
"You can have the weekends. How"s that?" Evan proposed, he was staring at the s.p.a.ce, legs crossed while his back was leaning on the wooden bench, putting all of his weight on it.
Daniella swung her head to his direction, watching him by their short distance. Under the shadow of the tree, her face grimaced. She could still hear his promise saying that he will help her kill the president but clearly the man has forgotten it.
She silently exhaled, (I should have known) she blamed herself for hoping.
"Fine," she murmured.
"Good. I have one more condition," Daniella rolled her eyes upon hearing it, thinking what more does he wants.
"What?" she flatly asked.
"I don"t want you flirting around the house. Let it be my with employee, family or even me."
"What makes you think I would want to flirt with you?" Daniella sarcastically asked in between her scoff, feeling insulted by his words that she barked back at him with no consideration.
"Good to know" Evan replied, his eyes were looking past her.
"Ms. Chen your relationship is none of my business. You can flirt with anyone as you"d like but not to the people in this house,"
"Got it, boss!" Daniella got up raging, wondering how could he say such words. What does he take her for?
She took two steps forward when Evan suddenly seized one of her hand. Puzzled by his action, Daniella turned only to see him with his face raised – looking at her.
"Have we met before?" Evan"s head was tilted as he tried to reminisce where he could have met her, his voice was deep and full of confusion.
"No Mr. Su. If we"d met, I would have remembered you. Your aloofness is incomparable. Even a person with a low memory would have a hard time forgetting you," she pulled her hand from him and walked out. Heart aching by the way he portrayed her. She knows that she"s the woman who likes playing with men, but she has reasons. Reasons no one would understand.
Every move she made in the past, the people she met, it was calculated. She won"t approach and waste her time with someone who doesn"t have a used for her.
She walked towards her bedroom with dark expression across her face. The phone she has in her hand suddenly buzzed. She looked at it and saw her friend"s number calling her, it was Robert Leno.
Daniella twisted the doork.n.o.b of her bedroom door and pushed it open. She pressed the answer b.u.t.ton and called out his name.
"What is it, Robert?" she asked even though she knew the reason why he was calling.
"Hey WOMAN!" a voice of a man yelled from the phone, Daniella immediately took the phone away from her ear before her friend"s voice could destroy her eardrum.
"Why are you calling me woman?" Daniella shouted back, her feet were making its way toward the bed. As she reached it, she jumped on the bed and stretched both of her legs.
"Aren"t you a woman?" she was, for a moment stunned by his reply.
"How can you be sure that I am?" she confidently replied.
Robert laughed by her words and said, "I am certain that you are one. I watched you grow up and honestly, you stopped growing since you were what? Sixteen?" Robert"s laughing voice, deliberately mocking her has made her face wrinkled in irritation.
If he was with her now, the man would have his fingers broken by now.
Robert Leno, he was her friend since childhood. Robert"s brother was her cla.s.smate at nursery, they were living close to them and her twin brother was closed with Robert"s brother.
After the incident seven years ago, Robert contacted her and since then he has been helping her with everything. Daniella"s mother has forbid them to be friends with Robert since the man was known to be a troublesome kid. His father was a policeman in their city while his mother has been long gone.
When she was ten years old, something awful happened, cutting the ties between her and Robert, that time, Robert was only seventeen. He has a small gang in their city called Tarantula gang. Robert"s people were mostly the same age as him, and their job was simple; they will hack into someone"s bank account, steal their money and give it to someone else, either to homeless or orphanage.
Even at the young age, Daniella understood what he was doing, though she had never taken part in it since Robert himself doesn"t want her to be involved – saying she was too young to do such crime but she believed that her twin brother was part of his gang.
When Daniella
was transferred in the orphanage, Robert immediately contacted her and since then, the two continued their friendship, helping each other with crimes – something she could not do before since she was only ten.
Daniella knows his feeling towards her, but she doesn"t want to hurt him. She loves him as her friend, getting into a relationship with him would only cause her trouble and probably destroy their friendship.
"What are you doing Daniella? And where are you?" Robert"s voice was low but she could hear the annoyance on how sharp he said those words.
Daniella sighed, wondering the same thing.
"I am at Kierry"s house," she said short.
"Oh! Did she stop you?"
"No, it was her brother in law. She has a kid and she"s dead Robert," her voice broke down. Reminiscing the times she spent with Kierry has made her eyes to shed tears.
"Kierry is dead and I didn"t," her heart was aching, tears ran down from her eyes like falls.
"I didn"t even thank her. So, Robert, I need to pause my plan and look after her kid," she sniffed and tried to calm herself by taking a deep breath.
"Ok, what do you need me to do?" Robert soothingly said.
"I need information about Evan Su,"
Robert on the other line has become silent, she could hear his hard breathing.
"Be careful Daniella. There"s a rumor about Evan Su."
"Don"t worry Robert. I know how to defend myself and-" she was cut out when Robert suddenly yelled at her.
"Are you stupid Daniella? You are being chased by Evan Su. If you want to live like a ghost and continue with your plan, I suggest you keep your distance from him. If the press caught you with him, your name will be in the news and do you think you can freely walk around?" Robert"s loud voice has almost destroyed her ears, she understood what he meant but the way he said those words were hurting her, getting treated like a kid was something she hated.
With the same loud voice he had, Daniella yelled back.
"Why are you yelling at me, Robert? Do you want to die!?" a vein in her neck pop out, fuming by her friend"s words.
Robert has calmed down when he said, "I am not shouting Daniella just be careful ok? And try to keep your distance with him. We don"t know him so-" she cut him out.
"Robert, I am not a kid ok? I am not your ten-year-old neighbor. I have changed,"
"Fine, but you are like my sister Daniella. Do your job and take care of Kierry"s kid, just the kid and not the uncle ok?" by the time he said it, his voice has changed into teasing.
Daniella rolled her eyes, this is why she likes Robert as her friend, he always understands her.
"Honestly Robert, I am scared," a note of anxiousness strained in her voice and it worried Robert.
"What is it?" he tensely replied, a slight fear was rising in his chest.
"I don"t know what"s happening but when I kissed him, I saw his memories and it"s freaking me out!" her skin crawled when she remembered the pictures in her mind earlier. She gulped repeatedly - hugging her shivering body with one arm while the other was holding the phone.
"You did what?" Robert asked, horrified with what he just heard.
"You kissed him?" Robert"s voice was low and Daniella knows that if she will not disconnect the call, her ear will be destroyed.
So before Robert could recover from her news, she has ended the call.
Feeling guilty, Daniella stared at her phone, her thumbs tapped on the screen and wrote down "Don"t worry. He doesn"t like me neither do I, so send me his information alright?"
She slumped her body onto the bed and waited for her friend"s reply.
After some time, her phone buzzed, her face went flat after reading his reply.
"Do it yourself!"
Daniella blew a sigh and tossed her phone somewhere in the bed. She nibbled on her lips, thinking why did she see those memories of Evan.