After Daniel"s phone call with Flash, he went back to the Patio and sat down. His mind was full of ideas on how to get rid of the root cause but it all involved life and death, which was something that he wanted to avoid. It hasn"t come to a point that someone deserved it, right?Noticing the expression on his face, Samantha couldn"t help but worry, "Everything okay?"
He snapped out of his trance and was quick to form a smile, "Just some work stuff. Nothing to worry about."
He wasn"t technically lying since Mr. Qin really wanted to get rid of him as a compet.i.tor. But what does Samantha have to do with their business? If Mr. Qin wanted to eliminate a threat, why was he targetting his personal relations.h.i.+p? That is what p.i.s.sed Daniel off. He can"t accept that his loved ones are harmed because of him.
It wasn"t the right place and time to talk about this matter because of the presence of her grandfather. So Daniel decided to put it off for later.
Despite his answer and change in expression, Samantha felt that there was indeed something wrong. But if Daniel didn"t want to talk about it now, she believed that there was a reason for it, thus she was going to wait until they get back home.
However, if Daniel thought that his answer was believable, it surely wasn"t the case for Grandfather Kim. The old man studied Daniel"s eyes as if he could read his soul and reason for existence. But apart from seeing that the young man looked a little troubled, Grandfather Kim saw his strong determination. And with that, he was contented for what Samantha will have in the future in the care of Daniel Cho.
He was already old at the age of 80 and he felt that he may not have a lot of time left in this world. All he wanted to know is that his grandchildren will have a peaceful and happy future doing whatever they want to do in life.
When the couple was about to leave Grandfather Kim"s mansion, the old man held Daniel back for a minute and spoke softly, "I know that look that you did earlier. Don"t think that you can trick this old man."
"I don"t understand what you mean, grandpa."
"You can"t hide from me, Daniel. I know that look because I use that look to hide things from my late wife."
Daniel was surprised at the old man"s sharpness. Actually, he knew that he acted poorly and he was also sure that Samantha caught his expression but even so, he was impressed by Grandfather Kim. He was truly a wise man.
Thinking that he couldn"t really escape this situation, Daniel Cho decided to come clean. "There were some articles that put Samantha and Me in a difficult position."
Grandfather Kim nodded his head, "Things like those are inevitable because both of you are important people that everyone looks up to and everyone watches your every move. But child, I trust that you will protect my Samantha during these times. She may act tough at times but she is still soft and can get hurt easily."
Daniel perfectly understood Grandfather Kim"s worries. "Don"t worry grandpa, I will make sure to keep her safe. I won"t let anything happen to her." He rea.s.sured.
Light footsteps were heard from the side and Samantha arrived beside them. "Shall we go?" She asked her fiancé. Giving her grandfather a hug, she patted his back. "Gramps, please be healthy! We"ll visit you again soon."
"I am healthy, my small peach! Make sure that when you visit me again, you"ll bear good news about my great-grandchild, okay?!" Grandfather Kim glanced at Daniel.
"Grandpa!" Samantha pulled away abruptly and the old man laughed.
When Samantha and Daniel boarded the car, he started the engine and drove away from the mansion.
"So… are you going to tell me what"s wrong?" She questioned her fiancé directly.
Daniel held the wheels tightly, his heart raced a little as he thought of how he"s going to break the news to Samantha, he didn"t like telling her bad news.
The two of them weren"t even actors or actresses but the attention that they were getting from the citizens and especially netizens were shocking. How are people so interested in other people"s lives? And worst of all, they believed every lie that was written.
He was about to open his mouth and tell her what happened but his action was halted by the ringing of Samantha"s phone.
She searched for it in her purse and when she found it, she exhaled upon seeing the caller ID. "Nevermind, I guess Hannah"s going to tell me before you."
Her finger hovered over the answer b.u.t.ton and turned to Daniel, "Do you want to say it instead? It can"t be that bad, right?"
Daniel thought about it for a second before he answered, "I guess no matter who you hear it from, it"s still going to be the same. I think your friend wants to hear from you too. Pick it up."
She furrowed her brows and then tapped her phone, her best friend"s voice sounded from the speaker and she sounded agitated, "S! What is going on?! Who the h.e.l.l is this Melissa Qin and why are you the mistress?! I can"t believe this is happening! Where is that b*tch, let me go to her and-"
"Hold on, Hannah. Slow down, don"t talk so fast. What"s wrong?"
"You don"t know what"s going on yet? Where are you? Where"s Daniel? What is he doing?! Is he not going to do something about this?!"
"He"s with me, he was just about to tell me but you called so he didn"t get the chance to. Now, if you could please tell me what happened.."
Hannah started to tell her about all the articles that were posted online. Describing details of the posts and pictures that were spread and even the comments that people had about it. Hannah was furious while she explained what was going on and Samantha could feel her worries.
Despite Flash being already fast, articles are still popping up everywhere on the internet. Probably because of how they handled it back then, Melissa Qin"s uncle had already antic.i.p.ated what their course of action is. So every time that Flash deleted one, another article is published and shared. He was working alone and the opposing side had a team but that didn"t stop him, for Flash, it was all just child"s game.
When Samantha heard what her best friend said even if she hadn"t read the articles yet, she knew that she wouldn"t like what she would read.
When their call ended, they had almost already reached their villa on the cliffside. She exhaled a sigh and looked out the window when Daniel stopped on the roadside near the sea beside their house.
"Daniel… this would probably sound dramatic but why does it seem like the world is against us?"
"Samantha, it doesn"t matter if the world is against us. I don"t need them. I only need you."